World Market Center Las Vegas Unveils Plans for Building D

Furniture World Magazine

World Market Center Las Vegas, announced a significant milestone for the next phase of its 57-acre home furnishings campus. As the third phase of World Market Center – a 2.1 million square-foot structure with adjacent eight-story parking garage – readies for a grand opening at the Summer 2008 Las Vegas Market, project officials have received all city approvals for the fourth building on the complex with leasing beginning next month. The 1.1 million square foot Building D will feature 17 floors and will connect seamlessly to Building C. Building D is slated to start construction later in 2008 with a completion date of early 2010. When the fourth building is completed in two short years, World Market Center will stand at more than 6 million square feet of permanent showrooms, which exceeds the size of any wholesale merchandise mart in the United States. The fourth building on the eight-building campus will allow significant growth opportunities for several sectors of the industry that World Market Center already caters to, including U.S. furniture companies that will dominate seven of the upper floors in Building D, as well as decorative accessories and lighting companies that will occupy one floor. Moreover, Building D also fosters the introduction of two complementary and new industry segments to the burgeoning master-plan: gift and home textiles companies. Six floors in Building D will be dedicated to gift and home textiles, accounting for a total of about 425,000 square feet of space to accommodate these growing sectors. Furthermore, the first two levels of Building D will feature state-of-the-art flex space, allowing for up to 150,000 square feet of temporary exhibits to co-locate with the permanent showrooms during Las Vegas Market. Project officials also plan to use the flex space on a year round basis holding special events and industry exhibits as well as leasing the floors to outside groups looking for a uniquely positioned venue. Growing Gift and Accessories: As World Market Center sets its sights to add the gift industry to its Las Vegas orbit, many of the top names in gift and accessory already call World Market Center home. Most of these companies – located in Buildings A and B, in soon-to-be Building C, and in the temporary show, Vegas Accessory & Gift – have reported incredible success at the semi-annual markets. Included in the growing roster of existing gift and accessory resources at Las Vegas Market are Aldik, Austin Productions, Barreveld International/DKLiving, CBK, Crazy Mountain, Dr Livingstone, Eastern Accents, Global Views, IMAX, Import Collection, Lincoln Imports, Manual Woodworkers & Weavers, One Coast West, Oriental Accents, Roma Moulding, Sadek, Saro Trading, Sterling Industries, Sullivans, Three Hands Corp., Two’s Company/Tozai, UMA Enterprise, and many more. Furthermore, the unveiling of Building C next summer will offer continued momentum with leading gift companies: Midwest, Mark Roberts, Raz, Eighteen Karat, Country Originals, Evergreen, and Katherine’s Collection are a few of the premier gift companies that have joined World Market Center with permanent showrooms in Building C. Officials point to Building D, however, as being anchored by major gift companies and will serve as the most comprehensive destination in Las Vegas for the gift category. Plans also call for more space for gifts and home textiles in World Market Center’s fifth building. In keeping with the rest of the campus, floors for those two industries would be carried through into Building E, providing additional showrooms for exhibitors. Retail traffic at World Market Center has moved at an equally fast pace in these home sectors; show officials say accessory and gift products index as major categories for buyers at Las Vegas Market. This presents an incredible opportunity to attract new gift resources and meet increasing demand in Building D, according to Babs Blair, vice president of leasing for World Market Center, who says gift has tremendous synergy with Las Vegas Market’s focus on furniture and home décor. “World Market Center is already by all accounts a strong gift marketplace, and now by expanding the category into future phases of the complex, we will be able to offer a critical mass of companies,” Blair said. “By 2010, Las Vegas will emerge as a significant national venue for gift buyers. Offering the best lines in furniture and all categories of home décor positions our Market as a true one-stop buying experience for retailers shopping a broad range of products.” Because of the diversified platform offered at World Market Center, manufacturers and buyers have an opportunity to “cross over” according to Blair and make new connections from all product categories including furniture, accessory, lighting, juvenile, and others. The gift and home accessory category is comprised of an expanded range of general gift, accessories, tabletop, stationery, candles, garden, holiday/seasonal, floral and other related products. Its presence within Building D will offer an abundant array of the newest products, trends and ideas to allow buyers benefit from the blurring line between home décor and giftware. Taking Off with Home Textiles: The addition of home textiles category to Building D at World Market Center is further evidence of World Market Center’s ongoing approach to develop the ultimate industry destination for all home furnishings related products. It is also timely for companies looking to expand their channels of distribution, according to Mark Fraser, World Market Center’s new director of home textiles leasing. Targeted tenants will consist of a broad cross-section of home textiles suppliers and products, including top-of-bed, window treatments, table linens, bedding lines and more. “Home textiles is a key component of the ‘total home’ approach that World Market Center provides,” said Fraser. “By including home textiles in a much bigger, broader and more diverse home furnishing market, the World Market Center will be able to put textiles suppliers in the path of many more potential buyers and partners,” said Fraser. Even before construction begins on an exhibition building for home textiles, show officials say many textiles buyers already are making Las Vegas a stop on their show schedule. Due to the growth in this sector, Las Vegas Market launches ConTextSM this week at MGM Pavilion. Sharply focused on textiles and “top of bed” products, ConTextSM will feature the best of the best in textile design and decorative products. Existing home textile companies at Las Vegas Market include Eastern Accents and Pine Cone Hill. Arriving this summer with the grand opening of Building C will be SDH, Legacy Home, Mystic Valley Traders, Wildcat Territory, Etoffe Makara, Dreamfit, Berry Creek Home Collection and Lamoon. Before joining World Market Center, Fraser was publishing director in China for Reed Business Information, which is the parent company of Home Textiles Today. Prior to that, he served as publisher of Home Textiles Today, the industry’s leading journal, from 1998 to 2005. Fraser oversaw editorial, sales and the strategic direction for the publication and he worked closely with home textiles retailers and manufacturers in the United States and Asia. Fraser said his background in the home textiles industry will help him launch the category at World Market Center and to attract a broad mix of tenants. About World Market Center: World Market Center is an integrated home and hospitality contract furnishings showroom and trade complex in Las Vegas. When fully built, at 12 million square feet in 8 buildings, World Market Center will be the largest trade show complex in the world. The $3 billion, state-of-the-art campus will showcase furniture, decorative accessories, lighting, area rugs, home textiles and related segments, as well as the Las Vegas Design Center (LVDC) open year-round to the trade. World Market Center produces the semi-annual Las Vegas Market, held every January and July, and is the fastest growing home furnishings trade show in the world. World Market Center is now leasing the third building to a broad cross-section of the home furnishings industry.