It’s a well-kept secret in Cobb County that one of the largest shoe trade shows in the world takes place twice a year in our community.IMG_6710

 

The Southeastern Shoe Travelers Association (SESTA ), founded in 1942, produces a bi-annual market at the Cobb Galleria Centre. This year’s spring show runs February 12-14. The Atlanta Shoe Market has a reputation as “the buying show” where retailers make their purchase decisions for the coming season. The market has made its home at the Cobb Galleria Centre since 1995. Over the years, the trade show has grown in size to become the world’s sixth-largest and the country’s second-largest shoe trade fair.  The market, which features most major shoe brands, fills an estimated 450,000 square feet of exhibition and event space at the Cobb Galleria Centre, Galleria Specialty Shops, Renaissance Waverly Hotel and Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.IMG_6714

The show’s economic impact is felt throughout Atlanta, with more than 4,000 attendees filling 3,000 area hotel rooms, 900 exhibitors and 1,800 shoe brands. The Atlanta Shoe Market is an example of just one of 179 multi-day conventions/trade shows held at the Cobb Galleria Centre each year.