Shoe fair gains Melbourne foothold

STILL TO COME

Burgeoning registrations and the addition of fresh categories bode well for the Victorian capital's first autumn/winter footwear expo, according to its organiser.
Australian Exhibitions and Conferences (AEC) has confirmed high demand had forced the Australian Shoe Fair - scheduled from August 13 to 15 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre - to boost floor space by 30 per cent over that of the Sydney (spring/summer) event in February, resulting in 6000 square metres of exhibition area.
AEC managing director Marie Kinsella said feedback from the Sydney fair had claimed presentation standards and product range were "on par with world-wide standards" and AEC hoped the fair would continue to grow and improve through the addition of more specialised categories.
"For example, I think the comfort and fit categories will become a real growth area [for consumers] as they place more emphasis on the health of their feet."
Kinsella said separate categories for handbags and accessories would also be created as the event's profile grew.
Up to 3,000 buyers and around 150 suppliers of footwear from Europe, Australia, America and Asia had been lured to this year's Melbourne event, she said.
"We're already 1000 registrations up on the Sydney fair so it's looking very promising.
"The Melbourne fair will draw considerably more visitors from Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania than its Sydney counterpart, while a sizeable trans-seasonal component will ensure continued attendance from New South Wales and Queensland."
Meanwhile, the addition of new sections would provide further incentives to attend. These would include a European supplier stand and a boutique footwear stand for high-end labels including Jam Jam, French Sole, Nat-Sui, Kosheen, Agatha And Me, Mia Cherry as well as first timers Other first time exhibitors hot-footing it to the fair included Kiwi wholesaler Cause and Effect, which planned to showcase its environmentally-aware labels. These included Terra Plana - shoes manufactured using stitched artisan construction and vegetable tanned leathers, and Worn Again - sneakers produced using 99 per cent recycled product including coffee bags, jeans, shirts and prison blankets.
Fellow first-timers included mainstream brands Florsheim Australia, Blundstone, Joanne Mercer, Luda Productions, Lymington Group, Treska Imports, Magnini Opat Bros, Purnell Brands, Raimonda Sanno, Shoe Trendz, Solar International, Vasyli and Walk On Footwear.
Clearly a tempting prospect for shoe fetishists, The Australian Shoe Fair had also proven its worth as an industry event, with a number of participants in the Sydney edition heading straight for Melbourne.
Spanish footwear and accessories brand Estilo would capitalise on its standout success at Sydney by using the Melbourne event to launch a range of belts and bags for men; while funky women's label Dorotea - also from Spain via Brisbane importer Zapatito - had also been lured back.
"People always commented on the shoes that I wore and were always so disappointed when I told them that I bought them in Spain. It just didn't seem fair that Australian women should miss out on these fabulous shoes just because we lived on the other side of the world," said Zapatito founder Lisa Wong, formerly a resident of Spain.
Meanwhile leading brands including Windsor Smith, Ecco, Birkenstock and Pacific Brands had also re-booked for the Melbourne event as soon as their Sydney display samples were re-boxed.
For retailers, the advantages of an all-encompassing shoe-fest were self-evident, Kinsella claimed.
"Previously there was no independent shoe fair like this and retailers had to rely on agents or go travelling themselves. There's no doubt that Australia needs a fair like this."