It will be back to business in-person this August for FFANY Market Week, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA) announced last week. FFANY Market Week will take place the week of August 2, 2021.

The FDRA, which merged with and assumed management of FFANY last year, recently conducted a “Marketplace Working Group” in which leaders from the retail and wholesale community expressed a desire to return to a FFANY Market Week. Representatives of companies with New York showrooms on the call indicated that their showrooms will be open to see accounts during August FFANY Market Week. Others said they expect to be ready to show at the Warwick Hotel and other temporary locations as they normally do.

The FDRA said it is also confident that retailers will be sending their buying teams to New York that week for a return of in person line reviews and meetings having recently conducted a survey of 24 “national” retailers with the majority responding that they were likely to or would be sending buyers to New York in August. they were likely to or would be sending buyers to New York in August.

Additionally, the FDRA team is working on a FFANY “Digital Directory of Brands” that will serve as central space for the industry’s brands to post information about their showroom status and location as well as list contact information about their sales teams and provide links to digital selling tools, brand information, etc. Look for the Digital Directory to launch in early June.