Off-Price Specialist Show – Home & Gift Partners with the World Market Center – Las Vegas

Furniture World Magazine

Las Vegas and the Tarsus Group of the United Kingdom have announced that the Off-Price Specialist Show – Home & Gift will join the Las Vegas Market for its upcoming event to be held January 31 – February 3, 2006. The industry’s newest home and hospitality contract furnishings trade event, Las Vegas Market, debuted in July 2005 with more than 1.5 million net square feet of permanent and temporary exhibition space. Las Vegas Market is the largest and most diversified furniture and decorative accessories market in the western United States, and the first U.S. based global market for the industry. Bringing together international and domestic buyers and sellers as well as world renowned trade shows, Las Vegas Market was the largest launch of a new trade show in the U.S. The inaugural show in July 2005 featured more than 1,200 exhibitors in both temporary venues and permanent showrooms at the new World Market Center complex in downtown Las Vegas, which is planned to expand to 12 million square feet by 2012. Shawn Samson, managing director of the World Market Center, says, “The addition of the Off-Price Home & Gift Show is an important addition to the home goods/home furnishing sectors we already serve. By expanding our offerings into off-price home goods, buyers will have an opportunity to shop for high quality merchandise at below wholesale price points.” The Off-Price Specialist Show – Home & Gift, which was launched in May 2004, has grown steadily over the past two years, attracting retail buyers seeking quality closeouts for immediate delivery in order to increase their stores’ profitability. Bill Jage, CEO of the Off-Price Specialist Center, says, “We are very excited about this opportunity to join the World Market Center for the most important dates in the home goods/home furnishing industry. Our offerings certainly overlap with the home goods/home furnishing market as a whole.” Four Off-Price Home & Gift shows will be held in calendar year 2006 in partnershipship with the Las Vegas World Market Center: January, May, July and October. Retail buyers have responded enthusiastically to news that the Off-Price Home & Gift shows will be co-locating at the World Market Center. Jay Goldstein, giftware buyer for Marmaxx, says that the co-location will offer Marmaxx buyers a great opportunity to access the supply side of the off-price home goods industry. Peter Hayes, president of Variety Wholesalers, which operates the Bargain Town, Midway, Rose’s and Super 10 chains, also welcomes the addition of Off-Price Home & Gift to the World Market Center offerings. “In the past,” he says “we did not send our buyers to the World Market Center because we didn’t believe that our target vendors would be there. With the addition of Off-Price Home & Gift, we will be sending a full contingent of buyers to the event.” About the Off-Price Home & Gift Show: The Off-Price Specialist Show – Home & Gift is produced by the Off-Price Specialist Center, which also produces the Off-Price Specialist Show – Apparel, the Off-Price Specialist Markets, and Off-Price Apparel magazine. Founded in 1995, the Off-Price Specialist Shows and markets are the premier venue for retailers sourcing quality goods at below wholesale prices. The Off-Price Specialist Show- Home & Gift is organized in cooperation with World Market Center by Tarsus Group plc, a publicly traded international media group headquartered in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Exhibitors at the Off-Price Goods Show in Las Vegas include manufacturers, importers and wholesalers of quality value lines, closeouts and excess inventories. Attendees include some of the biggest names in discount and value retailing, as well as smart independent, regional, and specialty store buyers who come to write orders for quality off price home goods. About World Market Center: World Market Center is an integrated home and hospitality contract furnishings showroom and convention complex in Las Vegas. When fully built, at 12 million square feet in 8 buildings, World Market Center will be the largest trade show facility in the World. The 12 million square foot campus will showcase furniture, decorative accessories, lighting, area rugs, home textile and related segments, as well as a Design Center open year-round to the trade. The second building is under construction and will open in 2007; officials are now leasing the third building to a broad crosssection of the home furnishings industry. The second Las Vegas Market is being held January 30 – February 3, 2006 with permanent showrooms on-site at World Market Center. Temporary exhibits will be located at the Pavilions adjacent to World Market Center and at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, as well as Off Price Home Goods Show at Las Vegas Convention Center.