WHFA Retailer Resource Center Gets Excellent Las Vegas Traffic

Furniture World Magazine

While showrooms boasted record-setting attendance and receptionists struggled to match buyers with sales reps, the Las Vegas World Market Center buzzed like a busy beehive. The on-site Western Home Furnishings Association’s Retailer Resource Center (RRC) was no exception. The allure of a brand new market, coupled with the excitement of one of the world’s most visited vacation destinations, exceeded even the dreams of market organizers. According to WMC officials, more than 62,000 people registered for the market by the end of its inaugural opening – exceeding its initial goal of 40,000. WHFA’s RRC was visited again and again by new and returning faces who sought its variety of compliments: a jammed-packed seminar room; extensive trade show; free coffee bar and fresh-baked cookies; and the RRC Internet Café. According to WHFA Executive Director Sharron Bradley, her crew wasn’t sure what to expect on opening day. “Although we were sure the Retailer Resource Center would provide the right benefits and comforts for visitors, we weren’t one-hundred percent sure how many would visit,” she said. She soon discovered that through strong pre-event marketing, good on-site information and heavy traffic flows throughout the World Market Center, turnout at the RRC was better than they had hoped. “The traffic exceeded our expectations, and then some,” she said. Retailers rested weary feet, networked with other shoppers and devoted lots of well-spent time to WHFA’s service providers. Each of the vendors beamed with approval at the traffic and business that came through the RRC. With many exhibitors located in the Las Vegas Convention Center, including additional WHFA’s service providers, buses were humming with load after load of visitors shuttling between the WMC and the convention center – each filled with excited shoppers who tirelessly tried to take in every exhibit they could. “Have you ever seen this much excitement at a market?” asked Rita Halston, a retailer from New Jersey.