In 2017, the ShoesStar international shoe project celebrated the double anniversary of the fifth anniversary of the exhibition and the completion of the tenth season of ShoesStar Ural. Alexandra Sakaeva, Director of the ShoesStar International Footwear and Leather Goods Exhibition, spoke about the main achievements and development of the project.

 

 

– The first ShoesStar exhibition was held in 2011 in Yekaterinburg. Do the tasks facing the exhibition at that time and now differ?

 

To date, we have successfully organized and held 68 exhibitions in six regions of Russia, including the Far East, Western and Eastern Siberia, the Urals, Krasnodar Krai, Crimea, as well as countries of the near abroad, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.The main goal of the project is to enable shoemakers in Russia, CIS countries, APEC, South America and the European Union (EU) to present new collections to regional representatives of retail chains and stores.

We have never engaged in a simple sale of expo places. Our task as an organizer then and today is to create a comfortable business environment for effective communication of all market participants. Shoe retail is a small business, it is developing intensively, new players are emerging, so ShoesStar it is important not just to match what is happening, but also to be one step ahead, to analyze market conditions.

The series of exhibitions starts twice a year in six cities of Russia - Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Yalta, as well as in Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Baku (Azerbaijan). Events are held in modern exhibition complexes and congress centers. We offer our guests special accommodation conditions, free parking spaces, internet access, coffee break zone and other amenities.

 

–What results have been achieved?

 

Among the key achievements of the outgoing year is the expansion of the geography of the project. Supporting the interest of shoe manufacturers and distributors in the development of new regions, we have included the Caspian direction in the exhibition map. The first specialized international exhibition was organized in Baku in SeptemberShoesStar–Caspian for shoe retail of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. The event, which was attended by more than 120 heads of trading companies, provided brands with a unique opportunity to promote to the Caucasian and Middle Eastern market.

This year we have proposed a more intense business program. Seminars, master classes, round tables with government representatives, trainings from well-known Russian and foreign experts – the multidisciplinary business environment has given market participants access to useful industry content: from the selection of collections to the solution of personnel issues, from the design of an offline store to the organization of e-commerce. The active dialogue made it possible to identify the current problems of the industry and outline the prospects for development in the new economic reality.

To strengthen personal and business contacts, we have organized a series of football matches and international bowling tournaments. This approach made it possible to enhance the effectiveness of exhibitions. Only for the last season ShoesStar was visited by about 2,000 shoe retailers and industry professionals. The total audience of the project, according to the registration data, exceeded 1,500 enterprises.

 

–How many brands participated in the exhibition this year?

 

– We have formed a unique line-up of participants. To date, more than 220 exhibitors – manufacturers and distributors of footwear and leather goods from 28 countries of the world have joined the project, and their number is growing every season.

 

 

– What is the uniqueness of ShoesStar for business? What can the exhibitors and guests of the event expect?

 

– ShoesStar – the only international exhibition project for the development of shoe business in the regions. More than 20 thousand shoe retail legal entities have been collected in our database, a permanent pool of buyers has been formed. Territorial focus allows shoemakers to keep their finger on the pulse: observe competitors, take into account the specifics of demand, evaluate the volume of orders, form assortment policy in accordance with the regional consumption model. Feedback helps to reduce risks: adjust the development strategy in time and choose the most promising areas of work for the current season.

Our project operates on the principle of a single window. By bringing manufacturers closer to the consumer, we reduce the transport leverage. For shoe store owners ShoesStar is a unique opportunity to establish direct contact with manufacturers: get acquainted with collections live, negotiate supplies and logistics, respectively, effectively manage time and budget.

 

– Every season ShoesStar offers exhibitors relevant local marketing tools. What's new in 2017?

 

For manufacturers who want to bring a new brand or product line to the market, we have proposed a format of personal presentations, a questionnaire of potential customers to monitor interest, as well as a fashion show of shoe novelties during the opening days of exhibitions. This year, the activities of ShoesStar were supported by more than 20 information partners, and work with the mass media continues.

We have started to produce a directory of shoe companies «ShoesWorld. Shoes from A to Z" in electronic form. The printed edition of 5,000 copies is distributed free of charge at all our exhibitions, as well as at the stands of Euro Shoes. This year, as part of the creation of a unified information space, we launched an electronic version of the directory.

 

Are cardinal changes expected in the new exhibition season?

 

– We start the preparation process in advance – already 3 months before the event, our audience can get acquainted with the entire program. The dates of the exhibition are integrated into the shoe production cycle, taking into account seasonality, which allows buyers to competently plan the purchase budget.

ShoesStar has become a driver of the development of the regional shoe market, therefore, it is planned to attract new promising brands, exchange professional experience, analyze results and strengthen occupied positions. This is our present and near future. The main thing is that customers do not hesitate to set non-standard tasks, and we will definitely find a decent solution.