Retailers & Exhibitors
Contact Information

Exhibitors: Beth Gordon
bgordon@thefootwearevent.com
949-293-1378

Retailers: Mark Sullivan
msullivan@thefootwearevent.com
646-319-7878

See Video Highlights from
The Footwear Event 2009
Click Here For Video

“We’re thrilled to be moving to Chicago, which will offer both a central geographic location and an exciting environment for a national event,” said Beth Gordon, director of The Footwear Event. “We wanted a locale that offered easy, affordable travel for retailers and also gave them a chance to experience one of the country’s most dynamic retail markets.”In fact, locale retail will be front and center at the conference and expo.

The Footwear Event will kick off on Monday afternoon, June 28 with a special VIP tour of Chicago retail hosted by author and Chicago-native Jim Dion. A select group of retailers will travel by luxury coach throughout the city visiting several of the best shoe retailers in town. At each stop, retailers will spend about 45 minutes in the store, talking to the owners, learning about the store, its operations and business strategy.

Tuesday and Wednesday, the expo portion of The Footwear Event will take place at Navy Pier. Each day will begin with complimentary breakfast and a keynote speaker and then expo exhibits will be open from 10-5.

On Tuesday night, June 29 The Footwear Event will host The Art of Retail Awards at the River East Arts Center. The Art of Retail Awards will recognize retailers for outstanding work in Store Design, Promotion, Marketing and Vendor Partnerships. “The awards program fits very much within one of the central themes of The Footwear Event which is highlighting best practices of innovative retailers,” Gordon said. The Footwear Event expo utilizes a unique booth format.

Each exhibitor works out of a “Brand Suite” that is supplied by event organizers. This set-up allows exhibitors to go into the event with fixed costs and also insures that all exhibitors operate out of standard-sized booths. “The set up places the emphasis exactly where it should be,” said Gordon “on product and on meaningful conversations between retailers and their vendor partners.”

The Footwear Event will offer a limited number of retail scholarships to qualified store executives. This past June, more than 25 brands and 100 retail executives attended the first-ever Footwear Event which was held in Nashville. The Footwear event was created to bring together top retailers and leading brand in a cost effective, time efficient setting at the front end of the spring buying cycle, Gordon said.

June 28, 2010: Don't Miss the Chicago Retail Tour!

The Footwear Event
At-A-Glance

Monday, June 28
1:00 p.m.
VIP Retail Tour of Chicago

5:00 p.m.
Welcome Reception
(co-hosted by Hanig’s)

Tuesday, June 29
8:00-10:00 a.m.
Special Business Sessions
on Customer Service
Featuring: Rober Spector,
author of “The Nordstrom Way.”

Dan Mann, The Language of
Customer Service

10 a.m. 5 p.m.
Office Hours at the Navy Pier

7:00 p.m.
The Art of Retail Awards at the
River East Arts Center

Wednesday, June 30
8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Special Business Session:
Retail By the Numbers

10:00 a.m.-4 p.m.
Office Hours at the Navy Pier