WSA Show Adds Sourcing
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 10/8/2007
The WSA Show will have a companion event when the Materials at WSA Expo & Conference debuts Feb. 19–21 and runs again July 26–28, at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas. The new show, which will slightly overlap and collocate with the WSA Show, will focus on the supply chain. The WSA Show features finished shoes.
The new show is a result of WSA interviews with decision-makers in footwear design, product development and sourcing about what they wanted to buy. They expressed a desire for materials, components, sourcing and technology from around the world, and for a U.S. show that featured them, according to WSA.
The Materials at WSA Expo & Conference, an invitation-only event, will feature exhibitors of leathers, synthetics and textiles; components such as heels, outsoles and insoles; manufacturing technologies, such as CADCAM and rapid prototyping; and footwear-related production processes. The new materials show will open two days before the WSA Show and overlap it by one day. WSA reported a number of exhibiting companies already confirmed participation.
According to Diane Stone, COO of The WSA Show, combing the world to find the most dynamic people, products and resources in footwear innovation and bringing them to Las Vegas broadens the marketplace. And all footwear companies that participate in the new event, whether wholesalers or retailers, will greatly benefit, said Skip Farber, WSA Show CEO.
