Feb 27, 2015
CMC’s Winter Gift & Home Market Kicks Off 2015 With New Resources, Enthusiastic Retailers and Strong Orderswww.cmcgiftandhome.com

Los Angeles – The new year kicked off with a great start, which included a combination of optimistic buyers, enhanced product sales, and an imaginative wave of fresh products successfully coming together at the Winter Los Angeles Gift & Home Market, held at the California Market Center (CMC), January 21-26, 2015.”We had a fantastic show, writing orders from morning to night. We saw so many new customers this market. Our customers have learned to get their holiday orders in early, so the January market has definitely become the most important Christmas show of the year for us,” observes Barbara Zizi, co-owner of the sales organization which represents such celebrated holiday lines as Melrose International, Katherine’s Collection, Vickerman’s Trees, and Bethany Lowe.Carol & Mickey Lang, owners of the national-known sales firm California Marketing Associates, also shared their excitement over the great business they were seeing this Market: “Our buyers were definitely much more upbeat than they have been and they were much more willing to write larger orders and take more chances than we’ve seen in a long time.”CMC was abuzz with dozens of new and exciting gift, home, design, fashion, men’s accessories and baby/children’s products to enhance retail shelves. Among the fresh product collections which made their debut at CMC’s Winter Market: Caffco, CA Gift, Elly Preston Jewelry, I Heart Eyewear, Majesty Bells, Neko World/Sanrio, RumbaTime, Snoozie, Somerset Toiletry Company, Tag Thiz, Clementine Designs, Jim Spinx/Ephemera, STP Marketing, Drew Derose, Stellar Marketing, JFL, Legacy, Gummibear, TSC Collectibles, Bottles ‘n Wood, Pampanee, Exotic Recovery, Cerabella Candles, Roxstar, Bobo Designs, Lva Scarves and Pop Culture Living.

Rosalie Kaplan, veteran owner of the well-known Los Angeles-based sales group Rosalie & Friends Inc, introduced many of the aforementioned new resources to buyers this Market, exclaiming: “It was our best show in years!”

The California Market Center also opened a few new showrooms of particular interest to gift/home/fashion-oriented retailers. Among the showrooms making their debut at CMC: Leaders in Leather/Kathy L. Barrett Selections, showcasing a complete collection of popular, tooled leather handbags and travel accessories; Hatley, a top-selling ensemble of baby, children’s and adult fashion apparel and accessories; and Majestic Gifts, offering a selection of upscale Judaica items and unique tableware.

Buyers came from across the country and around the world to attend the Winter Los Angeles Gift & Home Market, with retail specialties running the gamut between international amusement parks, hospital gift shops, casinos and resorts, wineries and spas, stationers and Hallmark stores, zoos and botanical gardens, and gift/lifestyle retailers. Notable retailers coming to CMC included: Tokyo Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Santa Barbara Zoo, Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Descanso Gardens, Children’s Hospital, Marin General Hospital, UCLA Store, St. John’s Hospital, Torrance Memorial Medial Center, Scripp’s Memorial Hospital, San Antonio Winery, AJ Fine Foods, Grand Sierra Resort, Arclight Cinemas, It’s A Wrap, Webster’s Fine Stationery, Kelly’s Hallmark, Thinker Toys, and 3 Monkeys.

Four lucky buyers also were the winners of CMC’s Market promotions. Out-of-town retailers Lisa Czene, AJ’s Fine Foods (Phoenix, AZ) and Marnie Bivetto, Los Gatos Company (Los Gatos, CA) won the free hotel nights give-away good for the Summer Los Angeles Gift & Home Market. David Crocker, buyer for Los Angeles’ famous Descanso Gardens won the Local Buyer Traveler Kit containing a gas card, a free lunch certificate, and a complimentary car wash. C. Dana Clapp, a buyer for Nancy’s Country Hearts (Corona, CA) won the VIP Swag Bag overflowing with goodies that was awarded for pre-registering Market.

The Winter Los Angeles Gift & Home Market denotes the second show uniting the three venues making up the show (The L.A. Mart, the California Gift Show, and the California Market Center) under the banner “How the West is ONE.” This campaign, which provides coordinated shuttles and common badges for all three locations, proved to be both noticed and well appreciated by buyers.

“The transportation between the sites was easy and efficient, and one badge for all three venues saved us lots of time not having to re-register at each show,” comments Theresa Giangregorio, manager of Lovi’s gourmet food store.

CMC’s Spring Gift & Home Market will take place Sunday, March 29 through Tuesday, March 31, 2015, and will run concurrently with the LA Mart. Summer Market is scheduled for Wednesday, July 15 through Monday, July 20, 2015, running concurrently with both the LA Mart and California Gift Show.