Switzerland-based retailer wins Micam award
Elio Verzella, founder of footwear retail chain Elio e Leo in Geneva, has been named winner of the Best Foreign Buyer award at Milan-based shoe show Micam.
On receiving the award, Mr Verzella, who is from the south of Italy, said he moved to Switzerland because he wanted to bring the craftsmanship associated with Italian footwear to consumers there. He now owns four boutiques.
The Best Italian Buyer award went to brothers Giuseppe and Alberto Livoli, owners of Marte in Rome, which has been selling high-end Italian shoes since 1950. Giuseppe said their father had encouraged them to go into the shoe business and that he would have been very proud of the Micam award.
Micam’s organisers say they are encouraged by the rise in overseas visitors at the current edition – 631 – with Italian exhibitors making up the rest of the 1589 companies. The four-day show ended today.
