It’s July, which for us is synonymous with summer Atlanta and Las Vegas markets. But this time around, things will have a different air because back in May, International Market Centers and AmericasMart announced a merger.
The individual markets will continue to operate under their existing names and branding, but the new combined entity is now the largest permanent mart operator for furniture, home decor, rug, gift and apparel in the world. Major moves being made.
And that’s not all — there’s also a new 350,000-square-foot Expo Center set to be constructed on the World Market Center Las Vegas campus in partnership with the City of Las Vegas in the next year, which will provide state-of-the-art exhibition and meeting space for the show and for other events as well.
All of these market center happenings, as well as the recent influx of personnel moves, has made for a very exciting last few months and has reminded us all that things should never get stale. Change is good, and these are all signs of an industry that’s adapting and moving forward.
And when we actually get to these summer markets, we will not be disappointed. AmericasMart LIVE will return this summer and feature an impactful trio of presenters: lifestyle guru Martha Stewart, business power woman Bethenny Frankel and country music star and lifestyle personality Trisha Yearwood. Flip to page 26 for more details on their respective presentations.
And they said summer markets were slow!
We’ve got more to dispel that myth, too. We just attended the June edition of the Showtime Fabric Fair in High Point, and Kimberley Wray wrote a great synopsis about it starting on page 44. News out of that show included a super innovative new product from Decorative Fabrics of America, who has entered into a strategic licensing agreement with Hologenix LLC, makers of Celliant®, to create woven fabrics that harness and recycle the body’s natural energy.
Fabrics woven using this innovative FDA-designated technology will absorb energy (heat) emitted by the body and recycle it back into the body, increasing strength, giving you more energy while you work, better endurance and speedier recovery time.
Say what? Health-consciousness really does reign supreme today. I’m so curious to see how this performance fabric works, and more importantly, to see what the reception is.
In the meantime, I’ll see you all around Atlanta and Sin City. LD
