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VII edition of Milano Unica - a successful event

23
Dec '08

The VII edition of 'Milano Unica', the Italian Textile Fair, promoted and organized by the five prestigious 'Made in Italy' textile exhibitions: Ideabiella, IdeaComo, Moda In, Prato Expo and Shirt Avenue, has confirmed the vital importance of the Italian textile sector, despite the difficulties which have arisen from the international economic situation, supported only by growth in export towards developing countries, China and Hong Kong the frontrunners.

The 666 exhibitors from the 5 textile fairs are optimistic after meeting with the most important Italian and international buyers. A positive outlook has emerged from this edition regarding contacts made during the four fair days, due mainly to the innovations in fair layout, aimed at facilitating clients' tasks.

The VII edition of “Milano Unica”, held in the halls of Fieramilanocity at the Portello, has once again confirmed the strategy that focuses on an all-encompassing textile appointment reserved for the medium-high market sector. Closing figures registered about 31,500 participants, surpassing the 30,000 expected.

There was a marked increase in buyers from developing countries, beginning with China and Hong Kong, eastern European countries (Poland and Hungary), Latin America (Brazil and Argentina). In addition, buyers from Germany, England, Austria and Benelux continued to hold ground. A total of 16,989 firms were represented, 5242 of them foreign. The 666 exhibitors, (518 Italian and 148 European) included about 25% from EU countries (France, Spain, England, Portugal, Germany), in that order, representing the finest in Italian and European textile production. The total exhibition area covered more than 27,000 square meters.

The VII edition received the cooperation of the Foreign Trade Commission (ICE). “At the inauguration - explained Paolo Zegna, President of Milano Unica – I could not conceal my concern about the final outcome of this VII edition. All in all, the positive export trend in the first 3 months of 2008 was due to various statistics deriving from different textile sectors and we did not yet have significant final data from the second 3 months. The disastrous financial situation and steps towards recession experienced by western countries have worsened the scenario for 2008 and defined a dim outlook”.

“First of all - added Paolo Zegna – I believe we have to realize that the glass is half-full and this isn't as negative as it seems when we consider the efforts made by the textile sector during this critical period. Despite continuous difficulty, our textile sector is still an essential point of reference for Italian and international clothing manufacturers and fashion houses that focus on the mid-high and superior product lines. The increase in average prices of our products has confirmed the success of our reranking strategy, which has been accompanied by a partial change in market outlets and helped by a growth in export of Italian clothing products made with our fabrics.

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