FOOTWEAR TODAY SHOE SHOW LIVE


Cheryl Taylor, editor, talks to Footwear Agent Matt Nuttall, who sells the Waldlaufer brand in the UK.


Please can you give us some background to your involvement with the first edition of the Footwear Today Stockroom Event? Matt: I found out about the Footwear Today Stockroom Event whilst trying to research the viability of a Northern Shoe Show along the Blackpool /Lytham seafront. It turns out that this is a difficult thing to organise. I knew that FT had been plotting a similar venture – but centrally in Birmingham. We signed up to show very early on, deciding that we needed to show our support as the industry badly needed this. We had decided 12 months earlier that MODA no longer offered value for money, or value for our time being 4 days of the selling season. I know other brands felt the same way. Hence the need for something new.


Tell us about the first event…. Matt: The event was held at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham to coincide with the Footwear Industry Awards, organised by Footwear Today, and with Autumn Fair over the road at the NEC. They used the big ground floor room which has great natural light, and the venue has excellent access and on-site parking. Costs were kept reasonable by running a simple format – so, tables around the stand, rather than an expensive shell scheme or fancy


bespoke stands and teams of stand builders The event was also just for two days, which I think is ideal. If the event gets really, big then there may well be an argument for a 3-day show, but for now two is perfect. We were signed up from early on and so we had promoted this event well with our customers, consequently we were really busy. In fact, I think this was our busiest event for some years. It could have been even busier if it had been run on a Sunday / Monday as some retailers were understandably busy in shop with back to school. Footwear Today have listened well to feedback and the next event is Sunday / Monday.


I think maybe that in recent years the Footwear Industry has changed, MODA used to be busy for us, but there were lots of customers who simply came for a browse and a chat. This event was quite different – the retailers were there to buy. We had customers from all over the UK but also the Isle of Man and Ireland – which was a bonus and somewhat unexpected.


What are your thoughts on the future of this event? Matt: The brand list for the first run was good – but looking already at the brands signed up for the February Show – it looks even better.


I understand that Footwear Today are taking more of the building and they have correctly rebranded the event as ‘Footwear Today Shoe Show LIVE’ rather than just a stockroom. I think more of a noise needs to be made about the free bus service over from the NEC railway station – and the free onsite car parking within yards of the event, which was provided in September, but not publicised much. The free lunch for exhibitors and retailers for instance – was excellent and I do hope that is provided again in February.


Any final comments to add? Matt: If you are a retailer reading this and wondering if it’s worth coming down – We would say that it definitely is worth a visit. Have a look at the brand list and keep an eye on it as it is bound to grow, you’ll find it here: https:// footwearstockrooms.co.uk. If you’re an agent or brand considering showing then, no doubt you’ve already sounded out some of the people who were at the first event in September. It seems clear to us that this event has rapidly become the ‘Go To’ central show for the UK and basically you would want to be there. I think going forward we will also see increasing attendance from Ireland as it really is very easy to combine a visit with the NEC using the shuttle service, but it’s early days yet. I don’t have a crystal ball but on I can’t see any reason why this won’t be a huge success. Well done Charlotte and the team at Footwear Today. We needed this!


10AM – 5PM SUNDAY 5TH FEBRUARY 2023 9AM – 5PM MONDAY 6TH FEBRUARY 2023


NATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM 12 • FOOTWEAR TODAY • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022


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