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In This Issue
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Inside WSTA
Show News
Industry News
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Inside WSTA
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 WSTA
members can now save anywhere from 10% to 50% off of manufacturer list
price on their everyday office supply needs at Staples.
Announcing WSTA’s
new program with the national office supplies company, WSTA’s
Benefits Committee Chair Jim Potter called it “a great benefit for
our members. Most travelers spend between $1,000 and $2,000 per year just
on office supplies. When you figure in the additional savings
Staples is giving WSTA members on printing, office equipment, and general
household supplies -you will be saving about $300 to $500 per year!”
In addition to checking out prices online,
members can order online, saving time and gas money. Moreover, with a
minimum order of only $30, Staples will deliver it FREE to your home
or office. If members have questions, or you are
looking for the lowest price, Staples has assigned WSTA members a dedicated
customer service rep - just a phone call away, ready to help you.
When you are traveling, you can shop in the more than 1,250 Staples stores,
and you will receive the special WSTA pricing. Click here to
find out more about these great discounts.
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Board Ballot Mailed Next Week
 The
ballots for the election of five directors to WSTA’s
Board of 13 directors will be mailed to each WSTA voting member on June 27.
There are two seats open in each of the
Western and Central regions and one seat open in the Eastern
region. Members are allowed to vote for candidates in each
region. Candidates came from suggestions by members as well as
solicitation by the nomination committee. All candidates were
interviewed and then selected by the nominations committee based on
experience in the industry, outside service to the community, and skills
and knowledge they would bring to the board.
Please return your ballot before July 27, 2007 by fax or in the
envelope that will be enclosed. Results will be announced in the
August 23 issue of WSTA Online.
Maximizing Your
Return from a Shoe Show
By
Mary Ruoff
This is the
second series of articles that WSTA will be
publishing on topics that will benefit shoe travelers
 In
the late 1990s, when Gary Morgan was president and chairman of the board at
the Pacific Northwest Shoe Travelers Association, he helped put on its
Northwest Market. At one of these regional shoe trade shows, a newcomer
left after a day because no one was stopping by his booth. Morgan, now WSTA
vice president and an independent sales representative in the Northwest for
Naot, Klogs and Spring
Boost, told the man, “My job is done. My job ends at the threshold of
this hotel.”
As Morgan notes, it’s up to sales representatives to contact
retailers and invite them to check out the new lines and styles they have
on display. “They (shoe reps) have got to put it out there,” he
says. ”They won’t have a successful show if they
don’t take the time to get on the phone and make their calls.
It’s very difficult for you to develop your business if you’re
not taking time to develop relationships and make calls to invite people to
your booth.”
Morgan was one of several shoe travelers who talked with WSTA about how to
maximize the return on the time and money that sales representatives and
shoe vendors invest in regional and national shoe shows. All agreed that
thorough planning and good organization are essential, especially since
independent retailers are attending fewer shows because of rising travels
costs and a slowing economy.
“The biggest change to shoe shows has been the loss
of many independent retailers, meaning fewer stores attend the
regional and national shows,” notes Chuck Conroy, an independent
sales representative for Propet USA who has
worked as a shoe traveler in the Midwest for more
than 25 years. “On the other hand, reps are traveling larger
territories, so it is even more important to see as many stores as possible
at a show to avoid traveling to their locations. Fewer stores, larger
territories, and increasing travel expenses all mean that those who are
still attending shows find them important.” Read the
entire article here.
WSTA
Members Give Time and Effort for Charities
Many WSTA members contribute lots of time and effort to charitable causes
throughout the year. We would like to give you one example of that
with WSTA’s own board member, Terry
Bastis.
 On
July 7-8, Terry will be walking in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in San
Francisco. She will spend the weekend
walking nearly 40 miles with thousands of other people.
On August 17-19, she will be in Cleveland,
walking the Breast Cancer 3-Day, raising money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. She’ll walk 20 miles per
day for three days and will have raised over $2500
to date for this event.
If you want to know more about the charities participated in by board
member Terry Bastis, please contact her at terry.bastis@mephisousa.com
or 503-297-1086.
If you know of travelers taking time out of their very tightly woven
schedule to participate in charities, please let WSTA know by emailing us
the information at info@shoetravelers.org.
Are
Apparel Stores Becoming a Key Part of a Rep’s Footwear Business?
In the last issue of WSTA Online, we asked the question,
“Do you think footwear in apparel stores is growing rapidly, will
become a meaningful part of the footwear industry, and a bigger piece of a
rep’s business?
Below are the results from this survey:
Save Money on Your Taxes
 Take
one hour on July 29 and attend one of the two sessions when the WSTA
seminar on Tax Tips for Travelers is presented in Las
Vegas. Click here for times
and details.
