Retailers Discover New Products At Portland Gift & Accessories Show

Furniture World Magazine

San Francisco: Retailers in the Northwest came to the January 8-11, 2005 Portland Gift & Accessories Show® prepared to restock their depleted shelves and research new resources for their stores. Consumer confidence and economic recovery continues to be on the rise in this region, and both buyers and exhibitors gave positive reports for the quarters ahead as well as the tourist season. The Portland market provides the perfect venue for discovering new products and rising trends. Over 4,500 buyers attended the January 8-11, 2005 market with 206 new stores making this event a “must” for filling their inventory needs. The 146th semi-annual gift event, held at the Oregon Convention Center, provided over 430 booths filled with merchandise needed for the spring holidays and summer tourist season. The Portland management team also made great efforts to provide more excitement and an upbeat atmosphere for buyers during the market. Offering unique educational opportunities with industry experts Andrew Andoniadis, Linda Cahan and Sue Kirby. In addition, the winter market premiered Demonstration Theater, which featured two daily demonstrations led by exhibiting companies. Programs included gift wrapping, bow making, permanent florals, container usage, food demonstrations and display. Three of Oregon’s finest vineyards offered complimentary wine tasting at the Buyer and Exhibitor reception held on Monday, January 7 to over 300 attendees. “The Portland Gift & Accessories Show continues to attract new exhibitors from across the country as their choice to launch product into the wholesale market. Because of this factor, our retail database has increased on a national level,” said David Gilfoyle, Show Manager of the Portland Gift & Accessories Show, Western Exhibitors, LLC. “They understand that it is important to find unusual merchandise in order to keep their business profitable—and they are able to find the uniqueness and diversity of product in Portland,” continued Gilfoyle. “The programs and promotions Western Exhibitors has developed—personal store contact, new exhibitor mentoring program, providing exhibitor-specific marketing through our Buyer Services Representative—have shown positive results. Our ‘out-of-the-area’ buyer attraction has increased, and vendors find that in order to capture a new audience and create new accounts, they must exhibit at the Portland Gift & Accessories Show,” stated Mike Dean, President of Western Exhibitors, LLC. Post Show Statistics -Number of Exhibiting Companies: 294 -Number of Booths: 438 -Net Square Footage: 40,275 -Buyer Attendance: 4,577 -Retail Store Attendance: 2,642 -New Stores Registered: 206 Exhibitor Feedback: “We really love the Portland Gift & Accessories Show and have been exhibiting here for over 20 years. We had our most profitable day ever on opening day—the promotions show management has put together to attract buyers is truly working.” Mike & Paula Starr—Canterbury Lane “We have many loyal accounts at the Portland Gift & Accessories Show. They are so important to our business, but the new accounts we opened at the January market will increase our business in the future.” Jill Rische—Borderline Designs Buyer Feedback “We found many new items to buy for our store and feel that attending this market was well worth the time. We attended every day—it may be a small show, but it features a lot of quality products. We will definitely be back for the June 2005 show!” Cindy Boron—Beyond Borders Home Décor & Gift—Nampa, Idaho “It has been five years since I last attended the Portland Gift & Accessories Show, and- I found new and innovative lines that I would not see in other markets. Because of the size of the Portland show, I was able to spend more time with the vendors.” Bette Edwards—The Little House—Vashon Island, Washington Booth Awards: Best booth awards were presented to six of the Portland Gift & Accessories Show® exhibitors. An independent booth award committee selected winners based on ambience, creativity, lighting, display skills, signage, wall systems and floor covering. -Best Small Booth (200 sq. ft. or under): The Country Cow -Best Large Booth (200 sq. ft. or over): A W Pottery Northwest -Best Booth by a New Exhibitor: International Accents -Show Management Award: Hoffman Hills -Show Management Award: Kelly Phipps Metalworks -Show Management Award: Servello Portland Gift & Accessories Show® Prize Winners The Portland Gift & Accessories Show rewards retailers for buying and offered a variety of prizes including a trip for two to Las Vegas, digital camera or PDA. The following are the winners of the prize drawings: -Las Vegas: Linda Prugh, Prugh Enterprise—Vancouver, Washington -Digital Camera: Gloria Korte, G & K Creations—Oregon City, Oregon -PDA: Bette Brown, Penache—Vancouver, Washington Future Market Dates: The next Portland Gift & Accessories Show® will take place June 4-7, 2005, at the Oregon Convention Center. The show will feature Artisans Avenue; The Vintage Collection; FoodFocus; Gifts & Collectibles; Personal Care; Home and Decorative Accessories; The Jewelry Vaultsm; Souvenirs & Novelty; Floral and Garden Accessories. Coming In June -Expanded FoodFocus division—in June, retailers will find a wide variety of pre-packaged gourmet products—just right for the busy fourth quarter. -Indoor/Outdoor Living—more exhibiting companies will feature products for indoor/outdoor living and capitalize on the Northwest’s enthusiasm for gardening -Artisans Avenue—this division features Northwest artisans new to the wholesale market. Product categories range from beautiful pottery to apparel and handcrafted jewelry to aromatherapy. -New Educational Programming—industry leaders will provide up-to-the-minute information about increasing profit markets and new hands-on workshops will be presented. -Demonstration Theater—six new demonstrations will be featured on the exhibit floor featuring products that will help retailers with holiday gift wrapping, bow making, gift baskets and much more. Markets Represented: General giftware; tabletop; housewares; decorative and personal accessories; contemporary, traditional, home furnishings; handcrafted Northwest crafts products; floral and garden products; and juvenile products; antiques and found objects; pre-packaged gourmet food items; seasonal merchandise; stationery; souvenir/resort products; personal care items; fine and fashion jewelry. Profile of Attendees: Specialty and department stores; gift shops; jewelry and clothing boutiques; galleries; craft retailers; gourmet shops; juvenile stores; nurseries; mail order catalogs; interior and garden designers; importers; and distributors. Exhibitor Information: For exhibitor information about the Portland Gift & Accessories Show, please contact David Gilfoyle, Show Manager—telephone 415.447.3232. Fax 415.346.4965. E-mail david@weshows.com. Additional information may be obtained by visiting Western Exhibitors’ Web Site at www.portlandgift.com. Buyer Information: Attendee information may be obtained by calling 800.346.1212 (outside of the Bay Area) or 415.346.0168 (within the San Francisco Bay Area). Fax 415.346.4965. Contact Western Exhibitors, LLC via e-mail at showinfo@weshows.com. Web-site: www.weshows.com or the interactive site: www.portlandgift.com.