Mido 2009: positive opinions

Despite the many doubts arising from the difficult economic situation during this edition of the event and from the change of dates, Mido won its bet. The results were greater than expected and are testified to by some important personalities in the sector.

“It was an excellent exhibition, with fewer visitors, perhaps, but the quality was first class”, confirmed Claudio Gottardi, managing director of Marchon International, an emerging player in the eyewear industry with a license portfolio that includes Fendi, Jil Sander, Nike, Calvin Klein and Coach. “The most important thing is that Italy should still be recognized as being the absolute leader for top quality eyewear and that the Belluno district is still the heart of this sector, despite the difficult economic situation”. World-leader Luxottica and many other major companies, like Safilo, De Rigo, Marcolin and Allison, began in the Belluno area and the majority of their business is still carried out there.

“Not all eyewear can be made by craftsmen in Italy, but all the ideas and prototypes are created in our district”, explained Antonio Bortuzzo, managing director of Allison, one of Belluno’s youngest companies, which had a 2008 turnover of 80 million euro. “It is important to make a very clear division between the products: those in the top and luxury ranges must be 100% Made in Italy. For the others, we can use Asian producers, selecting them from the leaders of the market, and this will also guarantee top quality”. Bortuzzo is still optimistic about 2009: “There were fewer buyers from Russia and East Europe in general, but Italy and some Asian countries held on; South America was almost anti-cyclical and confirmed the growth trend of previous seasons. It is important for the entire sector to hold out and focus on quality, design, creativity and production”.

(Source: Il Sole 24 Ore)