Italian Shoemakers Take the Lead
in Innovation, but Look East
for New Markets
By Antonia R. Bell
While Italian footwear and the “Made in Italy” label has long been associated with high quality, the reason why the industry continues to thrive does not lie in production, but rather in design according to manufacturers Inside Fashion interviewed.
At the recent ‘Shoes from Italy’ trade exhibition 36 Italian footwear companies presented their latest Spring/ Summer 2010 collections – their biggest edition to date. The increased participation is indicative of the positive picture Italians are seeing in the Hong Kong and China markets, even under current economic constraints.
Shoes From the Heart
“The difference between Italy and other countries, other companies, is the fact that in Italy, what we call ‘Made in Italy’ is not simply the manufacturer of the shoe, the manufacturer of the good or the garments, but the ideas to make a product, the know-how. This, for me, is real Italian,” said Emanuele Polci, sales manager of Loriblu. It is here, in this aptitude for creative thinking, that Italy’s competitive edge rests. “Of course, there are very important stylists in the United States, in France, but really the focus and heart is in Italy.”
This apparent skill for aesthetic design and innovative thinking may have kept the luxury end of the market afloat, but the lower-end of are not holding up quite as well. “In a high level market, we don’t suffer so much…but of course in the lower part of the business we are suffering because the price is importantthere , and when we make the shoes in Italy the price is higher…so a lot of retailers buy, maybe from China, and import to Italy,” explained Fabiano Ricci, founder of Ricci Srl. “It’s two different stories, two different levels.” Mr. Polci agreed that while some market divisions are suffering against competition from cheaper manufacturers, this kind of crisis that does not affect them. “Our market is focused on high level luxury brands.”
The Future Is In Asia
With sustained demand, it would appear that Italy has managed to find a fairly safe niche in the marketplace. “Now Italy can do just expensive shoes, more or less,” said Aldo Premoli, Executive Director for the Fashion Committee of Italian Textile & Fashion Industry Federation. While such demand exists in world-wide markets, the current focus for Italian footwear manufacturers seems to be on Asia. “I think that, there are new markets, especially in Asia. Every time that I come to Hong Kong or if I go to Beijing, Shanghai or other parts of China, I see that there are new people, young people, and new consumers that really like to wear our kind of shoes, garments and bags. Every six months I come here and I’m shocked to see more young consumers and how they appreciate fashion. Now that’s a market for the Italian shoemaker.”
Mr. Ricci echoed these sentiments, disclosing that China is currently the most profitable market for his brand. “Our target is to cover all the Chinese and Asian markets. At the moment we are doing very well.” However, it was a different story for Loriblu. “For us, Asia is not a strong market,” Mr. Polci admitted. Their main markets currently lie in Russia and the nations in the region of the former Soviet Union. Additionally, their products sell well in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Australia and Canada. Despite this, it would appear that Mr. Premoli adamantly believes that the future for the trade lies in the East: “The Asian market is really a new Mecca for Italian footwear.”