Momad wraps u copntinuity-focused edition with 300 exhibitors

By

Rocío ALONSO LOPEZ

Translated by
Roberta HERRERA

Published
Sep 22, 2023

Despite adverse weather conditions, Momad wears a smile. Held from September 15 to 17 at the Ifema fairgrounds in Madrid, the Spanish trade show for fashion, footwear, and accessories concluded its summer edition with a good level of attendance, despite the weather challenges. Ifema's management maintains its strategy of continuity, with no significant changes compared to previous editions.

Held once again jointly with the MadridJoya, Bisutex, and Intergift shows spread across seven different pavilions, covering a total area of 38,000 square meters, the event attracted 31,500 visitors, a figure similar to its last winter edition. Attendees came from both Spain and abroad, particularly from markets like Turkey, Greece, or Italy.

In terms of exhibiting brands, this edition of the event brought together 1,500 companies from 21 different countries, with 300 of them exhibiting at Momad. Notably, several artisanal Colombian brands were present. The number of participating companies and brands in this edition remains at the level of the previous February edition.

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Management satisfied with results

In addition to the traditional exhibitors, this edition of the event featured some novelties, such as the Fashion Inspiration Day, a training day aimed at professionals with the goal of guiding companies in these changing market times. Established initiatives like the Foro Imagen conference space were also part of the fair.

There was also room for fashion shows with the Momad runway, an initiative that, according to the event director, "works better every time."

This time, more than 15 brands participated, including Málaga de Moda, Adlib Ibiza, Colombia Trasciende, or Triángulo de la Moda.

In general, Ifema's management is satisfied with the results of this edition, which continued to focus on internationalization and sustainability. It was mainly focused on working "for the customer and providing tools for their business to operate differently," with the goal of "providing them with advices they can implement in their businesses to make them more profitable," as explained by Julia Gonzalez, the event's director, in an interview with FashionNetwork.com.

Diverse opinions among brands

Among the corridors of the venue, the general atmosphere at many stands was encouraging. "We have made many contacts with customers and suppliers, and I am very happy," said Macarena Delgado, behind her eponymous brand of party and ceremony wear, about her first participation in Momad as part of a subsidy initiative promoted by the Province of Malaga.

Meanwhile, the internationally projected footwear brand Victoria rated its presence at the fair as "satisfactory," arguing that "the weather may have affected attendance, but we worked very well and attracted customers."

However, there was also room for mixed feelings in Pavilion 8 of Ifema, where many companies lamented the "lack of a strong presence of foreign buyers."

From the women's fashion brand Surkana, a veteran at the fair, they said that "the fair takes place very late" and perhaps it would be interesting for it to have "a more innovative approach to attract more customers." Operating in 23 countries through a network of over 2,000 points of sale, the Barcelona-based brand recently participated in the Parisian fair Who's Next, where they managed to attract "many French customers."

"We noticed much less attendance than in other editions," confided the artisanal fashion brand Dando un Paseo, suggesting that it would be beneficial to "hold the event on a different date to avoid coinciding with other fairs" (editor's note, this year Momad coincided with the Micam fair in Milan, held from September 17 to 20).

"For us, the February fair usually has a stronger impact than the one in September, but this year we noticed it much more," concluded its managers.

In the past, the summer edition of Momad usually took place during the first weekend of September, often coinciding with the Who's Next fair in Paris. However, to enhance synergies with the MadridJoya, Bisutex, and Intergift shows, the fair moved its dates to the second weekend.

Regarding attendance, this is a circumstance attributed by the director to the weather and the current difficult economic and retail situation, which makes "professional visitors much more cautious" when placing orders. Looking ahead, the focus is on moving to a larger pavilion to accommodate more brands and promoting local commerce and physical sales.