Due to the restrictions imposed by the Italian government’s 9 March 2020 decree imposing new measures for the limitation of the spread of Covid-19, which resulted in limited mobility of Italian citizens, and acknowledging the restrictive measures imposed by local authorities, Assocalzaturificci announced that the trade fairs planned for Kiev (La Moda Italiana) and Munich (Moda Made in Italy) will be postponed to a date to be determined.

“We have been carefully monitoring the situation every day, but in view of the travel restrictions imposed on our participants and exhibitors and global concern about the health and safety of our community, we are forced to announce, with great regret, that we will not be able to go ahead with the two trade fairs in Ukraine and Germany. Our decision, which we have discussed at length with all the partners involved, is dictated by a deep sense of responsibility to the community, first of all, and to the footwear industry involved in the trade fair events, in particular. The gravity of the situation requires us to act boldly, right now. We are all going through a very difficult time, and we must act together to limit the possibility of contagion. We are profoundly disappointed at having to make this difficult decision, and it is our intention to discuss with our trade fair partners the possibility of rescheduling the events at a date to be determined as soon as the global health emergency allows us to resume operations as normal”, commented Assocalzaturifici Chair Siro Badon.

The two events are held in countries of great importance for Italy’s footwear industry. According to the latest figures, Ukraine is Italy’s second largest export market in the former CIS nations, with 561 787 pairs of shoes (-3.8 in the past year) worth a total of 37.87 million euros (-10.1% in the past year) at an average price of 67.40 euros a pair. Germany is the third-largest destination in the world for Italian shoes, importing 27 237 000 pairs of shoes (-9.3%) worth a total of 863.18 million euro (-2.7%) at an average price of 31.69 euros a pair.