More Profit with Men's Shoes: The Men's Special

The retail trade's increased sales opportunities in the field of men's shoes are the focus of the Men's Special. With its over 240 exhibitors in this field GDS is a strong platform for the international men's shoe market.

Which is why the sophisticated surroundings of the Fashion Plaza in Hall 9 are host solely to men's shoes from high-quality designer labels in conjunction with exclusive men's clothing fashions. Two Fashion Talks devoted to the crucial and ever more dynamic men's shoe market will focus on innovative sales strategies for men's shoes.

Market for Men's Shoes is in Motion! The Men's Special for GDS

Developments over the past few years have made it perfectly clear that the 'shoe craze' is not a particular trait of female consumers but is also gaining ground among the 'stronger' sex. Current polls and surveys give evidence of the growth potential for men's shoes in specialist retailing. Men prove to be increasingly 'demanding consumers' with very clear ideas about the benefits and added value of a product. While the demand for low to medium-priced men's shoes is rather on the decline, the interest taken in higher-end footwear is growing. Here unrivalled wear properties, durability, durable materials, leather-only finish as well as attractive looks are in the foreground. This is also confirmed by men's more demand-driven buying behaviour. New variety in the men's footwear segment with re-invented casual sportiness and classic chic is therefore guaranteed to provide new momentum. Be it Oxford shoes with wing tips, loafers, monks or Norwegians, Chelsea or jodhpur boots - they all follow the premise for the 2007 Spring/Summer season: casual and chic. Fine leathers as well as relaxed sneaker versions in harmoniously coordinated colours with extravagant details dominate the looks adorning men's feet.

The importance attached to men's shoes has grown among both manufacturers and retailers. Therefore GDS in September will also focus on men's footwear more strongly. Almost 240 exhibitors from the men's shoe segment will be present at the Düsseldorf exhibition centre. Being a powerful platform for the international men's shoe market, GDS will pick up on this theme in the form of a Men's Special. In addition to an exclusive fashion forum where select shoe designers will be presented in conjunction with exquisite men's fashion at the Fashion Plaza of Hall 9, two Fashion Talks, i.e. panel discussions featuring insiders from industry, retail and end users, will provide exciting insights into the alliance between 'men and shoes'.

Welted Men's Shoes - Curse or Blessing?
The luxury product with the unstoppable success story: unlimited exclusivity and perfection down to the minutest of details are the hallmarks of the particularly refined shoe business. Up to 300 steps carried out by hand in accordance with centuries of traditional craftmanship make welted shoes unique products. On the Saturday of the trade fair industry experts will discuss the trend towards luxury products, differences in quality and how to familiarise shoppers with this aspirational product (Saturday, 16 September 2006, 2.00 pm, Fashion Plaza, Hall 9).

The classy setting of the Prime Segment Exclusivity/TopStyle and White Cubes of Hall 9 will be host to some exquisite welted-shoe makers and exclusive men's brands at GDS such as: the one-offs by Dinkelacker known for their perfect handcrafted finish, top quality and traditional shoemaking crafts from the Italian men's shoe specialist Franceschetti, the 'must-haves for men' created by the Italian luxury label Fratelli Rossetti, creativity and that typical Italian 'je ne sais quoi' so typical of Aldo Bruè, Mallorcan noblesse paired with the purest materials as hallmarks of the Spanish labels Carmina and Lottusse, and - also from Spain - Fluchos looking back on more than 30 years of craftsmanship.

Fashionable Men - a Paradox?
As men's outfits increasingly became 'casualised' the market gained new momentum and is now becoming more and more fashion-oriented. Men's fashion courage has grown and they are now slowly but surely looking to new trends. This development will be controversially discussed on Sunday at 2.00 pm at TrendVision in Hall 10.

The diversity of the new men's collections at GDS is reflected both in the presence of such well-known brands as Bronx, Cydwoq, DKS, Gola, Lloyd, Mexx, Paolo Santini, Tom Tailor, Quick Ferrini, Vagabond and Valleverde and in the debuts of such first-time exhibitors as Kickers, Paco Milan, Pure and Spieth & Wensky.