Trade

Istanbul will be the venue of the upcoming edition of the World Footwear Congress

Oct 19, 2023 World Footwear Congress 2023

As the 6th largest footwear manufacturer in the world, Türkiye will host the next World Footwear Congress, focusing on new business solutions, sustainability and circularity, and the future of labour

Expectations are mounting for the next edition of the World Footwear Congress, which will be held at the Wyndham Grand Istanbul Levent Hotel, located in one of Istanbul's booming business districts, on the 8^th and 9^thof November 2023. Türkiye has been on the run to host the Congress since 2015, and, this time, its footwear industry size was the decisive argument. According to the World Footwear 2023 Yearbook (more information available here), its footwear industry holds a prominent position as the 6^thlargest worldwide.

At a time when global challenges such as high inflation and geopolitical instability are exacerbating the pressures already on the sector under the scrutiny of legislators and consumers, the event promises to bring the industry together to reshape its future. Matthew Griffin, also known as the ‘Fanatical Futuristic’, will then kick off the event by discussing the topic “Step into the future”.

The first session will centre on the latest consumer trends, featuring contributions from Miguel Pomares, Head of Footwear at sustainable fashion company ECOALF, Francisco Carpineti, CCO and co-founder of omnichannel platform Future Fashion, Yuxiang Yang, footwear innovator at the Li-ning brand and Tashin Akar, Assistant General Manager at Lc Waikiki brand.

Next, new business strategies will be debated with the participation of Jon Ram, CEO of the footwear brand Clarks, Manfred Kroneder, Vice-Chairman of Deichmann, Julia Pérez de Tudela Navarro, Head of Kaizen Department at Pikolinos and Burak Çelet, CEO of Desa.

Then, centred on sustainability and moderated by Federico Brugnoli, who founded SPIN360, specialised in the development of new sustainable business models and innovative solutions, the third session will count on the contributions of Marco Guazzoni, Sustainability Director at Vibram, Luca Boltri, Vice President at Unic Italian Tanneries and Nicoline Van Enter, CEO & Co-founder of Footwearology.

On the 9^th, picking up from the previous day, Steve Lamar from AAFA will speak of circularity and transparency in the footwear supply chain, and the CEO of Calzaturificio Gensi Group, Genero Pigliacampo, and the General Manager of Paraboot, Clémentine Colin Richard will help the participants reimagine the workforce.

For more information about the programme and its speakers, please refer to the event’s website. The World Footwear Congress is being organised by the European Footwear Confederation (CEC) and the Footwear Industrialist Association of Türkiye (TASD).

Image Credits: Stefan Kostoski on Unsplash

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