Daily News

From Home Furnishing Business

Las Vegas Reports Strong Summer Show

August 5, 2013  by in Las Vegas, Market   

Robert Maricich , chief executive officer of International Market Centers, said that optimism and a true zeal were in the air, as he reported an increase in attendance over recent summer markets.

Maricich said that 18 months ago, Las Vegas Market began making changes to the campus to transform it into exactly what buyers want, resulting in an extensive array of furniture, home décor and gift offerings that appeal to the ever-sophisticated attendee. Summer 2013 Las Vegas Market highlights include the debut of three new floors of gift and home décor showrooms, plus two expanded floors. To attract more buyers, Las Vegas Market staffed a 16-person call center this year, which made more than 42,000 phone calls to extend invitations to retailers across the globe.

"We've made great strides in repositioning Las Vegas Market as 'Today's Total Marketplace,'" Maricich said. "The combination of the second largest furniture market in the Western Hemisphere, the country's largest bedding marketing, one of the largest home decor markets in the U.S. and the nation's fastest growing gift market is very compelling for buyers and exhibitors alike." 

Growth in the Market's gift offerings and expansion of better home décor resources has been exponential, with the summer 2013 addition of 70-plus new vendors and more than 1,000 new lines to Building C.

"We're increasing the quantity and quality of existing categories, such as gift and home décor, while also introducing new categories such as specialty tabletop and vintage, as part of our creation of the premier market in the western United States," said Dorothy Belshaw , president of Gift & Home Décor, International Market Centers. "At the same time, our extensive retail relations efforts are increasing both awareness of and attendance at the Las Vegas Market."

Sebastian Herald, CEO of Michael Aram, a story-driven collection of art inspired by Indian handicrafts debuting in Las Vegas for the first time this summer, said that he watched Las Vegas Market mature and knew it was time to become a part of it.

"Vegas is an epicenter for other industries that are ambient to our core industry of gift and accessories, and those industries are the decorator business, hospitality and corporate gifting. So we view this as a platform, not only for expanding our brand but for slow and steady infiltration into new marketplaces that are present here." Herald added that he'd already written a number of orders, and knew that he'd made the right decision to participate. "We're here for the long run," he said. "We really believe in this. We have evangelized the benefit to our brethren brands in the industry, and I think if you miss out on this, you're missing out on something special."