Brazilian leather fair Fimec: bringing more each year

On 6–8 March 2018, the 42nd International Fair of Leather, Chemical Products, Components, Machinery and Equipment for Footwear and Tanneries (Fimec), drew highly targeted and relevant exhibitors and visitors. Professionals from the leather footwear sector assembled in search of the latest advancements in leather products and technology from over 500 exhibitors. Fimec is the largest leather fair in Latin America, and this year’s edition – entitled ‘The only one that has it all’ – featured the latest in materials, machinery, production processes, technology and much more.

Exhibitors viewed the 2018 event as a unique opportunity to display their products and make essential contacts for their businesses over the next year. “We believed that this would be the best edition of the past three years, and our expectations were confirmed,” said Orisol director André Rocha.

For visitors, the trade fair was an opportunity to get to know the latest from the sector and upgrade business initiatives. Júnior Steil from Frequencyart came from São João Batista, Santa Catarina, to visit the fair.

“Our company works internally in Santa Catarina, and we are prospecting new markets and increasing our cycle of equipment, industrial area and new suppliers,” he said, believing the event surpassed all expectation. “I can say that not only did we find what we needed, but much more than we needed; other suppliers, other technologies, other processes, because fashion changes daily.”

Show highlights

One of the highlights of this edition was the Fimec Forum: Fashion and Business. In its two days – the event was held outside the regular business hours of the fair – the forum was attended by around 600 professionals.

The first day focused on fashion and featured Luana Lanzini, fashion designer and trend forecaster; Luana Savadintzky from Fashion Directions; Alexandre Herchcovitch, a Brazilian stylist; and fashion influencer and curator Claudia Bartelle.

In a spirited discussion, Lanzini and Savadintzky provided fashion information and examined what international brands are doing around the world. Bartelle commented on style and emphasised how fashion is dynamic and full of possibilities, and Herchcovitch talked about his experience and work with the luxury brand A La Garçone.

On the second day, there were lectures focusing on business, with Larissa Dalto, commercial marketplace supervisor of Mercado Livre, giving a talk entitled ‘The marketplace as a tool for selling more and better’, and Julio Martini, chief operating officer of the Camuto Group, discussing ‘Brazil × World: Where are we in production terms in the world?’. To top off the event, executive vice-president of New Balance US, John Wilson, presented ‘Adapting to new customers and the reality of retail – the need to reinvent operating models’.

Expert information

According to Grendene manager Leonardo Schnorr, the event was highly relevant as it enabled visitors to get to grips with the latest developments in the sector. “I thought [the show] was great because Fimec provided a meeting place for the leather-footwear chain,” he said. “I came to the event to take a look at new technologies and machinery. We understand that new knowledge is part of the new directions the market is taking. Fimec provides this; [it] is provocative and presents the latest in the field and different opinions, turning [the show] into a time of reflection.”

Ricardo Wirth of footwear company Wirth said that the forum surpassed expectation. “It was very good, even more [so] than I expected. The quality of the lectures was excellent. This is a very important initiative, since Fimec is a place where business people and major brands can meet, and the forum complemented all this with knowledge.”