With a focus on expanding markets and strengthening exports, the Brazilian footwear sector took part in the winter edition of the Italian trade show Expo Riva Schuh, held from January 10–13 in Riva del Garda, Italy. Featuring 29 green-and-yellow brands, the event wrapped up with sales of 219.6 thousand pairs, generating more than US$ 4.1 million. When adding the business expectations outlined during the trade show, the figures jump to 862.1 thousand pairs and US$ 15.4 million. Brazil’s participation was promoted by Brazilian Footwear, an export-support program run by the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados) in partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil).

According to the Business Coordinator at the Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados), Paola Pontin, Expo Riva Schuh plays a highly relevant role in the export engine of the footwear sector. “Trade shows are excellent meeting points, enabling both the maintenance of relationships with existing customers and the prospecting of new contacts, which would be harder to reach without these initiatives,” says Paola, adding that such events are also strategic tools for showcasing collections and positioning companies. “Right at the beginning of this edition, the positive signal around the Mercosur–European Union agreement gave negotiations an extra boost.”

The Commercial Director at GVD International (Campo Bom/RS), Wagner Kirsch, agrees that the green light for the signing of the Mercosur–European Union agreement brought a fresh feel to the event, which ended in line with expectations given the current market context. “2025 was very challenging, and 2026 will be a year of hard work. The signal around the agreement added some spice to the trade show and motivated buyers. Over these days, we met with everyone we had scheduled before leaving Brazil, so we maintained existing accounts and picked up a few new ones that came up,” he says, noting that European buyers, as well as North American ones, visited the company’s booth. “On the last day, we also had a great surprise from Chile. Today, trade shows are the best sales tool because they’re where we can showcase our work to international clients.”

Taking part in Expo Riva Schuh for the first time, Bebecê (Três Coroas/RS) is heading back to Brazil with a very positive experience. The company’s export agent, Bruno Vinicius Duarte, emphasizes that over the four days the brand connected with new clients. “Buyers from Greece, Malaysia, Slovakia, Lebanon, Congo, and Israel reached out to the brand because of our presence at the trade show, and that’s very positive,” says Duarte. In addition to these leads, a buyer who had visited Bebecê at BFSHOW last November stopped by the company’s booth at the event to show the footwear to other team members who had not been in São Paulo. “We’re deepening this contact for a first business attempt with them, and having the opportunity to showcase our products at the Garda trade show to the rest of the team will help,” he concludes, adding that the plan is to keep participating in the event in Italy.

Startup Competition
Once again, the Brazilian footwear industry was invited to join the panel of judges for the Startup Competition, an activity that is part of the trade show’s program and showcases innovations related to the sector. For the second time, Klin CEO Rodrigo Righi represented Brazil, the world’s fourth-largest footwear producer.  “Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects are trending, but with each edition I see they’re becoming less complicated and, above all, more accessible. Technology is advancing and becoming truly viable in practice, for our day-to-day. On top of that, being able to spend time with these people and talk to them is always very interesting,” he says, noting that this edition was very well organized.  “A positive point is that we were able to schedule a number of meetings through the Expo Riva Schuh app, which helps make our work more effective. Overall, it was a very good trade show,” Righi adds.  He also points out that, in this edition, it was possible to notice a change in the visitor profile, such as a reduced presence of buyers from the Middle East. “These changes are probably related to regional conflicts and stem from this new geopolitical arrangement that is taking shape, along with the issue of international tariffs.”

The 104th edition of Expo Riva Schuh featured more than 1,000 exhibitors representing around 40 countries. Spread across 11 exhibition halls, the trade show had 51.4 thousand square meters of exhibition area.

In this edition, the following brands took part in Expo Riva Schuh with support from Brazilian Footwear: Actvitta, Andacco, Ala, Awana Group, AXG Export, Beira Rio, Boaonda, Bonton Leather Care, Bebecê, BR Sport, Capelli Rossi, Democrata, Globo, GVD International, Jorge Bischoff, Kidy, Klin, K360, Loucos & Santos, Madeira Brasil, Modare Ultraconforto, Moleca, Molekinha, Molekinho, Piccadilly, Santinelli, Vizzano, Werner, and Zatz. 

About Abicalçados:
The Brazilian Footwear Industries Association (Abicalçados) is the entity that represents the national industry, the fourth largest producer of footwear in the world, the largest in the West. Founded in 1983, Abicalçados, is headquartered in Novo Hamburgo/RS, has in its membership companies of all sizes and that account for more than 65% of the total pairs of shoes produced in the country. The entity represents an industry that directly employs more than 290 thousand people. Its mission is to represent, defend, develop and promote the Brazilian footwear industry, with respect, excellence and results. Learn more: abicalcados.com.br

About Brazilian Footwear:
Brazilian Footwear is an export incentive program developed by Abicalçados in partnership with ApexBrasil. This program aims to increase the presence of the Brazilian industry and its brands in the international market through development actions, commercial promotion and image. Currently, about 300 companies are served by the program, which last year generated US$ 128,3 million for Brazilian companies supported by Brazilian Footwear. Learn more: brazilianfootwear.com.br | abicalcados.com.br/brazilian-footwear. 

About ApexBrasil: 
Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) is the Brazilian government’s trade and investment promotion agency. Regarding the investment activity, we support international investors as they analyze the opportunities to establish a plant in Brazil, start a partnership with a Brazilian company, or commit capital in Brazil through funds and companies. Our goal is to satisfy investors needs and generate results as we attract technology, innovation, new companies and generate jobs in Brazil. Learn more: https://apexbrasil.com.br/br/en.html#home.