February 24, 2014

By Contributor

Madrid, Spain – The second staging of MOMAD METROPOLIS, the International Fashion Trade Show, an event organised by IFEMA, closed its doors with some highly favourable results. Throughout the February 14^th – 16^th period, a total of 21,112 buyers attended the show. This is a 21% increase compared to last September’s event.

This highly favourable figure confirms the strong backing that the clothing and footwear industry provides for this event and strengthens MOMAD’s role as the grand multi-sector fashion trade show on the Iberian Peninsula. “

“A considerable degree of expectation had been generated regarding this second staging of MOMAD METROPOLIS and we were able to meet that expectation”, Francesco Malatesta, the show’s director, has declared. He also highlighted “the fact that the new exhibition layout was warmly received by the exhibitors and trade visitors alike, together with the new initiatives that were introduced on this occasion. MOMAD also coincided with MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK MADRID, which staged its 59th event on the same dates at Feria de Madrid.

The coinciding of the two events in terms of dates and venue entailed an important step forward regarding IFEMA’s aim of consolidating Madrid as one of the leading centres of business for the fashion industry at an international level.

 Out of the total number of visitors, some 9% (1,863 professionals) attended the show from abroad, encompassing 69 different countries. Portugal, Italy, France, Greece and Mexico were the countries that sent the largest numbers of foreign visitors to MOMAD. At a national level, the largest numbers of Spanish buyers travelled to the show from Madrid, the Valencian Region, Andalusia and Castile-Leon.

“A sense of optimism, although still incipient, is vital at the present time”, stated Iván Fernández, the Manager of the footwear firm, CHK10. This opinion was seconded by Fernando Rodríguez, the Marketing Director of Privata, as well as by Manuele Bacci, the Marketing Head of Footwear Lines for Spain and Portugal at Desigual, Pedro Maciá, the Marketing Head at Mustang, Daniel Arroyae, the Marketing Director at Henry Arrowey, Guillermo Briales, the owner of Brave Soul,  and Francisca Benejar, from Plumers. All of these participants were satisfied with the volume of business they carried out at the event, as well as the chance to establish new trade contacts. A similar evaluation was offered by Xavier Doiz, the Marketing Director at the firm, Escorpión, who noticed a more optimistic climate at MOMAD, both on the part of manufacturers and buyers in general.

The staging of the Momad Retail Forum, the know-how section at the event, achieved some excellent results in terms of participation, with the majority of the scheduled activities playing to a full house. The conferences devoted to new technologies and the social media applied to retailing, together with the papers analysing the key aspects for enhancing points of sale, aroused a considerable degree of interest.

The second staging of MOMAD METROPOLIS also presented various exhibitions, including “Clothing and Footwear Dating from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Centuries”, a review of the period based on the collections belonging to the Footwear Museum of Elda and the well-known tailoring establishment, Sastrería Cornejo. Another exhibition was entitled “Tasty Shoes” (“Zapatos para comérselos”), which was also organised by the Footwear Museum of Elda. At the same time, we might mention the exhibition, “ARQUIMODA”, organised by the Higher Centre for Fashion Design of Madrid at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, and the exhibitions of work produced by students at ESNE, the University School for Design and Innovation.

For their part, the IFEMA Fashion Showrooms brought together nearly one hundred firms from the medium-high segment at an event that coincided with MOMAD METROPOLIS at the North Convention Centre at IFEMA, attracting a large number of visitors.

The second staging of MOMAD METROPOLIS featured the participation of nearly 1,400 Spanish and foreign companies from the clothing, footwear and accessory sectors, who presented their latest new collections for Autumn/Winter 2014-15. This figure represented a 4% increase compared to last September, based on growth within the clothing sections and those sections set aside for footwear and accessories. The trade show occupied a net exhibition area measuring some 16,360 square metres, of which 60% corresponded to clothing and 40% to footwear and accessories.

 In relation to the next staging of the trade fair, the organisers will focus their efforts on strengthening the Foreign Buyers Programme, focusing on those markets of greatest interest to the participating firms. Another of the important objectives of the show will be to extend the exhibition and bring together a larger number of firms from all sectors (clothing, footwear and accessories), including children’s products. Furthermore, considerable effort shall be devoted to attracting a larger number of footwear brands from the medium-high-end segment.

The third edition of MOMAD METROPOLIS will be held from 12th to 14th September and will coincide with MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK MADRID and GIFTRENDS, International Gift, Jewellery and Fashion Jewellery Week. In terms of dates and venue, this will be one of the largest showcases for fashion and new trends in Europe.