As a former board member of The Atlanta Shoe Market — and after 50-plus years of attending — Mike Bush has a pretty good read on why the footwear trade show has been thriving for eight decades.
“The Atlanta show has been so successful because it is appealing to all types of retailers — independents and department stores — and major vendors,” said the veteran sales rep, who is now a consultant for Cels Enterprises, parent to Chinese Laundry and other brands.
Originally incorporated in 1944 as the Southeastern Shoe Travelers Association, the organization was one of 19 affiliates of the National Shoe Travelers Association based in St. Louis.
The SESTA established its own bylaws to operate under, stating that its purpose is to “promote the best interests and welfare of its members” by encouraging cooperation, promoting a high standard of ethics, sharing information and best practices and fostering relationships between manufacturers and retailers.
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Longtime members say it has more than lived up to those goals, providing a consistent home for the industry amid the larger turmoil in the country, including multiple economic swings and the recent pandemic.
“While many for-profit shows throughout the nation have gone through tribulations and inconsistencies — and total bust — the Atlanta Shoe Market’s consistent timing and adaptation to the changing market trends put the show front and center of the retailers’ minds,” said Phil Coward, regional sales rep for Hälsa Footwear and Milo Handbags who first attended the show as a retailer before switching to the wholesale side in the late 1980s.
The first SESTA shows in Atlanta were smaller events, held at venues such as the Americana Motor Hotel and the Hyatt Regency in downtown.
Laura Conwell-O’Brien was hired to lead the organization in 1984. In 1987, she moved the show to the ApparelMart in downtown before eventually relocating to the Cobb Galleria Centre in the northwest corner of the city in 1996.
That move was a major turning point, according to current board chairman Joe Picarella, a sales rep with ES Originals who has been attending since 1973. “The hotel rooms were more affordable, parking was free, dinner and lunches were less expensive,” he said. “As other shows became more expensive, the Atlanta show became more attractive and started to grow to what it is today.”
Built in 1994, the Cobb Galleria Centre was the first convention facility in the country to combine exhibition and meeting space with a retail component and hotel in what was then considered a suburban location. The 88-acre campus now sits adjacent to The Battery, a bustling sports and entertainment hub that includes Truist Park (home to the Atlanta Braves) and popular restaurants, bars and music venues.
Fred Bright is a retired shoe exec who spent decades at brands such as G.H. Bass, Cole Haan and Ralph Lauren and attended his first show in 1969. He has seen its evolution up close and agreed that the move to the suburbs was a big contributor to the show’s growth. “We have a very user-friendly environment for the retailer to attend and shop in,” he said.
But Bright’s No. 1 reason for its growth is Conwell-O’Brien, who is only the third director in the show’s history and took over leadership at a time when few women had top roles in the industry. “If you accept the idea that the best man for the job is a women, then it’s no wonder we’ve had such success,” said Bright.
Barry Teitelman, Southeastern sales rep for Mia Shoes and a former board president of the trade show from 2008-09, added, “This is [Laura’s] show. She has the passion for our industry. She cares about our business and our members.”
For her part, Conwell-O’Brien believes that what makes the Atlanta show unique is the fact that it is owned by the association members — rather than being a for-profit outfit. “That’s helped me keep costs down all these years,” she said.
The director said another unique aspect is the member point system, which determines booth placement at the show. Members can gain up to four points per year, which accumulate over their careers and travel with them from company to company. Conwell-O’Brien said that has frustrated some brands that want a better spot on the show floor, but it is a clear-cut system for the organizers. (Not to mention the fact that it gives sales reps power in a business in which they can often be marginalized.)
Over its first several decades, the trade show grew steadily on pace with the overall market. As its profile grew, the board voted in 2000 to make another change, renaming the show as The Atlanta Shoe Market.
By the late 2010s, the twice-annual event was drawing retailers from outside the Southeast but was largely still considered a regional show. That changed amid the COVID shutdowns.
While other industry events maintained a virtual format due to ongoing concerns about the pandemic, TASM missed only one show in August 2020 and returned in February 2021 with increased health and safety precautions.
“That put us on the map,” said Conwell-O’Brien. “People who’d never come here from the West Coast or far East Coast had to come because there was nowhere else to go.”
And even after business and life resumed more normally, the volatile consumer market led to tighter budgets for travel and expenses among both brands and retailers. That gave Atlanta another leg up over destinations like Las Vegas and New York.
Glenn Heidkamp, president of sales at J. Renee Group and current vice president of the show’s board of directors, explained, “The show has gone from a regional show to becoming the national show. We have customers from all over the world that attend. The customers love how easy the show is to work.”
