The Turkish representation at Expo Riva Schuh had significant numbers: about fifty exhibiting companies, 11 of which under the aegis of the EIB – Aegean Exporters’ Associations which includes companies that export footwear and leather goods, closed the July edition with satisfaction. We talked about it with Haldun Sayi, Industrial Sectors Expert of the association.

What does Expo Riva Show represent for Turkish companies?

“Expo Riva Schuh is the fair where the recovery starts from. The first exhibition where we can work attending it physically again: an opportunity that Turkish companies did not want to miss in order to deal with the European market, which is strategic for our exports, in person again. It has always represented a fundamental moment for our business and the trend of this show’s edition, by all reports, has been positive generating interesting contacts”.

What is the market trend for Turkish footwear and leather goods?

“The Turkish footwear and leather goods industry continued to work during the pandemic and kept its exports stable to the reference markets of the EMEA area. This is partly due to the fact that we only had one lockdown period, during the first epidemic phase, and to the effective vaccination campaign that ended as early as January. And above all also due to the fact that during the pandemic the supply chain has shortened: our industry has been able to take advantage of it, also filling the empty spaces left by other producing countries such as China and India”.

International brands are increasingly looking to Turkey as their production site, what are the reasons?

“In recent years, for several reasons Turkey has increasingly established itself as an outsourcing location for quality footwear and leather goods productions: because it can count on an important leather supply chain, on costs and value that are advantageous for European brands, on the capacity to create a quality product. That is why we are not just able to serve the mass market, but also medium and high range productions. In fact, some of our companies also work for important brands, such as Prada for bags and Versace for footwear”.