Mipel

International Fur Market held at Milan Fair twice a year, during the runway show seasons. It is reserved for producers and shop owners, prior to consumer distribution. Sponsored by AIMPES, the international category association, it was launched in 1962. In the first show, 68 companies participated, with 1,760 Italian buyers and 230 from foreign countries. The results were immediately telling. During the first months of 1962, compared with the same period of the previous year, exports increased 57% in quantity and 51% in value. From then onwards, there has always been a direct correlation between the number of foreign buyers at Mipel and the growth of exports, which reached a little more than 20 billion lire in 1962, but which had risen to almost 60 billion ten years later. In 1982, the total had increased to 734 billion lire and to 1,671 billions in 1990. The promoters of the fairs were Guido Angelo Guidetti, Gino Borelli, Oberdan Cavari, Enrico Frender, Umberto Locati, Guido Pieracci, Amato Santi, and Romeo Siletti.
&Quad;2001, September. The 80th Mipel, with 369 exhibitors (279 Italians and 90 foreigners). Seven themed sectors: Accessories, Travel and Business, Glamour, Overseas, Domani (Tomorrow), Galleria (Gallery), Saloni Fornitori (Suppliers Salon).
&Quad;2002, March. The interior of Mipel was completely redesigned by the architect, Denis Santachiara, to create a clear, elegant, and functional pathway through the exhibition, with wide, completely white spaces, highlighting the objects displayed by 400 companies (including 108 foreign businesses). In 2002 year, scarves, umbrellas, and belts were included. There were more than 16,000 visitors in March 2001 though the economic climate was not favorable. During the first quarter of 2002, Italian exports of bags, suitcases, and other articles registered a drop in sales of 5.6% compared with the same period in 2001.
&Quad;2003, March. There were 16,082 visitors, a decrease of 2% on Spring 2002, though there was a strong foreign presence (up 17%). There was a total of almost 400 exhibitors, with almost 150,000 new products. There were fewer Japanese and Russians and, above all, Americans (down 11%) and Germans (down 18%).