The Footwear & Leather fair
The first Footwear & leather fair was held in the year 2007 with the objectives of promoting and giving proper recognition to the industry Locally & internationally (image building), unveiling hidden talents and capabilities of the SME’s, identifying the most creative and skilled manufacturers to be developed as potential exporters and linking SMEs to large scale manufacturers. Since the continuity of this fair is important for the development of the industry, it was held for eleven consecutive years
Organizers
- The Sri Lanka Footwear and Leather Products Manufacturers Association (SLFLPMA)
- Ministry of Industries
- Industrial Development Board of Ceylon
- Sri Lanka Export Development Board
Organizing Committee
An organizing committee chaired by Mr. P.G.D. Nimalasiri President of the Sri Lanka Footwear &Leather Products Manufacturers Association (SLFLPMA) and Mr. Sheran Wickremasekara Co Chairman consisted of representatives of the Ministry of Industries, Industrial Development Board, Sri Lanka Export Development Board and representatives of the Industry . Mrs Syrian de Saram Former by Director of the EDB was the secretary /Coordinator of the Fair.
Objectives of the 2023 Fair
The main objectives of this years’ fair was to provide exposure and knowledge for SME’s to improve their products and encourage them to enter into international market, to showcase the industry capabilities to foreign buyers and to facilitate local manufacturers to make linkages with foreign footwear accessories, raw material and machinery importers. According to the evaluation reports and comments of the exhibitors, this years’ fair was able to contribute positively towards achieving most of its objectives.
Inauguration Ceremony
The Footwear & Leather fair 2023 was ceremonially inaugurated by Hon Minister of Industries. Director General of EDB & the Chairman of the IDB were also present at the occasion. The fair was declared opened amongst a large gathering of distinguish Guests. Participation of representatives of foreign missions added value to the ceremony
Exhibitors
92 local companies and 29 foreign companies exhibited their products in 225 stalls at the fair.
- Local Exhibitors
It is noteworthy that the interest of local manufacturers in participating at this event has remarkably risen during the past few years. It signifies the importance of this fair for the industry. Most of the stalls of the local exhibitors in Display only area (hall A) was very attractive and was arranged in line with international standards. 25 companies requested bare spaces in the Display only area and constructed their own stalls investing a substantial amount of money. It certainly added value to the whole exhibition and showed the commitment of the exhibitors. The EDB organized a special pavilion of 10 stalls for women Entrepreneurs .15 new companies joined the fair this year.
- Foreign Exhibitors
29 Indian exhibitors manufacturing footwear accessories, Raw material and machinery participated at the event. Two private sector association, Indian Footwear Components Manufacturers' Association (IFCOMA) and the Configuration of Indian footwear Industry (CIFI) organized special Pavilions at the event. . The participation of large number of exhibitors from India was encouraging added value to the event. As per their request Organizers allocated a separate area for their associations which created an Indian Pavilion in hall A. The purpose of their participation was to facilitate local manufacturers to import footwear accessories, raw material and machinery they needed, six individual companies from China, and Bangladesh Participated at the fair .All the foreign Participants were awarded with Certificates of Participation to foreign participants.
Special Events
- Design Competition
- Best Stall Competition
- Publicity Campaign
The annual Design Competition which was organized in par with the fair by the Industrial Development Board provided an opportunity for companies to showcase their talents. The competition was held under four categories namely Ladies Footwear, Gents Footwear, and Leather Products (Ladies hand Bags, Travel bags & Backpacks). The Panel of judges of this competition comprised of Mr. Amaranath Wimalasinghe, by Director, Mr. Nilantha Munasinghe Designer, and Mr. Dinesh Nilantha, Footwear Assessor of the LPDC of the IDB. An exclusive pavilion displaying the innovative designs was a major highlight of the event. Each category was awarded 3 prizes i.e. gold, silver and bronze (trophies, & certificates) and twenty one (21) Companies were awarded certificates for participation under each category at the Design Award Ceremony held on the 9th February 2020 at 3.00 p.m. under the patronage of the Chairman, IDB and Director, Industrial Products of the EDB and the Chairman organizing Committee, Chairman Footwear Advisory Council and the officials of the EDB & IDB and the Industry.
Best stall competition was organized during the fair with the objective of encouraging companies to showcase their capabilities in a professional and attractive manner by designing their stalls up to international standards. The selection of winners was done by a selection panel comprising of representatives from the Industry and the representatives of the CIFI & ICOMA, A trophy and a certificate were awarded to the winner and the first and second runners up of the competition. These awards were presented during the Design Award Ceremony.
They were evaluated based on the first impression of their stalls, concept, creativity, construction friendliness, display arrangement and customer care. A trophy and a certificate were awarded to the winner and the first and second runners up of the competition. These awards were presented during the Design Award Ceremony
The quality and the professionalism of event branding and advertising material were highly commended by the industry, distinguished guests and general public. A number of initiatives were taken by the SLFLPMA in developing event branding and advertising material, in order to make the event more popular. Derana Television network, the highest rated Television channel of Sri Lanka was selected as the Exclusive Electronic Media Sponsor. The Upali Group of Newspapers was the Exclusive English and Sinhala Print Media Sponsor. Derana FM was selected as the FM radio channel to promote the exhibition this year. The Publicity Campaign carried out for the event included print Media promotion, advertising in local and International magazines, Electronic Media Promotion, Radio FM Channel promotion and other conventional promotions such as hoardings, point of sales Pennants, banners, leaflets etc. Social media campaign was also launched
Visitors
Around 23000 people including SME Manufacturers, customers, designers, foreigners visited the fair during 3 days.