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Milano Unica's latest edition attracts same number of visitors as last September, on earlier dates
Milano Unica seems to have won its wager. The decision to bring the dates forward by two months, scheduling the benchmark Italian textile trade show in July rather than September, did not drive down the number of either its visitors or exhibitors. In the press release marking the end of the show's 25th edition, held on 11th-13th July at the Rho Milano Fiera exhibition centre, the organisers reported the presence of more than 6,000 visitor companies, as for the edition held last September, and of 456 exhibitors, up 20% compared to last year.
To the 456 Milano Unica exhibitors, another 145 must be added, including the Japanese and South Korean companies featured in their dedicated section, and the exhibitors of the 'Origin, Passion and Beliefs' section, which showcased suppliers and manufacturers of semi-finished high-end products. This brought the total number of exhibitors to 601.
"The result is on par with that of September 2016. From a commercial point of view though, it is more significant, taking into account the quality of the buyers and the fact that the time they spent in the stands has doubled," stated the press release.
The session, dedicated to the fabric and accessories collections for the Autumn/Winter 2018-19, was important as a test of the participants' response to the new dates. In general, the change was received favourably, though several visitors were disappointed by product ranges they regarded as "incomplete." Not all the fabric manufacturers were indeed ready, and some of them featured only partial collections.
"Of course, as always, there is room for improvements," said Massimo Mosiello, the General Manager of Milano Unica, who nevertheless was happy with "the generalised satisfaction of the exhibitors and visitors." "We took a brave decision, and we were rewarded by the market," said the show's President, Ercole Botto Poala, who talked about "a successful test."
Notably, the number of international visitors has increased, especially those from the Netherlands (+46%), Portugal (+42%), Germany (+32%), the Russian Federation (+32%), Spain (+28%), the USA (+26%), the UK (+20%), France (+15%) and Turkey (+11%).
On the other hand, the number of visitors from Italy and Asia, notably China, has decreased. The latter will be able to make up for this in the autumn, at the 12th edition of Milano Unica China, scheduled on 11th-13th October in Shanghai.
Milano Unica's next Italian edition will be held on 6th-8th February 2018, presenting the fabric collections for Spring/Summer 2019, while the next winter collections session is scheduled for 10th-12th July 2018.
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