Milan, September 14 (askanews) – MIPEL, the leather goods and fashion accessories fair, has inaugurated its 130th edition in Rho, confirming the new layout introduced last February, conceived as an urban space where the stands look out like shop windows, and offering several new features. “I would like to emphasize,” Claudia Sequi, president of MIPEL and Assopellettieri, told askanews, “the collaboration with Fashion & Jewels, for which we have worked on a very significant incoming of 230 highly qualified and profiled buyers from various parts of the world to give the companies showcasing their collections here the opportunity to have a wider audience.
So buyers are faced with such an assortment that it's a sort of business journey where they can find all the products they need to fill their stores. We also have our collaboration with MICAM in an area we care deeply about: M&M The Hub, where we have the Factory and the Academies." This period remains challenging for the sector, in line with the trends of the last three years, marked by difficulties but also by the operators' determination to move forward.
"The first half of 2026," Federica Bevilacqua, general director of MIPEL and Assopellettieri, explained, "unfortunately continues to confirm a rather delicate trend for the leather goods sector. This is no longer a cyclical crisis, but rather a more structural change in the market. The data we have available unfortunately confirm a 2,5% reduction in turnover for companies in our sector in the first six months of 2026.
Industrial production also fell by 4,6%, while exports in the first five months of the year fell by 3,4%." In this context, it's clear that companies must find new ways to compete with international markets, including through the trade fair. "Considering that at least 85% of the sector's turnover comes from foreign trade," Bevilacqua added, "it's clear that this situation on international markets, these geopolitical tensions, these wars, these changes in consumption, even in various markets, are significantly impacting the results of our companies. Therefore, they must increasingly find new strategies and, above all, must be able to adapt to these ongoing crises, to these constant changes, much more quickly than before." And MIPEL's role is also to convey messages of confidence and optimism, despite the current global difficulties. "Precisely in these difficult times when markets are experiencing contractions, I'm clearly thinking of Russia, Ukraine, and all the Persian Gulf countries," Claudia Sequi concluded. It becomes an even more important occasion because it truly is the opportunity to meet a wide audience of buyers from various parts of the world and therefore offers the possibility of doing real business. There is clearly an opportunity for networking, knowledge, but also real business. Therefore, the fair, especially in these times of difficulty and contraction in various markets, becomes an even more important event." MIPEL is promoted and organized by Assopellettieri, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ICE, with the patronage of the City of Milan and the contribution of the Lombardy Region.
Notizie.it editorial team