In line with market trends and a growing demand on the part of buyers, the area dedicated to sports and outdoor shoes is back again
After its highly successful debut, the PLAYERS DISTRICT - the area specifically created inside MICAM Milano to provide the variegated world of outdoor and sports shoes with its own exclusive space - will be back at the forthcoming edition of the international trade show, to be held at the Fiera Milano from 16 to 19 February 2020.
The PLAYERS DISTRICT is a clear reflection of market trends which indicate that the sports footwear segment is expanding rapidly: in the first nine months of 2019 Italian families, in fact, spent 3.4% more on this type of shoe compared with the same period in 2018, for a total of 750 million Euros in value and 15.4 million pairs sold, +3.0% (source: Confindustria Moda - Italian Federation of Textiles, Fashion and Accessories- based on data from Sita Ricerca). A further consolidation, therefore, following an increase of over 5% in both expenditure and quantity recorded at the end of 2018. Along with sneakers, the sports sector is the only one to show an increase in sales on the domestic market, which has been undergoing a long period of stagnation.
Figures provided by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) regarding exports of Italian sports shoes are also positive: in the first 9 months of 2019, in fact, Italy exported 11.8 million pairs, amounting in value to 645.4 million Euros (with a tendential increase of 9.5% and 6.7% respectively). Extending the analysis to the European Union as a whole, according to Eurostat the 28 member States exported more than 200 million pairs (considering trade flows both within and outside the EU) in the same period, for a total of 6.3 billion Euros; this was in line with January-September 2018 levels, although trade flows towards non-EU countries showed an increase of 5.5% in volume and 15.3% in value.
Assocalzaturifici has been monitoring trends regarding this type of footwear for some time and has set up this area both to demonstrate the importance of this specific segment and provide manufacturers and buyers in the field with an exclusive area in which to do business.
At the September edition of MICAM, when the Players District made its debut, sports shoes were in fact amongst the products most dealt-in at the fair, attracting 8.5% of buyers’ attention (in particular, amongst the visitors interested in this type of product, 34% were looking for men’s sports shoes and 40% for women’s).
Remaining in the field of sports and outdoor shoes, it is worth mentioning that 16% of interest in this segment was concentrated on “Trekking and outdoor footwear” (37% menswear and 37% womenswear).
As far as the business aspect is concerned, therefore, the next edition of the PLAYERS DISTRICT will once again undoubtedly represent an important vantage point from which to observe this constantly changing market, as well as providing all those in the trade, dealers and retailers, with a unique business opportunity.
Once again, the layout’s central feature will be The Arena, an area dedicated to demonstrating all the variegated types of sports footwear “in action”, through a series of performances and dynamic events perfectly in tune with the spirit of this commodity segment.
So, to recap: the not-to-be-missed appointment with the PLAYERS DISTRICT for dealers and companies operating in the sector is confirmed for the forthcoming edition of MICAM Milano, from 16 to 19 February 2020.
PLAYERS DISTRICT: where outdoor and sports shoes play the game!
Press release
MICAM
Milan, 16 January 2020