FIMI Summer Showroom began its 99th edition this Monday at Feria Valencia, consolidating itself as the main showcase for Spanish children’s fashion with a clear international vocation. This edition is particularly characterized by the presence of buyers from 30 countries around the world, which reinforces the fair’s positioning as a reference platform for the sector’s internationalization.
The companies participating in this 99th edition have expressed their satisfaction with the quality and diversity of international buyers who have visited their stands during the fair’s first days.
Play Up highlights “the positive impact of the fair’s first hours. We are receiving many international visitors, potential contacts from other markets outside Europe, as they are looking for something different, like our designs made with recycled and organic materials.” The brand notes that buyers from Dubai, Qatar, the United States, and the United Kingdom especially value their products with European quality certificates.
For its part, Foque emphasizes the geographical diversity of its visitors: “We have had a great variety of international buyers from Slovakia, through Honduras to Miami. South Americans and Central Americans are looking to buy the entire collection since, having a warm climate, spring-summer collections sell very well.” The company is “happy with the acceptance the new collection is receiving.”
Rapife emphasizes its competitiveness: “The international buyers who have visited our stand, and who are mostly already clients, come from America, and are looking to place orders now because they know we are the most competitive in quality-price. The first hours have been spectacular.”
In the footwear sector, Igor highlights the presence of “many clients from Latin America, but also from other countries like Spain, Italy, or Portugal who are looking for a quality footwear brand, as is our case.”
Fina Ejerique highlights the interest from markets like “Japan, Mexico, or the United States, which are mainly looking for quality and distinctive designs,” while Tartaleta values its exclusive designs: “we sell many hand-embroidered designs in Spain at very competitive prices.” The brand emphasizes that “many buyers from Latin America have visited us, but also from Asia, who value hand-crafted designs.”
Good Reception from International Visitors
International professionals participating in this edition have shown their satisfaction with the event’s organization. Buyers from the United Kingdom have highlighted “the good organization of the event, as well as the ease of contacting exhibiting companies.”
Companies from Italy also agree on the positive assessment of the event’s first day. Thus, one of the buyers, from the Lazio region, highlights having had “the opportunity to meet four new companies” to incorporate into her supplier relations. Buyers also highlight FIMI’s character as a meeting point with traditional suppliers, “an opportunity to reconnect and catch up on all the news,” as another purchasing firm from the transalpine country emphasizes.
“We have been coming to FIMI since 2007, and we really like the way brands are presenting their collections, with a stand layout that allows us to go from one firm to another more quickly,” they note from the United States. They also highlight “the increase in ceremony and footwear exhibitors, as well as new brands” present in this edition.
New Contact Agenda to Boost Internationalization
As a notable novelty, FIMI Summer Showroom has launched a specific agenda that will put foreign buyers from the 30 represented countries in direct contact with exhibiting brands. In this way, FIMI becomes an authentic platform of opportunities for opening new international markets.
This initiative has been possible thanks to the joint support of ICEX, IVACE, and Cámara Valencia, which have worked in coordination with ASEPRI and Feria Valencia to strengthen support for participating brands and enhance their international projection.
Alicia Gimeno: “FIMI has become the authentic international engine of Spanish children’s fashion”
The director of FIMI Summer Showroom, Alicia Gimeno, has assessed the development of this 99th edition, especially highlighting the role the fair plays as a catalyst for the sector’s international expansion. “The results from the first hours confirm that FIMI has consolidated itself as the authentic international engine of Spanish children’s fashion. Seeing how buyers from 30 different countries converge in Valencia to discover our brands is the best demonstration of our sector’s strength and attractiveness,” Gimeno stated.
The director has placed special emphasis on the evolution the fair has experienced in recent years: “We have gone from being a mainly national meeting to becoming a global business platform. The fact that 50% of sectoral turnover now comes from exports is no coincidence; FIMI has been and continues to be the springboard that propels our companies toward new international markets.”
Gimeno has also highlighted the geographical diversity of present buyers: “The presence of professionals from the United States to Japan, passing through all of Latin America and Europe, demonstrates that Spanish children’s fashion has a universal language. Our brands have known how to combine Spanish artisanal tradition with the most innovative trends, creating proposals that transcend cultural and geographical borders.”
The Sector Decisively Bets on the Foreign Market
Sector data supports this international vocation of FIMI. Exports from the Spanish children’s fashion sector continue on an upward trend, reaching 50% of total sectoral turnover. The main destinations for Spanish children’s fashion are European countries like Italy, Portugal, Greece, or the United Kingdom, although relevant markets like the United States, Mexico, or Colombia also stand out.
In global figures, the sector’s turnover approaches 1.2 billion euros, of which more than half corresponds to fashion, with an annual household expenditure reaching 87 euros.
On the other hand, IVACE’s Director of External Relations, Rafael Escamilla, the General Director of Economy, Fran Soria, and AFE’s General Secretary, Juan Puchalt, have inaugurated the event by visiting its different exhibitors. FIMI Summer Showroom celebrates the FIMI Kids Fashion Week runway show on Monday afternoon and will conclude this 99th edition on Tuesday.