Apr 14, 2014

How The West is One

The management teams of the California Market Center (CMC), LA Mart and California Gift Show have joined forces to launch a co-promotional campaign for Summer 2014 – “How the West Is One.” Putting a spotlight on how the combined product offerings of the three venues create the largest gift and home market in the west, the new campaign is designed to maximize the buying experience for attending retailers. As part of the unified message, the three venues will honor each other’s admission badges and provide free shuttle service between each location and host hotels.

Held Tuesday, July 15 – Monday, July 21, the LA Gift & Home Market at CMC is located at 9th and Main St. Running from Wednesday, July 16 to Monday, July 21, the LA Mart’s GALLA Market is at Broadway and Washington Streets. Scheduled for Friday, July 18 to Monday, July 21, the California Gift Show will be in South and Kentia Halls at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“Buyers come to the Los Angeles Gift & Home Market expecting to discover a wide variety of exciting and highly marketable products in a unified and easy-to-shop environment,” states Gerry Seibel, vice president of new business development, California Market Center. “With the CMC, the LA Mart and the California Gift Show all coming together in a truly united effort, we will be able to offer our customers concurrent dates, coordinated shuttle services and other amenities to make their Los Angeles Market shopping experiences productive and fun.”

“The LA Mart is proud to be on the ground floor of this Los Angeles Market unification,” notes Frank Joens, senior vice president, general manager, LA Mart. “Combining resources and partnering with the California Gift Show and the California Market Center is a natural fit for a strengthened market that will offer attendees everything from the largest national brands, to the extraordinary and unique one-of-a-kind Los Angeles lines. With the power and reach of all three LA venues working in consort, the buyers are sure to find everything they need all the while enjoying an unparalleled and convenient shopping experience. When you add the fantastic weather, the incredible revitalization of downtown LA’s restaurants, hotels and nightlife, to our thousands and thousands of product resources, a shopper can truly make this their one-stop destination in the West.”

“When we acquired the California Gift Show in August 2012, we launched a rebuilding process to revitalize the trade show marketplace for retailers from throughout Southern California and surrounding areas,” explains Doug Miller, president, Urban Expositions. “There is great strength in numbers. By partnering with the LA Mart and California Market Center to shine a spotlight on the vast product resources and service offerings of the permanent showrooms and temporary exhibits, we deliver a strong, vibrant marketplace that truly meets the needs of retailers and vendors alike.”

As part of the co-promotional campaign, each venue will use the “How the West Is One” logo to highlight all three locations in their own individual marketing efforts, including direct mail, print advertising, email marketing, web banners and other marketing tools. In addition, the three venues will honor each other’s admission badges and provide free shuttle service between each location and host hotels.

Temporary exhibitors and permanent showroom owners from the three venues have responded favorably to the joint promotional effort and its potential to further strengthen the marketplace.

“‘How the West Is One’ is a great way of reminding our local and out of town buyers about the product resources available through the three show resources which make up the Los Angeles Gift & Home Market,” agrees Mickey Lang, owner of the nationally known sales organization California Marketing Associates, with a permanent showroom at CMC. “This marketplace offers retailers the chance to shop thousands of quality lines from the gift, home, children’s and fashion accessories’ industries, while enjoying Los Angeles’ always-beautiful weather, and the resources and restaurants located in the dynamic, revitalized atmosphere of the new downtown L.A.!”

“The ‘How the West is One’ campaign is a terrific move forward for all involved,” adds Shirley DeMarco, owner, Shirley DeMarco & Associates. “As an independent rep who has shown at the California Gift Show for almost 24 years, it is great to have all of us working together. And if you have not been to LA in years, you are in for a huge surprise. Revitalized is an understatement! You’ll find great weather, great lines and fabulous entertainment.”

“Los Angeles is the center for innovation and creativity,” says Matt Katzenson, owner of LA-based showroom Fine Lines. “Shopping here is inspiring and fundamental to retailers all over the country. We have three markets that offer buyers so much; great lines, new resources and a wonderful shopping experience. A buyer should not miss out on all that LA and Southern CA has to offer.”

Retail buyers agree, commenting on the extensive selection, convenience and resurgence of the marketplace.

“Being able to attend an affordable market closer to our home base is critical. The Los Angeles Gift and Home Market is very in tune to our needs as retailers in the Southwest,” explains Kathryn Moroz, president/senior management consultant, Spa Advisors, Inc., Phoenix, AZ. “The rebuilding process was evident and was much appreciated at the last show. We wrote several orders and found new lines! Can’t wait to see what other great vendors are added for the next show!”

“As a longtime retailer in the Los Angeles market, I’m thrilled to see the emerging synergy between the CMC, LA Mart and California Gift Show,” adds Meredith Miller, co-owner/director of marketing and merchandising, Webster’s Community Pharmacy, Altadena, CA. “Buyers have long been challenged by the complicated logistics of this marketplace and I am pleased to see that our voices are being heard and respected. Los Angeles is a wonderful incubator of trends, designers and fresh ideas. Just as retailers have had to reinvent themselves to stay relevant, so does the trade industry that serves us. I wish everyone well in making this important transition successful!”

ABOUT CMC LA GIFT + HOME MARKET

As the intersection of Gift, Home, Design & Fashion on the West Coast, LA Gift & Home Market at the California Market Center offers buyers an extensive selection of leading gift, home décor, holiday, fine furniture, lighting, tabletop, packaging, stationery & floral lines, as well as premier fashion accessories & apparel collections, including over 800 kid’s lines. www.californiamarketcenter.com

| 110 East 9th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90079, 213.630.3600

ABOUT LA MART GALLA

GALLA, Give and Live Los Angeles, is the new identity of LA Mart’s bi-annual Gift + Home + Design Center trade shows. GALLA provides buyers and designers unprecedented access to shop thousands of world-class gift, home, furniture and lifestyle lines in the building’s permanent showrooms. www.lamart.com | 1933 South Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90007 | 800.526.2784

ABOUT CALIFORNIA GIFT SHOW

Now managed by Urban Expositions, the semi-annual California Gift Show features thousands of local resources, destination lines and international fare showcased in temporary booths categorized into nine well-edited product sectors ideally suited for the west coast retail audience. Held in South and Kentia Halls, Los Angeles Convention Center | 1201 S. Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015 | www.californiagiftshow.com | 800.318.2238.