EFICA and EXICAL: Awaiting a recovery in consumption
From Sunday, June 28, to Tuesday, June 30, 2026, a new edition of EFICA, the traditional footwear trade fair, was held at the BA FERIAL venue (former Costa Salguero) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. More than 170 well-known local brands and factories were present, accompanied by Brazilian exhibitors participating through their representatives and distributors. A total of 150 stands were occupied, while attendance was close to 5,000 people, mostly domestic buyers, along with international visitors.
The event showed a good standard in stand design, and the Spring-Summer 2026/27 footwear offering was highly up to date in terms of fashion, displaying interesting collection developments.
The general assessment, based on participants’ opinions, is that the widespread decline in consumption is directly affecting the contraction in sales and factory productivity. For this reason, exhibitors agreed that purchases were very measured and cautious, with buyers seeking longer payment terms, flexibility in orders and prices adjusted to the loss of consumers’ purchasing power.
For the first time, the Footwear Chamber —CIC— invited not only its usual members, but also manufacturers from across the country. This broadened the diversity of the offering by adding new brands.
Within the general context, the High-End Sector stood out, together with an offering strongly focused on lightweight footwear, sandals and urban lines using synthetic materials and lower-cost leather to remain competitive against imported products.
Through Business Rounds held with buyers from neighboring countries —Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay— and with the support of ProArgentina, new export channels were generated to offset the decline in the domestic market.
The exhibition, jointly organized by the Footwear Industry Chambers of Córdoba and Santa Fe, was held from July 5 to 7 at the Forja Event Center in the city of Córdoba. On this occasion, 120 stands were occupied by footwear manufacturers from Córdoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, joined by leather goods manufacturers and suppliers.
A broad offering of products was presented across all footwear lines for women, men and children, including athletic, dress and urban footwear, among others. The new collection designs stood out for their variety of materials, very good quality and price options.
The trade fair for the central region reaffirmed its strategic role as a meeting point for commerce in the country’s interior. Its main attraction continued to be proximity and direct contact. Retailers from the NOA, NEA and Cuyo regions took advantage of the event to negotiate terms, evaluate collections and adjust orders ahead of the start of the summer season.
Given the direction of the country’s economic context and the situation of the sector in particular, which generate differing expectations throughout the value chain —suppliers, manufacturers and retailers— business was conducted with maximum caution regarding stock levels, through transactions of lower economic value and limited volume. Buyers avoided taking on commitments due to uncertainty caused by the contraction in sales and other sensitive economic variables that do not contribute to the stability required for planning and organizing production and its corresponding commercialization.
