ITA's Antonino Laspina (l) and Mido president Giovanni Vitaloni.
NEW YORK—In anticipation of what will be the 50th edition of Mido, the international optics exhibition to be held at the end of this month, Mido president Giovanni Vitaloni met in New York, as part of Vision Expo East, with journalists, exhibitors, buyers and operators in the eyewear sector to present some of the plans on tap for the show, scheduled from April 30 to May 2 in Milan Fiera Rho. He was joined by Antonino Laspina, director of Italian Trade Agency (ITA) New York, the agency for the promotion and internationalization of Italian companies, to discuss the economic recovery of recent months.

Vitaloni and Laspina reported that Mido is anticipating 650 exhibitors from 45 countries, including the U.S., Germany, France, Spain, Korea, Japan, and others who will be at Mido to present collections and products to buyers, opticians, national and international designers and journalists. "Thanks to ITA, we will also welcome 150 operators, including buyers and press, from 50 countries who, on April 29 during a special preview, will be able to view the Made in Italy collections of 60 companies and which we will then welcome to Mido starting from the following day," Vitaloni said.

Vitaloni also said that on Saturday April 30, at 10.30 a.m. in the Auditorium of the Rho Pero Fiera Service Center, Mido 2022 will be inaugurated with a fresh event that will include the greetings of various organizations and Italian institutions, followed by the presentation of the sector’s year-end data (2021), the business forecast for 2022 and the delivery of prizes to the Past Presidents of Mido and to the companies that have been at Mido for 50 years.

President Vitaloni noted, "The strength of Mido also lies in its strong connotation as an event for doing business and a privileged meeting place for professionals, to share experiences and discuss the latest trends in the world market, of which the U.S. has always represented the reference point for the export of Italian eyewear. In fact, every year our country exports about 30 percent percent of its total exports to the United States, which corresponds to about 26 million pairs of glasses.”

"The statistics of the export of Italian products to the U.S. of 2021 show an extraordinary growth compared to the previous year, of over 60 percent," commented Laspina, underlining the special relationship between Italy and the U.S. During the meeting, Laspina announced a collaboration that, in the coming months, will lead ITA and ANFAO to work together to promote the Italian eyewear market in the U.S., starting in four cities: New York and Boston in June, and then followed by Chicago and Dallas."It will be a new way to put Italian companies in contact with the U.S. market," said Laspina.

As VMAIL has reported, several special exhibition areas and competitions are also on tap for the upcoming Mido this month, as detailed in VMAIL's mid-March report here.