Aug 11, 2014

LA Summer GALLA Reports Double Digits Success

Buyers attending the LA Mart’s Summer GALLA Market not only wrote new lines which debuted at the show but appreciated the convenience and amenities provided under the How the West is One campaign. The unified marketplace allowed buyers to take advantage of three venues and their offerings making it the largest West coast gift and home market.

Showrooms were thrilled with buyer response to the market and their lines. “This is really a great testament for our expansion, growing vendors and the LA Mart’s commitment to showrooms!” says Susan Thoen, owner of Collective Home which partnered with Napa Home & Garden to expand their space at the LA Mart. “Our sales were up 66 percent over last July and average order size way up because we showed so much more. We saw new customers, more orders and great successes at the LA Mart Sumer Market!”

LA Mart stalwarts fared equally as well. Matt Katzenson, owner of Fine Lines, noticed a renewed energy during market that translated into an upbeat buying mood. “LA Mart did a nice job stepping it up and elevating the show,” Katzenson said. “The building looked really great and the buyers appreciated it.” A partner in every sense of the word, Fine Lines celebrated their 25th anniversary with a festive summer cocktail soiree on the second night of market.

Other showrooms reported record breaking shows: “This LA Mart Summer Market had the highest sales record in the history of Anne McGilvray at the LA Mart,” says Liesl Ludwig, CEO of Anne McGilvray & Company. “We are elated with our results! The LA Mart continues to be a great venue for us!”

Buyers shopped more than a dozen new showrooms at the LA Mart including Santa Barbara Design, Nat Bouknight House of Glass, Barton Wayne, Hospitality, VH Group, Candle Warmers, Fashion Angels, Posh 365, a.t. Home/ Cooking Essentials, EJH Brand, Theresa A Seidel, Nomi Home and Sourcing International and 10 showrooms expanded to show a better range of their lines.

Taking advantage of the artisanal and hand-crafted movement, California Crafted returned with its thoughtfully curated collection of hand-crafted gourmet and one of a kind gift items stamped with the “Uniquely California” slogan.

In true California style, it wasn’t all work and no play. Buyers enjoyed California apples on every floor everyday, open bars on Thursday and Friday and morning mimosas on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Groups of shoppers took advantage of the photo booth during Friday Late Night Shopping, capturing all the fun and folly of the night.

Buyers who pre-registered using a promo code were entered to win a $500 Visa gift card. This market’s winner was Phaedra Rayner from Lily Barrack, LTD, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Showrooms got in on the action as they helped to promote pre-registration. Sales Producers knocked the program out of the park and the showroom was rewarded with a complimentary breakfast during market. Those who pre-register for the Winter 2015 market will be eligible to win a $500 Visa gift card as well.

Through generous donations of products and services by LA Mart showrooms, market attendees helped to raise over $2,000 for Gift for Life through an on-site silent auction.

While each market draws upon the success of its past, this one really hit its stride since everyone was on the same page: making the buyer experience stellar.

“We always strive to keep our buyers needs at the forefront and our unified campaign, How the West is ONE, where we collaborated with all the LA venues to make it easy for everyone to attend market, really resonated with our buyers,” says Frank Joens, senior vice president, general manager at the LA Mart. “By working together, we organized one of best marketplaces in the country. LA truly has the most gift and home resources in the West and the LA Mart buyers know it and showed us how much they loved it.”

The Fall Market takes place on Sunday and Monday, September 28-29 and the Winter Market at the LA Mart is from Wednesday through Monday, January 21-26, 2015. To learn more about the LA Mart, visit LAMart.com.

About the L.A. Mart®

LA Mart contains the West Coast’s most comprehensive collection of fine regional and national showrooms available to the trade and consumer buying communities 5 days a week. Encompassing 500,000 square feet of gift, home, furniture, and lifestyle lines, the LA Mart Gift + Home + Design Center features thousands of premium product lines, from custom manufactured to nationally branded merchandise, represented in our permanent showrooms.