Informa Markets, a British organizer of exhibitions and events, has joined forces with the Micam Milano to launch Micam Americas, scheduled to run for the first time from Aug. 17 to 19 in Las Vegas. It will replace FN Platform and run alongside two other important fashion events at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Magic and Project. Like the former FN Platform show, Micam Americas will be held twice a year, in February and August.
The American publication Footwear News (FN) had decided not to continue its long-standing collaboration with the footwear trade show, but “will remain a strong media partner,” Informa said. Michael Atmore, editorial director of FN and brand development director for Fairchild Media, was quoted by FN as saying “now, we are poised to focus on a number of exciting new business opportunities and consumer-facing initiatives in 2020 and beyond.”
The Italian shoe industry association, Assocalzaturifici, which organizes Micam with the collaboration of Fiera Milano, has been planning to make the move across the pond for a long time, looking also at alternative venues like New York. It made a short-lived experiment in China with the former Micam Shanghai show.
Positioned in the medium and upper-medium segments of the shoe market, Micam is already the biggest shoe show in the world. At its next edition starting on Sunday, it will host 1,205 exhibitors, of which 628 are Italian and 577 are based in other countries.
Tommaso Cancellara, general manager of Assocalzaturifici and chief executive of Micam, described the new agreement with Informa as “historic” because for the first time the Italian exhibition company is expanding in the U.S. with a big fair covering some 30,000 square meters and hosting about 700 exhibitors. He believes that Micam’s presence in the U.S. will be a great advantage for Italian shoe manufacturers, although the show will continue to be open to shoe companies from other parts of the world.
Informa Markets organizes more than 550 B2B trade shows and events in over 40 countries around the world. In the broader fashion sector, it is behind events like Project Tokyo, the All China Leather Exhibition, the @ and various children’s apparel shows in China, India and Turkey. It has 17 offices in the U.S. and Mexico including one in Las Vegas. Page 4