We have collected a selection of comments from some buyers and exhibitors attending this edition of Pitti Bimbo.

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1 Pitti Bimbo 80 sends signals of confidence for children s fashions around the world. Once again, the fair was marked by high-quality attendance, with Italian buyer turnout stable and good performance on the parts of Japan, China, Turkey, Holland, Hong Kong and the Arab Emirates to compensate for the expected and considerable decrease in the number of Russians The 80 th edition of Pitti Bimbo (Florence, January 2015) came to a close at the Fortezza da Basso amidst a widespread feeling of satisfaction, satisfaction for the quality of the buyers attending and for the collections presented by the nearly 450 brands that were the true stars of the show. The final attendance figures tell us that 4,300 Italian buyers came to Pitti Bimbo, just slightly less than 4,500 at the last winter edition. This is an important signal as it comes together with an upswing in domestic spending for children s clothing that had been decreasing over several seasons. On the foreign front there was a slight decrease a total of 2,400 buyers came from abroad as opposed to 2,700 one year ago. Most of this can be attributed to the more than 40% drop in the number of Russian buyers, and there were also fewer buyers from Ukraine. These considerable and foreseeable decreases were partly offset by the positive performance on the parts of Turkey (+13%) now in third place among the key markets by Japan (+14% in the number of retailers), China (+24%), Holland (+5%), Greece (+16%), Hong Kong (+45%), Arab Emirates (+40%), Lebanon (+32%) and good turnouts from most of the Middle East and from India (which doubled its number of buyers); and of course the figures confirmed that France, the United States and South Korea are still and always key markets. On the whole, approximately 6,700 buyers (as opposed to the nearly 7,200 at the last winter edition came to the fair; and the total number of visitors peaked at 10,000. This edition of Pitti Bimbo confirmed our forecasts, says Raffaello Napoleone, CEO of Pitti Immagine. We saw a considerable drop in the number of Russian buyers which was more or less what everyone expected even though nearly all the representatives from Russia s luxury retailers were in Florence and considering the total numbers from that market, the decrease had a clear impact on foreign attendance figures. The number of Italian buyers remained essentially stable and this, without a doubt, is a comforting signal of a resumption in domestic consumer spending. In general terms, the feedback from our exhibitors was confident and the overall atmosphere was optimistic, with the buyers admiring the new collections, the special events and the promotional programs on the calendar. High quality was truly the key to the children s fashions at the fair, and we are expecting a new burst of fresh energy for the coming seasons and good export prospects for the new markets as well. Here are the rankings of the top 20 markets at the fair: Russia (224 buyers), Spain (192), Turkey (166), Germany (149), France (149), Great Britain (123), Holland (88), Belgium (79), Greece (72), China (57), Poland (55), Ukraine (52), United States (51), Japan (49), South Korea (46), Switzerland (44), Hong Kong (42), Brazil (42), Lebanon (37) and Portugal (33).

2 As further confirmation of Pitti Bimbo s leading role among the international children s wear shows, we have to mention the enormous successes enjoyed by the runway shows and special events that filled the calendar at the Fortezza da Basso. Events and happenings held at stores and other striking locations around the city of Florence enthused the press, the buyers, and all the participants, and contributed to the overall success of Pitti Bimbo 80.. We have collected a selection of comments from some buyers and exhibitors attending this edition of Pitti Bimbo. Among the internationals buyers: Laurence Dekowski, childrenswear department manager, Le Bon Marché, Paris: A positive atmosphere. Pitti Bimbo is the world s major trade fair in the childrenswear field and it is a great chance to see so many brands and collections at the same time. The fair offers an overview: from formal wear to sportswear. I really enjoyed the New View section, where I found some interesting collections by Belgium designers. An important sector now is teen fashion, which is very different from childrenswear: a complex market, which changes season by season. I found many good companies at the fair. I love the pop-up stores, an original way to show the latest trends. A perfectly well-organized fair: it is easy and simple to tour. Fadi Tahan, General Manager Fashion Division Chalhoub, Dubai: Pitti Bimbo is one of the world s major trade fairs in the childrenswear field. A very important chance to establish new contacts and learn about new brands. I found some very interesting collections, especially Italian, French and Spanish brands, featuring the light and sophisticated fabrics our customers require. Very well-organized fair. Lisa Kazor, GMM Neiman Marcus, USA: Pitti Bimbo offers us the convenience of viewing all the European luxury brand collections at the same time and in the same place. It is the first trade fair of the season and the overall view offers something new every time. The Central Pavilion showcases the collections at a highlevel. The fair's atmosphere is a very positive, relaxed and pleasant setting. Pitti Bimbo is coming into its own as a well-organized trade show with high-fashion content. Barbara Molteni, Tessabit Group owner, Como: The atmosphere has definitely improved: there is much more enthusiasm and positivity in the air. In the childrenswear field, customers pay more attention to prices and the trend is to mix and match top-end brands and more basic ones. I found both in Pitti Bimbo: well-known companies, which are doing very well and deserve our support, as well as smaller but very interesting new brands. My favorite areas? The Central Pavilion and Sportswear in the Cavaniglia Pavilion. Pitti Bimbo is the major trade fair in the field, it is much better than any other fair. The made-in-italy style is showcased in all its facets. Very-well organized and the new entrance to the fair is more added value for everyone. Great job! Karen Pattyn, Zoen Kids store owner, Courtrai (Belgium): This is my first time at Pitti Bimbo and the atmosphere is fantastic! I ve been to other childrenswear fairs, such as Playtime in Paris, but Pitti Bimbo is different. When you spend most of your time working in the shop, you might not get the global vision, the right vibes. You can feel them here at Pitti Bimbo, fashion and inspiration are in the air. My favorite areas? New View and the Cavaniglia Pavilion: the brands showcased there fully reflect my style. There is music playing everywhere, which is very important. A well-organized fair. Konstantin Andricopoulos, Il Bosco dei ciliegi, Moscow: Pitti Bimbo gathers the best of the fashion industry in the childrenswear field, all the great names are here. I was touched by the spirit of collaboration I found at the fair: the Russian 2

