Russia: Italian footwear stars at the Obuv' Mir Kozhi exhibition

Moscow - The international exhibition for shoes and leather products, Obuv' Mir Kozhi, is to open tomorrow at Expocentre, in Moscow, and is set to run until 27 October. The event confirms the engagement on the part of the Italian Footwear Manufacturers Association (Assocalzaturifici) in its internationalization activities to safeguard and promote the Italian footwear industry in countries within the Russian Commonwealth area, a market which is deemed to be highly strategic for this segment. Obuv' Mir Kozhi is also the biggest trade fair dedicated to Italian footwear in the CIS area, an event that allows industry operators to consolidate trade relations with buyers and create new business opportunities. Italian footwear will be represented by 150 exhibitors with 200 brands distributed across a surface area of over 3 thousand square meters. "It is vital for our companies to have a firm footing in this market", stated Annarita Pilotti, president of Assocalzaturifici. "Our association continues to provide operational support for companies wishing to consolidate their business in this strategic area", she added. Today, Russia constitutes the seventh biggest market (in terms of value) and the ninth in terms of volume in the ranking of destination countries for footwear exports. Over 5 million pairs of Italian shoes were exported to Russia in 2016, worth an overall 322 million euro.