The rescheduled edition of Lightovation, held March 23-26, welcomed buyers from across the U.S. back to the largest marketplace in North America for residential lighting. Buyers from more than 40 states attended the event, which featured new products inside many of the more than 200 permanent lighting showrooms. This edition of Lightovation took place concurrently with Total Home & Gift Market, creating an opportunity for buyers to discover both lighting and home décor sources. Showrooms reported higher than expected traffic and steady order writing among retailers intent on placing orders to meet consumer demand.
“This was a show of serious buyers focused on new products and ordering deep,” said Cindy Morris, President and CEO of Dallas Market Center. “This also signals that the summer edition of Lightovation will be extremely well-attended as brands debut a vast number of new collections featuring the latest styles and technology.”
Lightovation exhibitors agreed, noting the retail confidence at the show. “March Lightovation was all about getting back to business, and the show exceeded our expectations,” said Tim Flannery, EVP of Sales for Minka Group. “Inside our new showroom we were able to showcase all Minka Group brands together and debut more than 400 new SKU’s. This was a great first step, and we’re anticipating a very strong summer show.”
Tony Davidson, President of Eurofase added: “We welcomed optimistic and enthusiastic buyers to our showroom. They were looking for new products and they were ready to order.”
Buyers returned to the show intent on elevating their business. Stephen Miller with Dulles Electric Supply in Potomac, MD, commented: “It was important to catch up and see the new lighting trends and designs. Lightovation gives you the opportunity to see everything in every catalog, see the scale and the quality.”
Among the significant expansions that debuted in March were Minka Group, Savoy House, Z-Lite, Matthews Fan Company, and Elegant Furniture & Lighting. Inside the Spectrum shared showroom, Lucas + McKearn debuted a new bath lighting collection, and M&W SmartStone featured their onyx lamps. On the 10th floor of the World Trade Center, ProSource opened a smart lighting demo center. The space features multiple residential rooms showcasing smart home systems and devices, including lighting products and applications, for the benefit of ProSource members and vendor partners. Inside Light + Design on Ten, the first-ever smart home showroom that opened June 2019, Smarter Living by Design has been updated and expanded with new technologies.
In addition, March Lightovation saw the opening of a new sports bar called The End Zone on the fourth floor of the Trade Mart, providing a convenient food service option in the heart of the lighting marketplace in addition to dining outlets throughout the Dallas Market Center campus that remained open with safety protocols in place.
Supporting the health and safety of all customers, the market center continues comprehensive measures that include mandatory face coverings and temperature screening for every person entering the marketplace every day. Other efforts include enhanced cleaning with hospital-grade products, hundreds of hand sanitizing stations, limited food service, no gatherings and signage for social distancing. Along with these new steps, there are safety measures that are part of the design of the marketplace: open parking, large entryways, quick registration in multiple areas, wide hallways, multiple escalators to each floor, and showrooms with controlled access to allow for the appropriate distance between customers.
The next edition of Lightovation takes place June 23-26 and will include thousands of new products and collections as well as the summer debut of new showrooms and special events. For a limited time, a special hotel rate of $149 per night is available at the Hilton Anatole. Lighting buyers must book by April 16 via Market Travel to receive this rate. Lighting buyers also enjoy a reduced rate of $139 per night at the Sheraton Dallas. Shuttle service will be available in June where noted among all hotels.
Pre-registration is now available for the show via dallasmarketcenter.com/lightovation. By pre-registering buyers receive a FastPass email for contactless, quick entry into the show.
Additional information about Lightovation is on the Lightovation page of the Dallas Market Center website. Keep up with the latest developments by following the #Lightovation hashtag on social media, via the Lightovation Facebook Page and Lightovation - Lighting Industry Discussion Group.
