We're in the middle of the second day here and from the word on the ground, it's a success based on the quality of people passing through. And while some exhibitors aren-t getting free-flowing foot traffic, others look like the NYSE trading floor ten minutes before the final bell sounds.
Naturally it's early to determine anything; a more concrete picture will emerge when customers make good on their orders and when Lineappelle returns to Rho in February. But despite the unknowns, no-one is lamenting being here rather than in the spiritual home of the event in Bologna. Logistically, it's a no-brainer, with better hotel options, transport links and infrastructure for the show itself.
What is more of a contentious issue is how the show is now a month earlier and right on the heels of Cuir a Paris next week. Many exhibitors have to choose between one and the other to the point where some think the fair organisers are more preoccupied with their own interests rather than the exhibitors themselves. Others disagree entirely. Nevertheless, this modern-day launch edition of Lineappelle in Milan, with 1,123 total exhibitors covering over 42,000m2, is a slick, efficient display of the positive outlook and optimism of the industry, and it's no surprise that the Italians here are leading the charge.
Stay tuned for more updates from the show here on leathermag.com.
