Mido in march? Strategic decision and a sign of confidence

Yesterday during the opening conference Dan Emanuel Levi said:

“Mido’s new dates are an important sign for the industry and show that an exhibition can listen to the needs of all the parties involved: first and foremost the companies, who expressed the need to make the presentation of their collections coincide with shifting market needs. For the first time ever, the exhibition will be held on 6-9 March, at the end of a 10-day period of 12 international exhibitions that will close with the 4 most important shows of footwear, furs, handbags and eyewear: MICAM, MIFUR, MIPEL and MIDO, of course.

Being part of a system
This will create important synergies among fashion, clothing and accessories. Mido has in fact decided to be “ part of the system” with the other Milanese exhibitions to be a strategic one-stop shopping point for fashion buyers, during a 2-week period when it will be possible to see, try and test all the new offerings from around the world.
This is also a demonstration of the ever-closer cooperation among the Milanese organizations that promote the country’s main production systems, and which includes eyewear and fashion in general.
All this called for a major effort by the exhibitors who were aware, however, of the great opportunities that this new timing offered. From this year, in fact, they will be able to exploit all the new synergies that this timing with other exhibitions seems to promise.
We have always provided them with a unique exhibition tool that derives from a complete range of offerings, in a territory like Milan that can give exposure and visibility to a vital industry. From this year on, we want to give them more.
This change, in the climate of recession and uncertainty that is currently permeating the markets, is also an indication of the determination and strength of an industry, that of eyewear, that is confident about its strengths and that is also acting and reacting through its most important promotional tool, Mido.

You name it, we have it
What does Mido have in store for us?
Mido is the # 1 appointment for the international eyewear industry, the only opportunity to have a complete overview of the entire sector, all the companies, big and small, all the production facilities, lenses and frames, including machinery and small pieces.
The appointment with leading manufacturers of frames and sunglasses from around the world is in Pavilions 9-11-13 and 22 this year.
In Pavilion 15, instead, the spotlight is on lenses with the latest news in technology and comfort. Pavilion 22 will host Mido Tech, an exhibition space fully given over to machinery and raw materials with a complete overview of the entire eyewear production chain.
After last year’s success, Mido Design Lab (Pav. 24), one of the finest expressions of Mido’s leading-edge spirit, is also back this year.

Mido Design Lab
Mido has come up with something new for the exclusive area that hosts the companies that are most innovative when it comes to design and testing with new shapes and materials.
This year, on Saturday 7 March, Mido Design Lab will remain open until 10.00 pm, extending the hours for business meetings in a more relaxed and informal atmosphere.
These longer opening hours, which have already been successfully tested by other exhibitions, are being provided by Mido for the first time at the wide request of exhibiting companies, the press, and trade people.
Another change that confirms the exhibition’s desire to be more than just a trading platform but also a meeting point. A change that shows how Mido is above all a exhibition “in motion” and future-oriented.

2010: Mido celebrates its 40th birthday and gets … one day younger
All these revolutionary ideas that make their entry into the Mido universe, never come by chance. They are the result of the painstaking attention that Mido pays to the needs of its targets: exhibitors and visitors.
It is precisely to continue to provide the best response to the needs of companies in the industry that we have already scheduled the dates for next year: 5-7 March 2010. So the March dates are confirmed, but the big news is that it will be a 3-day event, starting Friday and ending Sunday!
This decision comes after a great deal of reflection and, as always, is the result of a survey among all the exhibiting companies at Mido. The overwhelming response was to shorten the exhibition.
Mido 2010 will therefore have a busy 3-day working schedule.
Mido always shares these decisions with the key players in the industry and the exhibition itself – the companies.
The forthcoming exhibition will be launched over the coming days with customized Mido carriages on the Milan subway running to and from the exhibition center: Mido 2009, 6-9 March and see you at Mido 2010, 5-7 March.

A campaign with a heart of gold
As you can see, Mido never stops. The 2009 session is about to open and we are already working on 2010.
Another piece of news is Mido’s promotional campaign. For years now, Mido has been promoting itself on more than 200 trade titles throughout the world and its image has generally been associated with an advertising endorser, a model. We’ve decided to do something different for 2010.
Starting this year, the “Anch’io Mido” (I’m for Mido too) campaign will take off.
The exceptional endorsers of this new campaign will be Italian and foreign businessmen and possibly the corporate endorsers of the companies they run.
President Tabacchi and I will be taking part in the campaign that will appear in the advertising pages for a good cause: in fact, Mido 2010 will donate €1 for each visitor at its next session. The initiative is being conducted in cooperation with CBM Italia Onlus.
The project is aimed at xerophthalmia prevention (blindness associated with vitamin A deficiency) that affects children in Third World countries primarily. By donating just €1, it will be possible to purchase the quantity of vitamin A needed to save a child from blindness. In addition to this specific fund-raising initiative, with Mido giving €1 for each visitor at the 2010 exhibition, endorsers and visitors can also make donations as they wish.
In order to share this initiative immediately, a real photographic set will be located at Mido 2009 near the Vip Club for all trade people wanting to join the “Anch’io Mido” campaign!

So I invite all trade people in the industry to participate in this campaign and journalists to come and see us at Mido and report on all our new product offerings!”