3 market is going through a very difficult time, but all our partners and companies we work with proved to be very sensitive. We were able to make some changes to the orders and terms of sale and everyone was fully supportive. This is one of Pitti Bimbo s strengths: being able to establish and develop relationships, which is very important. The Russian market is always in search of beautiful and special garments and the fair is always filled with surprises. I m very optimistic: business is doing well in spite of the crisis and I m looking to the future with hope. Shifali Singh, Vice President International Business Myntra.com (India): Pitti Bimbo is very well-organized: this trade fair has many years of experience behind it and you can feel it. From the services provided to the fair s layout, everything is clear and taken care of down to the smallest detail and this is a very important aspect. Our company is an international business and we are looking for new brands, especially European, and Pitti Bimbo is an incredible opportunity, not only because of the talent-scouting nature of this fair, but also because it offers an overview of the latest childrenswear trends. I was particularly struck by some Spanish brands, owing to both the excellent price and quality and the innovative approach in terms of colors, fabrics and patterns. Not to mention the variety of accessories on show: I had no idea the kidswear world could have so many accessories! Anna Ramos, Luna de Plata buyer, Oviedo (Spain): This is my first time at Pitti Bimbo. I was looking for an alternative to the Parisian fair and I have to admit that I m thrilled. Nice people, positive atmosphere, great selection of brands from all over the world. The sections I enjoyed best are New View and Central Pavilion. An innovative approach and well-organized fair. Good job! And among the exhibitors: SCOTCH & SODA, Shiran Gort, Brand manager of Scotch Shrunk and Scotch R'Belle: We are happy to be back at Pitti Bimbo, as it is the leading fair in kids wear. Our first day has been very succesful, with more visitors than expected. But the best thing about this fair is that we feel that visitors of Pitti Bimbo share our passion for creativity, fun and fashion. DIESEL and MARNI, Germano Ferraro, Managing Director: I m very pleased with this Pitti Bimbo season, owing to the large attendance and, above all, to the more positive atmosphere: customers did not spend all their time with us talking about the crisis, they focused on the product, which is the right approach. The same approach we have finally seen again with the Italian and even Russian buyers, who were too busy looking at the collections to discuss their countries economic difficulties. This year, we were able to show all the company s offerings, including the latest addition, Marni, which met with great success. QUIS QUIS, Stefano Cavalleri, Founder and Designer: This Pitti Bimbo season brings me back to thirty years ago, when orders were taken at the stand: in these days, our room reserved for order placement was not enough, luckily for us! As for buyers attending the fair, we have not seen many Russians, although Russia is not one of our major markets, while Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are doing well. I m very satisfied about the new Paciotti line I designed for the first time this season: the first couture line, which turned out to be successful beyond all expectations. MARCELO BURLON, Silvia Gabrielli, Sales Manager: This is our second season at Pitti and it has been a better experience as compared to the first. Unfortunately, we have seen very few Russians and we hope China will make up for the loss in other areas. However, Chinese buyers have not shown all their potential yet: they have a different business mindset compared to Europeans. 3

