By Nancy Meyer
The summer edition of Las Vegas Market kicks off this week with the inauguration of Building C, the third showroom venue on this 5-million-square-foot World Market Center campus.
WMC officials and exhibitors have pulled out all the stops to make this one of the biggest home markets yet, with a grand opening kickoff party featuring rock legend Rod Stewart, and many designers and celebrities in town to share their inspiration. Luminaries who will appear at market include Larry Laslo, the featured Design Icon lecturer; Kathy Ireland; Bob Mackie; Candice Olson; Dick Idol; Donald Trump; and many others.
Opening day, Monday, July 28, the pyrotechnic ribbon-cutting ceremony with project officials and special guests, begins at 5:30 p.m. in the newly refashioned Grand Plaza.
With the new building, all exhibitors are now on campus for the first time, eliminating the need for shuttles to temporary convention sites. Temporary booths are housed in Building C, fourth floor, and range from gifts and decorative accessories to furniture lines.
Also in Building C, new exhibitors to the market include fabric specialist Robert Allen/Beacon Hill; Lifetime Brands, known for its tabletop and housewares brands, which will launch its accent furniture collection here; and Pacific Coast Lighting, which is hosting afternoon events with its licensing partners Kathy Ireland, Dick Idol and National Geographic Home Collection. Other newcomers include Raz Imports, Trend Lighting, Nora Lighting, Jessco Lighting, Vaxcel Lighting and others.
Of the relocated furniture companies, AICO opens on the top floor of Building C, and Lexington Home Brands anchors the 11th floor.
On the fifth floor of C, the juried design sections of ConText, Design & Living and Living Green Pavilion will house a broad array of designs and luxury products from around the globe.
In terms of events, this market will feature educational, trend-focused and design-oriented seminars throughout the week. The Forecast Series promises a sneak peek of what’s hot in future seasons. The Brave New World Environmental Leadership Series will cover nearly all there is to know about “going green.” Special attention is also being devoted to help retailers capture more profits and better understand the increasingly important juvenile market, as the Vegas Kids area will host two educational seminars and a reception.
In the Design Icon lecture series, Laslo of Larry Laslo Designs will discuss highlights of his life as a designer and sources of his inspiration. He will also share insights into the business of design. Laslo’s talk will take place Thursday, July 31, at 2:30 p.m. in Building C, third floor (C-136). Following his lecture, from 4 to 6 p.m., The Robert Allen Group will honor Laslo with a reception its in new showroom, C-101.
Laslo’s new 250-fabric collection, “Larry Laslo Designs for Robert Allen,” will be updated this market, with new upholstery and window fabrics, and also a new trim collection in the Robert Allen/Beacon Hill showroom here.
The full lineup of seminars and special events is available at any information booth, in the market directories and at lasvegasmarket.com.
For their part, retailers are shopping the market looking for the next great color, fabric and design, but also ways to grow their businesses in today’s tough climate.
Fortunoff is focusing on three categories at the market: accent furniture, wooden bar sets and the hearth business, which includes fireplaces, Dave Vernon, executive vice president and general merchandise manager of home, told HFN. The Las Vegas Market “is a good springboard to find resources and cement programs for the third and fourth quarters,” he said.
The specialty retailer also will explore opportunities to expand its rug business.
“We’ll be evaluating potential to grow that business,” Vernon said. “We’re trying to figure out how to trade up the business by offering more value to it … and repositioning our lifestyle assortments: traditional, transitional and contemporary.” In recent years, Fortunoff’s rug business had gotten too promotional, he said.
The home business has been challenging for the retailer, which filed for Chapter 11 this year. “On top of that is the tough economy,” Vernon said.
Because of the higher costs and difficulty getting goods from overseas, some buyers are taking a closer look for domestic sources.
Such is the case of Boscov’s, said Ditles Wergerland, senior buyer of upholstered furniture for Boscov’s, who will be shopping the show.
Boscov’s is in the market to shore up more domestic resources that produce locally “that will be faster than China,” he said. “Right now, freight is the biggest problem” price-wise with soaring fuel costs, he said.
In upholstery, Wergerland said, “We’re looking for the next fabric that’s coming along, the next [bed frame] that might mean something different.”
Green fare is on Boscov’s show list.
“At this point, that’s going to mean soy cushions or cotton fabrics,” Wergerland said.
Overall, the upholstered furniture business has been tough at Boscov’s. “It’s been soft because of the economy. If you’re paying $4.50 for gas, [consumers] say, ‘I’m sitting on my same sofa,’ ” Wergerland said.
Rod Ghormley, senior vice president of home for ShopKo, said although the retailer is not going to Vegas this time around because the show conflicts with the company’s golf charity event, Vegas will likely displace High Point in the future as its key furniture market.
“Vegas is becoming more popular with vendors,” Ghormley said.
It’s easier to get to, there are more hotels and is a better market experience, he said.
“At High Point, you can pay $300 to stay at Hampton Inn. In Vegas you can pay half that and stay at a nice hotel,” Ghormley said.