Closing figures at Pitti Bimbo 74

Satisfaction and high levels of energy at Pitti Bimbo 74: the foreign markets are driving kids’ fashion, with increased buyer figures for Russia, Japan, United States, Brazil, South Korea, Turkey and Ukraine.
Pitti Bimbo 74 (Florence, 19-21 January 2012) closed at the Fortezza da Basso with signs of great optimism and high quality with regard to the attendance as well as the new proposals presented by exhibitors.  The final attendance figures mirrored the trends already seen at Pitti Uomo: foreign markets are driving demand with excellent performances for buyers from Russia (+14%), Japan (+80%), Brazil (+15%), the United States (+17%), South Korea (+ 20%), Turkey (+15%) and the Ukraine (+18%).  Hong Kong, Denmark, Poland, Israel, Kazakhstan and Kuwait also recorded increases and the figures for the main European markets were confirmed.  These figures make up for the predictable drops in buyers from Spain, Greece, and Portugal.  There was also a slight decrease in Italian buyers reflecting the country’s current difficult economic situation. 
In all, there were around 8,000 buyers, over 2,700 of which came from other countries, and at total of over 10,000 visitors attending the event. 

“We saw a high level of energy among the stands”, says Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine, “and the exhibitors were very satisfied.  There were many high quality visitors and despite the predictable fall in Italian attendance – everyone knows the situation in our country is very difficult, consumption is at an all-time low and retailers are finding things very hard – all the top international stores, boutiques and department stores were there.  We received extremely positive feedback from buyers and press about the new features and trends presented in the collections, the originality of the events, the catwalk shows and the various scheduled presentations.  From Florence, children’s fashion is looking towards the next season with great optimism”.

The top 14 foreign countries were once again led by Russia (340 buyers), followed by Spain (211), Germany (209), Turkey (151), the United Kingdom (143), France (134), Belgium (121), Japan (86), Holland (84), the Ukraine (77), Greece (74), Switzerland (70), the United States (63) and Brazil (61).