Las Vegas Reports Strongest Market in 3 Years

February 20, 2012  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Markets on February 21, 2012

Las Vegas Furniture Market reported double-digit increases in attendance, buyers and exhibitors at the recent Winter show.

Market officials reported significant attendance increases amongst retailers across all categories, interior designers as well as international buyers, especially those from Canada, Latin America and the Middle East.  

According to Robert Maricich, CEO of International Market Centers, parent company of World Market Center Las Vegas, Winter Las Vegas Market 2012 was the strongest ever in three years.

"Given the depth of the recent recession, our success speaks volumes about improving consumer confidence and a resurging economy," he said. "According to our statistics, the recession is officially over in the eyes of the furnishings industry. The energy at Winter Market was palpable. Buyers were buying, and ultimately, that's what counts." 

Statistics from the Jan. 30-Feb 3 Winter Las Vegas Market included:
* 14 percent increase in attending companies compared with Winter Market 2011.
* 27 percent increase in Latin American buyers and a 33 percent increase in Middle Eastern buyers compared with a year ago; and almost twice as many Canadians attended than at the Summer Market 2011.
* 23 percent increase in buyers compared with Summer Market 2011.
* 83 of the industry's top 100 retailers in attendance.
* 31 percent increase in interior designers compared with Summer Market 2011
* 4,000-plus new U.S. buyers attended for the first time; 1,000-plus new international buyers.
* 71 percent of first-time buyers were from the Western United States.
* 58 percent increase in mattress buyers compared with Summer Market 2011.
* 21 percent increase in furniture buyers compared with Summer Market 2011.
* 19 percent increase in decorative accessory buyers compared to Summer Market 2011
* 9 percent increase in floor coverings buyers compared with Summer Market 2011.

Since August 2011, Las Vegas Market signed an additional 275,000 square feet of showroom and exhibit space to 257 companies. This included 236 new companies to the Las Vegas Market and 21 existing tenants that have expanded. In total, Las Vegas Market encompassed more than 5 million square feet of exhibition space across with more than 1,000 exhibiting brands and lines. 

The recent merger of the World Market Center Las Vegas complex and the most premier High Point properties, now forming the International Market Centers umbrella, is a positive force for the industry, Maricich said.

"The two Markets are now cooperating, not competing," he said. "It's a union that has been a long time in coming, but one that is mutually beneficial for everyone in the industry. We can now offer buyers, exhibitors and manufacturers the best of both Markets."