Final Press Release

On Sunday March 18, 2007, marked the close of the 91st edition of Mipel The Bag Show, the international showcase of leather goods and accessories that presented Fall/Winter 2007-8 collections.

During the four days of business and fashion, 18,204 visitors came from around the world, which is a 9.5 % increase compared to the March 2006 edition. Of these visitors, 8,857 were Italian and 9,347 were foreigners.

President Giorgio Cannara´s optimistic forecast, which was announces during the inauguration, was confirmed: "This time, after the four-day event and in light of recent economic data for the industry, we can be fairly optimistic. Strong positive signals are coming from the foreign countries that have always been the main outlets for our production: Japan,  first and foremost. However, the domestic market has also shown a certain interesting vivacity." The number of Japanese visitors increased by 10.3%, while the figures for American visitors, whose numbers steadily grew in past editions, remained stable compared to the spring edition of last year.

Russia, an emerging market that is increasingly interesting for the leather goods industry, also made a good showing in terms of visitors, whose number increased by 11.6%. The ranks of German visitors also grew by 9.2%

This edition of Mipel spoke all languages of the world and once again confirmed its role as a major exhibition of great interest and attraction of the sector.

The next edition of Mipel will take place from Thursday, September 20 to Sunday, September 23, 2007.