There is strength in unity. In this case, two fairs united. Mipel and Lineapelle launched It Lab, the leather goods sourcing club. The exhibitory project presented yesterday, at Fieramilano Rho, will begin next September and will be located inside Lineapelle’s pavilions, from the 23rd to the 25th.
A club of businesses
“It Lab takes shape as a club of companies specialized in leather and leather goods – explains Franco Gabbrielli, president of Assopellettieri – that manufacture mostly for large brands. It Lab plays on the industry’s need to combine forces. It will the tip of the iceberg of a series of worldwide activities. We are studying the initiative to design it so that these companies can get in contact with high-level clients, as well as those in the premium segment”.
Selected members
“The companies we got involved in this project – continues Gabbrielli – answered with great interest. The It Lab club will need to be made of a selected group of producers. They will be great companies that don’t have the opportunity to promote themselves enough, but in order to remain in the club they will need to offer certain specific guarantees”.
Collaboration with Lineapelle
Gabbrielli says that “Lineapelle gave us an opportunity”, with regards to developing the It Lab. “All of this is happening because of Lineapelle. We wouldn’t even have thought of it, if it wasn’t for Lineapelle”. A synergy and shared goal that Fulvia Bacchi, Lineapelle’s CEO, highlighted by saying that “Lineapelle was on bord the It Lab project right away. It will continue to support Mipel for everything concerning organization, logistics and promotional activities. Circa 40/41% of visitors and companies that visit Lineapelle are from the leather goods’ segment. We thank Mipel for this opportunity, which allows Lineapelle to enter another segment, thus increasing its centricity for the global leather industry”.
Don’t call them Contractors
The It Lab club becomes what Mipel imagined it to be: the reference point for leather sourcing. In other words, of those that used to be called Contractors. “Today, on the other hand, they are much more – comments Gabbrielli, followed by Danny D’Alessandro, General Manager of Assopellettieri (Association of Leathergoods Manufacturers) -. They are exponents of a sector that unites craftsmanship and technology. An environment that, sadly, works with too few clients. Many of these companies have ½ big clients, thus running into high operational risk. It Lab becomes a way for large brands and small designers to find somebody producing samples and collections for them. After all, the market is moving in one direction: the demand for production on behalf of brands”
