Economy Takes Toll on Shoes
Rachel Wimberly -- Tradeshow Week, 8/1/2008 3:59:00 PM
At the Society of Independent Show Organizers’ CEO Summit last April in St. Petersburg, Fla., Skip Farber, WSA Global Holdings CEO, was very candid when he stood up and told the group, “There’s a perfect storm brewing here. In one word, (the retail) sector sucks. As you may have heard, consumer confidence is at an all-time low.”
Whether he was specifically referring to the shoe show his company runs, The WSA Show, it’s hard to tell, but during the show’s recent run, July 28-31 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, trouble definitely appeared to be on the horizon with fewer booths in less space and exhibitors complaining about conflicting show dates.
As of press time, final numbers were unavailable for the show that ranked No. 5 on the TSW 200 last year though, at that point, it had experienced small declines in both square footage and number of booths.
On the showfloor this year, the LVCC Central Hall wasn’t fully occupied and black drapes blocked the empty space. In addition, the traditional big-name evening entertainment had quietly disappeared.
More than one attendee or exhibitor said the show appeared to be in decline.
Exhibitor Attillio Zerrillo of White Mountain said he did not like it that WSA was “no longer the (only big) show in August.” The Fashion Footwear Assn. of New York holds its show this month as well (Aug. 6-8). He added, “Some of the big names, such as Nine West, aren’t even exhibiting at WSA.”
Exhibitor Katherine Hudson of Donald Pliner said WSA was held too early for her company’s Spring II collection samples to be evaluated and delivered. “We have half the space we would typically have, and Donald isn’t here,” Hudson added. “He’s in New York looking at samples for the New York show.”
As vocal as Zerrillo and Hudson were, they both also admitted that, despite their complaints, they felt they had to exhibit at WSA because of the show’s reputation, location and traditionally high attendance (last year’s show drew nearly 20,000 attendees).
Exhibitor and Aqua CEO Monica Barthelotto wasn’t interested in why the show may have been slow. Instead, she added, “There’s always an excuse if business isn’t good but, if you have a hot line and you do your homework, you’ll write orders.”
A case in point was Rich Moe, an exhibitor who represented Caterpillar work boots.
“We have more than 100 appointments set over two days,” he said. “Sixty-five percent of our business is overseas; we see domestic and international customers here. We just talked to a gentleman from Iraq who has a number of construction companies there. He’s getting our boots for all his companies.”
