May 21, 2021 — The Mido international trade show has announced that it will host a digital edition of the eyewear event, slated to take place June 5-7. The digital edition will serve as a prelude to the next in-person Mido, scheduled for Feb. 12-14, 2022, in Milan.

“We wanted to amaze with a new record-breaking edition in terms of attendance,” says Mido president Giovanni Vitaloni. “Instead, we will surprise you with an extraordinary new format, an immersive ‘widespread experience.’ If the whole world cannot be in Milan, then Mido is going all over the world. A formula that allows everyone to participate and to safeguard two of our fundamental qualities: internationality and concrete business opportunities. We have conceived the virtual Mido and the platform as key hubs to maintain and develop, at such a complex time, one of the most strategic sectors for the global economy.”

Following the debut of the tradeshow’s B2B platform on May 28, the digital edition will open on June 5 with special guest Albert Watson, a photographer who will discuss technology, the future, nature, and more. On June 6, Mido will host an event focused on fashion and design, hosting talents from around the world. The event will share info from trend forecasting company WGSN focused on the future consumer and upcoming eyewear trends. An emphasis will also be placed on innovative and eco-sustainable materials with a contribution from Materially via three events scheduled during the tradeshow.

The digital edition of Mido also presents a new category in its BeStore award. This year, in addition to the design and innovation prizes awarded by an international panel of experts, the Your BeStore award will also be presented, providing all visitors the chance to vote for their favorite optical center through the platform.

At a press conference for the digital edition, show organizers shared ANFAO data focused on the pandemic’s impact on the eyewear sector in Italy, including: exports of frames, sunglasses, and lenses (which account for around 90% of the sector's production) stood at 2.882 million euros in 2020, a drop of around 26% compared to 2019; the segment that suffered the highest loss was sunglasses (-27%), which stood at 1.871 million euros. Exports of frames fell by 22% to approximately 936 million euros. Finally, in 2020, exports to America (the target market for about 33% of Italian eyewear) dropped more than 26%, with an even greater loss for sunglasses.

“We wanted to maximize international business opportunities by offering a solution that would bypass the constraints of the health emergency,” says Vitaloni. “We were inspired by the challenge posed by many operators to look to the future by innovating, to create concrete opportunities and business space to relaunch the sector. The B2B platform may become the global trading marketplace of the sector: the ‘place to be’ to give meaning to one’s existence on the market and the meeting point for supply and demand, where to develop the positioning of the sector’s best players. And Mido will prove to be the undisputed driving force of the worldwide eyewear sector.”

For more information: mido.com.