The WSA Show
The WSA Show was the giant twice-yearly Las Vegas marketplace for footwear, handbags and accessories - at its directory-era height more than 24,000 participants and nearly 1,200 exhibitors under one show name.
Company Snapshot
- Status
- Could not be verified - ENK International acquired the show in 2007 and published Las Vegas editions through 2012; no current edition or working official show site could be confirmed for this update, so the show is treated here as a historical profile
- Type
- Footwear trade show (twice-yearly marketplace, in its operating years)
- Headquarters
- Las Vegas, Nevada, United States (show location; organizer ENK International was based in New York)
- Founded
- A Las Vegas footwear market with roots in the Western Shoe Association; the modern WSA Show ran for decades before the 2007 ENK acquisition
Company Profile
No current WSA Show can be pointed to with confidence: ENK International, which bought the show in 2007, published its Las Vegas calendar through 2012, and nothing verifiable has followed in the sources available for this update. The profile below therefore stands as the show's record - what it was, what exhibited there, and the two companion events it spawned - and, as a trade-show page, it carries no marketplace shop box.
The WSA Show is the largest and most comprehensive footwear and related accessories show in the world, in the directory-era description this page keeps. Its twice-yearly show in Las Vegas attracted more than 24,000 participants and nearly 1,200 exhibitors who represented the cream of the footwear manufacturing industry - in short, the ultimate must-attend market for the multi-billion dollar footwear industry. Exhibitor categories ran across men's footwear, women's footwear, children's footwear, handbags, accessories, shoe care, jobbers, athletic footwear, computer technology, publications, footwear industry associations, international pavilions and designer collections.
Two companion events grew out of it. The Collections at WSA was the show's premium floor - some 350 luxury footwear, handbag and jewelry designers in an upscale setting of their own - and Materials at WSA, which launched in Las Vegas in February 2008 alongside the main show, extended the marketplace into the supply chain: materials, design, components, technology and sourcing, aimed at product development and sourcing teams. The Materials at WSA profile sits in this directory's M section, and the footwear trade show and trade show category pages linked from this profile place the show in the wider calendar.
A Short History Note
WSA - the name came from the Western Shoe Association, the regional footwear association whose Las Vegas market grew into the national show - ran for some six decades in its various forms before the modern era of the event. ENK International, the New York trade show producer founded in 1981, announced its acquisition of WSA in December 2007, and ran the show in the ENK portfolio from 2008: the February 2009 edition still drew 24,270 participants from 106 countries, and ENK's announced calendar then ran the show twice yearly at Mandalay Bay and the Venetian/Sands venues in Las Vegas through 2012. After that the trail in this directory's sources runs out: no current WSA Show edition could be verified for this update, and the old show web address no longer serves as a reliable guide to an operating show, so the snapshot says so plainly rather than presenting the old description as current. As a trade-show organizer's page, it carries no marketplace shop box.
Common Questions
What was the WSA Show?
A twice-yearly footwear trade show in Las Vegas - the largest footwear, handbags and accessories marketplace of its era, drawing more than 24,000 participants and nearly 1,200 exhibitors at the counts this directory recorded, across men's, women's and children's footwear, handbags, accessories and supplier categories.
What were The Collections at WSA and Materials at WSA?
The show's two companions: The Collections at WSA, a premium floor of about 350 luxury footwear, handbag and jewelry designers, and Materials at WSA, launched in February 2008, covering the supply chain - materials, components, design, technology and sourcing for footwear product teams.
Does the WSA Show still run?
It could not be verified for this update. ENK International acquired WSA in 2007 and published Las Vegas dates through 2012; no current edition or working official show site could be confirmed, so this page is kept as the show's historical profile.
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