Gift and Accessories adds new dimension to WMC

Hot off the success of five exciting shows, World Market Center is again dressed up and primed for action as the January Las Vegas Market nears. Merchandise from more than 1,200 companies will be displayed in nearly 3.5 million square feet of exhibition space, encompassing categories from furniture and decorative accessories, to wall decor, lighting, floral, tabletop, textiles, floor coverings, bedding and more.

Among the presentation at MGM Grand, Vegas Accessory & Gift will serve as a must-visit “show-within-a-show,” comprised of an expanded range of general gift, accessories, tabletop, stationery, candles, garden, seasonal and other related products.

Vegas Accessory & Gift promises attendees the total package: a dazzling collection of the newest products, trends and ideas to let buyers take full advantage of the blurring line between home decor and giftware. The growing home accessory and gifts category has tremendous synergy with Las Vegas Market’s focus on furniture and home decor. The section adds another layer to buyers’ shopping opportunities — while exhibitors benefit from the diversity of gift buyers who already attend Las Vegas Market.

WMC is eager to expand this successful product category and provide manufacturers and buyers with a true destination of gift resources. With that, the planned construction of Building D on the campus of WMC is being earmarked as the future home for the gift industry.

Building D will have several floors dedicated to gift companies when it opens in 2010. WMC is already home to 25 of the Top 100 names in gift and accessory including: Aldik, Barraveld International/DKLiving, CBK, Dr. Livingstone, Eastern Accents, Global Views, Imax, Manual Woodworkers & Weavers, Mark Roberts, Oriental Accents, Sadek, Saro Trading, Sullivans, Tozai and UMA Enterprises.

“World Market Center is already by all accounts a strong gift marketplace, and now by expanding the category into future phases of the complex, we will be able to offer a critical mass of companies,” said Babs Blair, vice president of leasing, WMC. “By 2010, Las Vegas will emerge as a significant national venue for gift buyers.

By offering the best lines in furniture and all categories of home decor, it allows Las Vegas Market be a one-stop buying experience for retailers shopping a broad range of products.”

The addition of a gift-focused building complements WMC’s ongoing strategy to be the total home furnishings market by connecting all of the categories and offering the greatest depth and breadth of products for home furnishings retailers.

According to Blair, because of the diversified platform offered at WMC, manufacturers and buyers have an opportunity to cross over and make new connections in Las Vegas, from all product categories including furniture, accessory, lighting, juvenile and more.