4 SIMONETTA, Roberto Stronati, President: This is a truly special year for Simonetta: we are celebrating our 40th anniversary here at Pitti Bimbo, which means that we have been attending the fair since the very first season, when there were barely thirty exhibitors. I remember that we drove to Florence in a Ford Transit van filled with the sample collection, everything needed to set up the stand and five or six people. Our first visitor was an Englishman and we were totally unprepared to think in foreign currency terms! Pitti has always been international-oriented and that visitor became a regular customer. Pitti has been our springboard to success, but without false modesty we can say that we have done our bit towards making this trade fair successful: we have always had a mutual give and take relationship. TWIN SET, Alessia Baracchi, Marketing Department: There has been a very large attendance of both Italian and foreign visitors. Let s take it as a sign of real and widespread economic recovery, especially for Italy. The exhibition space is equipped with small rooms where our customers place orders, which makes our days spent at Pitti Bimbo worthwhile. We are always able to get an idea of what is going on in our business and we have never been disappointed so far. JAPAN RAGS, Evelyne Ligero, Export Department: We are pleased with this Pitti Bimbo season, which is very lively: we have seen a lot of visitors from the start. In particular, we have had buyers from Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Japan and Russia, in spite of the crisis. We have also added some new contacts to our list. MISS GRANT, Mauro Serafini, Managing Director: We had a very good start on Thursday with a wonderful fashion show. We are very pleased. I have no idea what the atmosphere was like, because I was unable to leave our stand, which is not the same as last year s, but we are very happy with it. As far as Italian customers are concerned, luckily enough for us, we had a lot of visitors from Central and Southern Italy, which is doing better than Northern Italy in our field. A good number of foreign visitors, less Russians as compared to last year, which is perfectly understandable, although we saw some Ukraine buyers who showed great courage and strength of mind. WOOLRICH, Elisabetta Dall Olio, Woolrich Kid Merchandiser: We are very pleased with the number of visitors this year and with the exhibition space we have been given. In addition to our regular customers, who came to see our collections, we made some new and interesting contacts. I m also satisfied with the Italian customers, who had slowed down in the past few years. PEUTEREY, Nino Leotta, Sales Manager: This year, at Pitti Bimbo, there have been some changes as far as we are concerned: first of all, a new location, which reflects our current sportswear-oriented approach. We feel we are now in the right place, in keeping with our latest trend, and even these details affect the trade fair s results. We are pleased with the number of visitors: the usual Italian names, few Russians, as expected, but many foreign customers. In particular, we have made some new, interesting and unexpected British contacts. JUPE BY JACKIE, Jackie Villevoye, Founder: I congratulate Pitti Immagine on how well the trade fair was organized, impeccable as usual! I m a huge fan of Pitti Uomo, which has always been synonymous with quality and efficiency, so I decided to take part in Pitti Bimbo too this year. TÉOPHILE & PATACHOU, Didier Melotte, General Manager: We are very pleased with this year s Pitti Bimbo fair: there was a record attendance on the first day, and it attracted more visitors than last year, although there are no official figures yet. Our 4

5 major market is Europe and we have met with all the top buyers we wished to see at the fair. We are very satisfied. MSGM, Ruggiero Desantis, Designer: The collection was very well-received by buyers, a sign that quality is still a priority. Our visitors were very interested in our items made-in-italy with natural fabrics. We sell all over the world and we have seen all the top buyers here, even the Italian ones, and many Americans. Asian buyers, in particular, Korean and Japanese, are very research and innovation-oriented. CARAMEL, Ilhan Erhun, Wholesale Manager: We are happy to have been able to participate in Pitti Bimbo, where we met top buyers from all over the world. We have also seen many fashion school students but, in my opinion, the first day should be reserved for buyers, because we are often distracted by people who are simply nosing around out of curiosity. MESSAGE IN THE BOTTLE, Féliz Vásquez, Brand Manager: Our debut at Pitti Bimbo was totally successful: on the first day, there was a big and unexpected attendance of buyers interested in our collections and our special packaging, which met with huge success. I appreciated that buyers were focused on their shops needs: we were able to get straight to the point without wasting time with people who are not our target market. As a matter of fact, we did take many orders here at the fair. ROCK THE GOAT, Malin Lundberg Müller, Founder: This was our first year at Pitti Bimbo and we are very pleased with the trade fair: it is wellorganized and attended by buyers from all major international markets, showing great interest and competence. LES LUTINS, Catherine Artzet, Owner: We had many visitors: Italians, Americans, North-Europeans, Asians. We made many new contacts and took many orders here at the fair. Most of our visitors were more focused on quality than price, which is a very good sign. ABC123ME, Louisa Rowland, Founder: This was our first time at Pitti Bimbo and we were very favorably impressed. We chose Pitti to penetrate the Italian market, but we met with many foreign customers too. The top buyers we met exceeded our expectations: they are all very quality-oriented. I m sure we will come back. 5