The move is in addition to the fashion body’s already announced partnership with luxury retailer Isetan, which draws to a close early 2015.
The Florence-based trade fair, which is organized by Pitti Immagine, formed the retail coalition with Japan’s Isetan of Shinjuku-Tokyo back in 2013. It was the latest move by the fair to promote Made In Italy manufacturing in Asia. However, the initiative, scheduled for four seasons, comes to an end at the next edition of Pitti Uomo in January 2015, meaning Saks is the next point for Italian manufacturers to tap into. This time, North America.
"Next year we will be announcing a new collaboration with American department store Saks, and we hope to multiply this type of collaboration with other chains," Gaetano Marzotto, President of Pitti Immagine, told reporters.
“International distribution is in the process of changing and now follows new types of logic. Department stores are less important than big shopping malls, which rent or sell them spaces. The new challenge for companies is to manage these spaces. While for smaller brands this is more difficult," said Marzotto.
Pitti Uomo plans to offer smaller labels bearing the Made in Italy badge special treatment. The organizers have selected multiple brands to participate in their upcoming trade fair, Pitti Uomo 87, which allow labels to exhibit together in a privileged context. The move hopes to gather more interest in Italian-made garments by creating a group attraction, adding more weight to individual labels that don’t carry enough star power on their own.
The initiative with retailer Isetan saw more than one hundred menswear brands show their collections at Pitti Uomo last season. Following the exhibit, the Italian brands presented shortly in the Japanese department store with customers given the exclusivity to pre-order items before they officially went on sale.
Pitti’s push for Italian-made follows an announcement made by Italian Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Carlo Calendo, who revealed in August 2014 that his government would implement measurable objectives to promote Italian business globally and attract greater foreign investment into Italy.
"We will launch the largest plan ever adopted in this country to promote Made in Italy. It includes clear and measurable objectives: 50 billion euros in exports by 2016, 20,000 additional exporting companies, 20 billion more in foreign direct investment per year in Italy," Calenda told reporters at a press conference back in August.
Dubbed "unblock export" in English, the campaign is part of the "Sblocca Italia" or “unblock Italy” phenomena that was adopted by the council of ministers through a government decree in August. What was announced included 130m euros of funding to be added to previous funding already set aside by the government for business.
“For the first time in our history, this will put us on an equal footing with other European countries," said Calenda.
In an interview earlier in the year with Italian
business daily Il Sole 24 Ore, Calenda said: “Growth can only occur through
companies, which must be must allowed more competitive conditions in order to
meet international demand for Italian products, which does not need to be
created since it already exists.”
"Italy has a tremendous potential for
growth that has not yet been realized. In order for our businesses not to miss
the boat, we need to implement reform," he said.
Such measures were particularly aimed at small and medium enterprises that manufactured exceptional products but could not send them abroad due to limited funds. Some 10,000 euros were allocated for the employment of managers specialized in internationalization, while almost 25m euros were allocated to cover the needs of 2,500 companies.
The Italian government said it plans to invest in 15 major events put on by the Milan International Exhibition next year from May to October 2015, with resources going toward one international event per sector. This includes tradeshows such as Pitti Uomo.
Furthermore, ICE, the agency designed to promote the internationalization of Italian companies, will be charged to adopt reforms in order to take on a more streamline structure of international events.
Pitti Immagine Uomo 87, the key international trade event showcasing men’s fashions and contemporary lifestyle trends, will be held in Florence from 13 to 16 January 2015.