24th edition of Milano Unica: the results
Milan, February, 2017 – The 24th edition of Milano Unica, the Italian Textiles and Accessories Trade Show, held at Fiera Milano Rho from February 1 to February 3 closed with general satisfaction of exhibitors, particularly with regard to the quality of the contacts registered thanks to the accurate selection made by the organizers. The result is essentially in line with the February 2016 edition in terms of participation of businesses despite the concurrent Munich Fabric Start trade show, that resulted in a reduced presence of German operators.
The 24th edition of Milano Unica included 427 exhibitors, 300 of which Italian, 65 European and also 40 Japanese and 22 Korean.
The inauguration ceremony, introduced by Ercole Botto Poala, President of Milano Unica, was attended by: Cristina Tajani, Councilor for Fashion at the Municipality of Milan, Claudio Marenzi, President of Sistema Moda Italia, and Ivan Scalfarotto, Deputy Secretary for Economic Development.
With regard to the participation of foreign businesses, particularly important is the return of companies from the Russian Federation (+34%). A growing trend was observed in the participation of companies from the UK (+4%), USA (+2%), Canada (+29%) and China (+6%), despite the concurrent occurrence of the Chinese New Year, while participation from the following countries showed a downtrend: (-11%), Japan (-14%) and Turkey (-1%). The number of German operators was reduced (- 44%) due to the aforementioned reasons.
“The 24th edition of Milano Unica is an additional confirmation that the route focusing on innovation and quality - the one that we are consistently pursuing - is the winning one not only from an image perspective, but also in terms of the commercial and marketing results obtained,” commented the President Ercole Botto Poala. “This route, meant to make Milano Unica the perfect vehicle to showcase the excellence of Made-in-Italy and Made-in-Europe production, needs additional action, but we are confident and positive. Milano Unica will increasingly become a trade show to show excellence, innovation and creativity to the world, confirming that fabrics and accessories – above all those Made in Italy and also a selection of the best Made-in-Europe products – represent the starting point for inspiration of international fashion.
“The interest attracted by MU365, an interactive platform reserved to selected customers to establish face-to-face contacts with exhibitors every day, at any time round the clock, created in collaboration with the US Sundar startup, is evidence of our focus on technology, but also of our determination to contribute to the growth of the industry, considering also customers that do not have sufficient resources to participate in the trade show,” continued the President, Ercole Botto Poala. This is also a way to attract young talents and create professional opportunities for them, because – as I said at the inauguration ceremony, we as entrepreneurs have a duty to ensure that an entire generation that represents an important part of the future of our planet, is not overlooked. In this respect I invite you all to invest in young talents, adopt a startup, in order to stimulate action. I also would like to underscore the importance of the “Back to School” project, which closed with the enthusiastic success ofSir Paul Smith’s presentation with approximately 1,000 students attending international fashion schools. Ahead of us lies the challenge of the July edition, but I am confident that we will face it successfully,” concluded the President of Milano Unica.
Attention to youth was also confirmed in the“Magazzini Aperti” project, where works by students attending the final year in 10 fashion schools were presented, using fabrics and accessories donated byMilano Unicaexhibitors. This project was developed from the collaboration between Regione Lombardia, Piattaforma Sistema Formativo Moda and Milano Unica.
“ This edition too, supported by the opinion expressed by the various exhibitors and buyers with whom I exchanged information, closes with a positive performance,” said Massimo Mosiello, General Director of Milano Unica, at the head of the operational organization of the textiles and accessories trade show since the first edition. “The work to develop increasingly functional pathways in order to optimize visit time continues with mutual satisfaction of both exhibitors and buyers. This result derives from teamwork, but also from the total dedication of Milano Unica staff members and collaborators,” continued Massimo Mosiello.
“I would also like to underscore the success of the Trend Area, restyled both in terms of space and creativity, and the consolidation of the Japan Observatory and Korea Observatory, which demonstrated that the complementarity of excellent products represents an added value not only for our visitors but also for our exhibitors. Now our thoughts are already flying ahead to the eleventh edition of Milano Unica China, where we will try to catch up with the reduced number of Chinese visitors due to the concurrent occurrence of the Chinese New Year, and to the 25th edition of the Milanese appointment, scheduled from July 11 to July 13, presenting a preview of FW 2018/2019 collections ,” concluded the General Director of Milano Unica.
Milano Unica specifically thanks the Italian Ministry for the Economic Development, ICE Agency and Sistema Moda Italia and is grateful to Banca Sella, a sponsor that has supported the trade show for years.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Milano Unica Press Office
Susi Castellino - Tel. +39 02 6610 1105 - +39 334 6014386
Sergio Vicario (Metafora) - Tel. +39 02 45485095/6 - +39 348 9895170