In
Memoriam: Vern Bakken
 Vern
Bakken joined the Wohl Shoe Company after
graduation in 1950. Up until his retirement in 1994, he was a loyal
company man and always excelled in and loved his profession. He was
married to wife Sandy for 54 years, and had daughter, Julie, and son,
Jeff. He was a chaplain at Masonic Lodge 121 in commerce Twp., MI.
After retirement, Vern continued to work and volunteer at a luxury
retirement community and was loved by all residents. Vern’s
hobby was his 1965 candy-apple red Mustang, for which he won many trophies
and enjoyed many cruise-ins throughout the
years. He will be missed by many.
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Show News
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Deadline Approaches for WSA Online
Registration
 July 6 is the deadline for WSTA members to register for the WSA Show online
if you want to receive your badges in the mail. You can still
register after July 6 online but you will have to pick up your badges on
site.
To
register online go to www.shoetravelers.org
and under the Shows listing click on WSA Show Registration and follow the
steps.
WSA
Announces Information Regarding Free Porter Service
 WSA has now provided information regarding the free porter service for WSTA
members for the upcoming WSA Show, July 30 through August 1.
Please click here
to read all information pertaining to the free porter service at the Las
Vegas Convention Center
and shipping instructions to The Collections at the Venetian.
Still Time to Enter Rep
Reward Program
You can win complimentary hotel nights in Las
Vegas as well as Executive Club lunch passes at
WSA. All you have to do is submit names of retailers who currently do
not attend the WSA Show. For complete details, click here.
Not only do you have a chance to win great prizes, but you can then work
with the these retailers at the WSA Show, which could mean more business
for you as well as save you time from additional store visits.
That’s a real win-win. Deadline for submission of names
is July 20, 2007.
Late Dates in February 2008 for WSA
Causes Stir Among Vendors
The dates of February 21-23, 2008 for the WSA Show have
caused lots of discussion and speculation as to exhibitors pulling out of
the show. WSTA, in its investigation, finds that while there is lots
of talk, no final decisions have been made by any exhibiting vendors.
WSA has stated it did its best to change these dates that it acquired from
previous management but could not find a way to change the dates and meet
the needs of the show.
WSTA will continue to monitor the situation and will announce any news
regarding this matter.
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Industry News
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Finish Line to Acquire Genesco
 On June
18, 2007
Finish Line announced it will buy Genesco in a
deal that will close this fall.
The deal would create a $2.8 billion combined company,
operating nearly 3,000 stores in the U.S. Genesco
would become a subsidiary of finish Line but continue to be headquartered
in Nashville. Finish Line said it does not expect that
Genesco’s workforce will see
“significant changes.”
The acquisition brings together the following groups of stores; Finish
Line, Man Alive, Paiva, Journeys, Underground
Station, Johnston & Murphy, and a group of hat retailers. (FN Daily
Update June 18, 2007)
May Retail Sales Show Gain
Compared to April, where
sales were dismal, May sales revived and showed an overall 4.7% gain over
last May. Department stores sales fell slightly while apparel and
accessories stores (including shoe stores) posted a healthy increase,
according to the Commerce Department. Higher priced stores continued
to outpace the more moderate chains. (NRF Smartbrief
June 13, 2007)
WSTA’s poll of several footwear
retailers showed mixed results with as many down as up.
Internet
Sales Losing Steam?
 Growth
in online sales has dropped dramatically in many diverse categories.
Analysts say it is a turning point and growth will continue to slow through
the decade.
This slowdown is a
result of several factors. Sales on the internet are expected to
reach 5% of all retail sales this year, making it harder to maintain the
same growth rate. At the same time, consumers seem to be changing
their buying habits and are going back to spiffed-up brick and mortar
operations.
Some analysts expect
that overall online sales growth will slow to 9% a year by the end of the
decade from as much as 25% in 2004.
Online
apparel sales, which increased 61% in 2006, are expected to slow to 21%
this year.
Analysts
project by 2011, online sales will account for nearly 7% of overall retail
sales. (NRF Smartbrief June 18, 2007)
Very Interesting Footwear
Stats from 2006
While
footwear pairage sales continue to increase,
average price per pair continues to drop.
In 2006, 2.4 billion
pairs of shoes were sold in the U.S. compared
to 2 billion pairs in 1999. That equates to 8 pairs purchased by
every man, woman, and child in the U.S.
At the same time
(1998 to 2006), while overall retail prices rose 23.7%, footwear prices
actually dropped 3.5%. (AAFA Shoe Stats 2007)
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