Milan fair gears up for Russian buyers

SANDY PARKER REPORT, VOL. 30, ISSUE 6, MAR. 27, 2006
The following extract is reproduced with permission from Sandy Parker Reports, Weekly International Fur News. Sandy Parker has been covering the fur industry for more than four decades. For most of that time he has published a weekly newsletter, detailing results of international pelt auctions, wholesale price trends, business developments and movements in the trade, as well as economic and political activities that may impact on it.
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International Fur News
with Sandy Parker
Milan fair gears up for Russian buyers
THE EXPLODING RUSSIAN MARKET CONTINUES TO REVERBERATE THROUGHOUT THE INTERNATIONAL FUR TRADE not only at the skin level, where it has been a major force behind the soaring prices, but also in the garment sector, where it is having a strong influence on manufacturers’ production plans. This was crystal clear at MIFUR, the recent fur and leather fair in Milan, where the international collections were plainly geared to the Russian and other Eastern European markets.
Not that catering to Russian consumers has diminished the creativity of Italian designers and manufacturers or their appeal to Western markets. The booming Russian economy has spawned a whole new monied class that, for the first time in generations, can afford furs for their fashion as well as their utility. While the latest Italian collections still contained such Western favorites as slim silhouettes in sheared mink and other natural and dyed furs, there was a greater preponderance of fuller coats in complete ranges of let-out dark and mutation mink. There also were many more long-haired wild fur garments such as lynx, lynx cat and sable, as well as dressy flat furs like karakul and broadtail.
CANADIAN EXHIBITORS AT THE UPCOMING NORTH AMERICAN FUR & FASHION EXPOSITION in Montreal next month are keeping a nervous eye on the value of their dollar, which has been appreciating steadily. National pride and their increased purchasing power aside, the steady rise is making them less optimistic because their products have been becoming less attractive from a price standpoint to retailers south of the border, historically their biggest customers.
At this point, Canadian vendors’ concern is how to set prices at the fair and guard themselves against losses if their dollar strengthens further in the following months when payment on their invoices becomes due.
IN THIS ISSUE:
Russians Bear on Designer Lines
Top Houses Catering to New Market
MIFUR Event Termed Successful
Russia Again Is Biggest Buyer
Canadians Wary over Strong Dollar
For extracts from back issues of Sandy Parker Reports see News Index. Subscribers can access an archive of complete issues at www.sandyparker.com.
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