Riva Expo Schuh Showcases Industry Success Amid Political Support

After securing the most important appointment in Europe and perhaps the world for the volume footwear sector—focused on quantity—Riva Expo Schuh managers have aimed, at least in the last three editions, to use the fair as a showcase to proudly display their achievements.

The operation serves multiple purposes simultaneously: to support the candidature of Alto Garda as the Trentino capital of the fairs sector, to convince the province that investing in the industry is worthwhile, and to rally public opinion, which is not always enthusiastic, behind this initiative.

Political Involvement and Strategy

The clear orchestrator behind the shift is Mario Malossini, who has taken charge of the external relations of Palacongressi srl. A year ago, Minister Fassino appeared; in June 2000, it was Deputy Secretary Fabris; yesterday at Expo Baltera, the current Minister of Trade with Foreign Countries, Enrico Letta, visited.

On a content level, the presence of government officials aims to fight the battle against Bologna, which is aiming to snatch the fair—and the several billion euros it directly involves and generates indirectly—from Riva.

While Fabris’s statement against the absurdity of a suicidal competition between two Italian companies was more explicit, the Minister of Foreign Trade also condemned yesterday the excessive municipalism, a typically Italian flaw.

He spoke of the need to build a system, especially within a European context where Germans excel at this and the French follow closely. He concluded with a willingness for the government to directly intervene to calm excesses when competition becomes “conflicting.”

Gianni Zontini, president of Palacongressi srl, finds this commitment enough. Moreover, together with Letta, he secured a promise from Dellai: the province acknowledges the role of the Riva fair and will continue to support it.

Data and Numbers of the Event

Finally, some figures. The exhibitors number 820 from 26 countries. Half (415) are Italian, with 99 Germans, 74 Spaniards, but also 29 from Taiwan, 14 from Thailand: representations also come from the USA and the Principality of Monaco.

The manufacturer representatives bring models for winter 2001-2002 to Riva. The expected visitors are 8,000, with 60% from abroad.

The turnover, difficult to precisely quantify, is estimated at 500 billion lire.