Feb 12, 2016

Good buyer attendance, great order writing highlight winter 2016 L.A. Mart Gift & Home Market

Enthusiastic retailers from across the country, energetic sales, more than 87,000 square feet of new exhibit space, and hundreds of “only in California” products were on display at the Winter 2016 L.A. Mart Gift & Home Market, held Thursday, January 28 through Tuesday, February 2, 2016.

“Our buyers emphasized over and over again just how much they appreciated the comfortable, relaxed atmosphere, convenient parking, showroom hospitality and thousands of resources the L.A. Mart has to offer,” stated Frank Joens, Sr. vice president/general manager. “We have really focused on making our market experience easy, exciting, fun, and most importantly, productive for both our valued retailers, and our showrooms.”

Retailers attending the winter market also valued the range of products – from leading manufacturers to merchandise that is only available in the Western region at the L.A. Mart. Buyer comments included:

“We’ve never seen the building so well-maintained and everyone imbuing a spirit of such positive energy!” –Kim Kaczor, Bristol Farms, 10-store chain

“The L.A. Mart is better here than in neighboring states—and the showrooms offer more complete product collections than in Las Vegas. L.A. is simply a better experience—Los Angeles is a great city and the L.A. Mart provides us with a much better sales environment at market time.” –Joan Flax, Flax Paper, Westwood, California

“I do a lot of shows, but I make sure I come to the L.A. Mart because I see things here I don’t see anywhere else!” –Debbie Loescher, Debra Jane’s at Knorr, Del Mar, California

“The best thing about the L.A. Mart is that everything is so unique! It’s my favorite shopping experience” –Mary O’Brien, C&M Jewelry and Dolls, La Habra, California

Making its debut at the winter 2016 Market were 25 new showrooms, including top holiday lines Katherine’s Collection, Melrose International, Joy to the World, One Hundred Eighty Degrees, Glitterville, Bethany Lowe, The Zizi Group, and Season’s Direct Concepts — helping make the L.A. Mart the leading resource for holiday/seasonal products on the West Coast. In addition, the L.A. Mart welcomed back well-known sales firms Rosalie & Friends and Bridgeport Gallery as well as furniture supplier NRB Originals, who returned to the L.A. Mart after completing their tenancy at the California Market Center. Popular showrooms that also significantly expanded their exhibit spaces included: Palecek, Steven Young, Lynn Mitchell, Bassman Blaine, Urban Colony, Toyology, and the Venemen Collection. In all, the L.A. Mart added over 87,000 square feet of space to its showrooms and product offerings in time for the Winter 2016 Market.

L.A. Mart tenants reported strong sales, with retailers needing to stock their shelves after a better than expected Christmas season. Holiday resource One Hundred Eighty Degrees reported sales growth of over 75% since their move to the L.A. Mart, while Rosalie Kaplan, president of the veteran sales organization Rosalie & Friends enthused: “This was our best show in years!”

The L.A. Mart will host its Spring 2016 Market Sunday, April 3 through Tuesday, April 5, 2016. Its major Summer 2016 Gift & Home Market will take place Wednesday, July 20 through Monday, July 25, 2015.