Buyer Attendance Up Ten Percent At The January 25-29, 2003 Seattle Gift Show®

Furniture World Magazine

The 145th semi-annual Seattle Gift Showx, the Northwest’s largest gift and accessories market, experienced a ten percent increase of buyer attendance over the winter 2002 market. Exhibitors noted that buying was also up as retailers came to restock inventory depleted from the holiday season. Nearly 14,000 attendees shopped 1,458 booths filled with merchandise in every category. The Seattle market, housed entirely in the expanded Washington State Convention & Trade Center, gave attendees a first look at trends for the coming year. “We heard many enthusiastic comments from both buyers and exhibitors—buyers were finding fresh, interesting product to put on their shelves, and exhibitors were pleased with their sales results,” stated Mike Dean, President and Show Manager, Western Exhibitors, LLC. “The Seattle Gift Show continues to be an important market for the Northwest and has garnered more interest within the regional retail community. We are pleased that buyers and storeowners put this market as a ‘must shop’ on their show agendas,” continued Dean. “The Seattle Gift Show has a wide variety of unique product for Northwest Retailers as many of our exhibitors cater to their special inventory needs,” added Wendy Breuner, Executive Vice President and Show Manager, Western Exhibitors, LLC. “The 12 product divisions have truly brought a new sophistication to this growing market,” said Breuner. Post Show Statistics Number of Exhibiting Companies: 872 Number of Booths: 1,458 Net Square Footage: 136,897 Retail Stores: 7,954 Buyer Attendance: 13,964