NSRA RETOOLS CONFERENCE.

Byline: Eric Newman

NEW YORK -- The National Shoe Retailers Association is adding a dose of entertainment to its August conference.

The event, dubbed "Retail Survivor: Outwit, Outlast, Outsell," will offer educational sessions that play off the popularity of the hit reality series "Survivor." It will feature top footwear execs such as Athlete's Foot CEO Bob Corliss and Zappos.com cofounder Tony Hsieh, and will also include a special appearance by Rupert Boneham, a contestant from the show.

"We're changing things up a little bit [for this conference] and going into a new venue of delivering education," said NSRA Director of Education Cynthia Mullaly. "We wanted to make it a combination of entertainment and education. It's time that we take the conference and try to bring a little bit of a different twist to it."

This year's conference features two main speakers instead of the usual keynote address.

Matthew Hudson, cochair of NSRA's Education Committee and president of the Big Feet Store in Fort Worth, Texas, will open the conference with a discussion designed to help retailers better connect with store employees. Author and motivational speaker David McNally is slated to close the session.

The conference will also feature two panels:

- For "Outwit: Lessons Learned from Internet Survivors," panelists will examine the risks and pitfalls of the e-commerce business as well as how to handle returns, payment options, inventory control and distribution. Panelists will include Zappos' Hsieh, Barbara Thornton, founder and owner of Designershoes.com and Lucky Shoes' owner Tom Luck.

- "Outsell: The Athletic Footwear Challenge" will discuss trends, merchandising and customer service in the athletic business during the panel, which will feature Corliss; Cregg Weinman, chief editor of The Running Network; and footwear consultant Ralph Parks. "The athletic market continues to be 36 percent of the market, so retailers have to be aware of that," said NSRA President Bill Boettge.

Other breakout sessions will focus on niche businesses, women's market trends and strategies for breaking into the Hispanic market.

Caption(s): Bill Boettge, NSRA