OCTOBER 2018 RETAILOBSERVER.COM
35
F
ifty-four new permanent showrooms, several major expansions,
nearly 150 new-to-market exhibitors and numerous show-
only specials attracted enthusiastic U.S. and international
buyers to Las Vegas Market last week, supporting a strong gift and
home industry with product introductions, trending designs and West
Coast exclusives.
"Buyers at Summer Market were here to buy," said Robert J.
Maricich, CEO for International Market Centers. "Summer is typically a
bit slower than Winter, but with the industry growing at 3-4%, a strong
housing market and year-over-year retail sales growth for home and gift,
manufacturers took advantage of the positive state of the industry and
rolled out new products to entice buyers to fill their assortments for the
coming season. Those that did, had a great market."
NEW PRODUCTS IN HOME FURNISHINGS INSPIRE BUYERS
Many exhibitors cited a strong summer market, and numerous
showrooms noted significant upticks in sales volume.
"I think we probably have a 30% increase over our last July," said
Birger K. Rasmussen, Vanguard Furniture. "Two-thirds seem to be new,
and they're just hearing about us and coming in; so that's exactly why
we are here. It's 90% Rocky Mountain, West Coast, any people we
would not see in other parts of the world."
Fairmont Designs of Cerritos, CA returned to Las Vegas Market for
Summer 2018 after a six-year hiatus.
"We've had an exceptional response to the new showroom, the new
product and the direction we are moving in," said Scott R. Medal, vice
president of sales for Fairmont Designs. "We introduced new sofas
and also had a market promotion that did very well."
In the bedding category, luxury and enhanced technology were the
focus with Tempur-Pedic debuting its ultra-premium LuxeAdapt beds,
Baltica introducing its luxury Arcusbeds line, Classic Brands rolling out
an upscale bed-in-a-box collection, and Eclipse International unveiling
The Hospitality collection. Other significant introductions in the
category came from Therapedic, Downlite, Englander, Ergomotion,
Customatic Technologies, E.S. Kluft & Co., Intellibed, King Koil, Malouf,
Reverie, Sheex, and Spring Air, among others.
V I B R A N T
STRONG BUYER TRAFFIC, INCREASED ORDER WRITING & NEW PRODUCT
I NTRODUCTIONS SET TH E STAG E FOR SUCCESSFU L SU M M E R MAR KET
SOLID STATE OF THE
GIFT AND HOME INDUSTRY FUELS
