Thursday, November 22, 2018 - 10:02English

 Market analysis and a focus on communication make the international footwear show a key event for the industry Only a few more months to go until the next MICAM, the international footwear show coming up at Fiera Milano (Rho) February 10 through 13 next year. Following a number of initiatives around the world intended to establish contact between Italian footwear makers and the world’s biggest markets, MICAM prepares to come back to Italy in an event-packed show with a bold personality.

There are plenty of preparations underway for this important event, and a number of strategies are being put in place behind the scenes which - just like a pair of top quality shoes - combine a knack for understanding the demands of the market with plenty of imagination and creativity, indispensable traits for anticipating trends in consumption with an innovative charge.

In order to offer the best possible response to the demands of the companies and professional dealers, MICAM has organised an in-depth analysis of its exhibitor database, in line with its visitor profiling initiative, comparing the figures collected over the past six editions of the event (from February 2016 to September 2018).

The analysis had four key goals: mapping exhibitors’ categories, origins, interest, and frequency of participation in the event (identifying faithful returning exhibitors and new exhibitors); coming up with actions for promoting the event (such as new marketing, promotion and retention programmes focusing on the various different exhibitor clusters identified); improving a number of organisational aspects (the layout of the pavilions and stands); and comparing analysis of the MICAM exhibitor dashboard with the results of customer satisfaction surveys.

Profiling of event participants focused on four areas: frequency of attendance, exhibitors' origin and business category, and the location and size of the stand in the halls. 37% of all exhibitors were found to have participated in all of the last six editions of the event (43% in the case of Italian exhibitors). 

67% of the Italian exhibitors at MICAM 86 form a cluster of faithful returning participants who had been represented at all the previous editions. 11% of the Italian exhibitors at MICAM 86 were participating in the event for the first time.

The origin of exhibitors at the most recent show may be broken down as follows: Europe 91%, Asia 4%, South America 4% and North America 1%. Spain and Portugal (with 15.2% and 7.5% of European exhibitors, respectively) were the European countries with the most exhibitors after Italy (61%). 25.5% of the Italian exhibitors came from the region of Marche, 21.6% from Campania, and 16.2% from Tuscany. More than 70% of the exhibitors make shoes, and almost 10% sell them (distributors + retailers).

The breakdown of stands by size has remained practically the same over the years, with a prevalence of small stands. About 60% of the stands at the most recent edition measured less than 32 sqm; 18% of the exhibition space consisted of stands measuring more than 72 sqm.

Along with strategic aspects aimed at creating an increasingly “customised” event, MICAM has stood out for some time for its choice of advertising campaigns that represent the passion for quality and the evocative power of footwear, a fashion accessory that is unique for its ability to continue innovating. MICAM has drawn on the theme of the Divine Comedy for the past three years, with an advertising campaign oriented toward representing shoes as objects of desire that unleash passions suspended somewhere between virtue and vice.

The last two themes in this advertising campaign inspired by Dante’s voyage will be launched in 2019: following the sins of the Inferno and those expiated in Purgatory, the time has come to immerse ourselves in the celestial spheres of the blessed, in Paradise.

Art, the creativity that will be the key to MICAM 87, shifts the focus from the conflicting “sinful” sentiments associated with the covetous desire to possess a pair of quality shoes to the object itself. The slogan “Be inspired by Art, ye who enter” underlines the discovery of the object as work of art, a template for joy and completeness for all those capable of appreciating it, bringing new life to everything around it.

Looking forward to seeing you February 10 through 13, 2019!

Press release

MICAM

Milano, 21 November 2018