How the West is One

The management teams of the California Market Center (CMC),LA Mart and California Gift Showhave 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.

California Gift Show Concludes With Strong Performance and High-Volume Order Writing

Idyllic weather and robust optimism provided the perfect backdrop for an impressive and energized summer Market for California Gift Show. Sustained attendance of new and returning buyers, highly-trafficked showrooms busy taking orders and exceptional merchandising presentations from distinctive, in-demand lines continue to prove Los Angeles is a must-shop destination for today's modern retailer. 

As consumers become ever-more informed and discriminating in their purchasing habits, retailers seeking unique products with greater intelligence look to L.A. Mart and Los Angeles as their entrée to manufacturers known worldwide and to the innovations for which California is renowned. More than 40 states were represented. 

California's mystique was also top-of-mind on the international front spanning North America, as Canadian and Mexican merchants shopped alongside Pacific Rim buyers from Hawaii, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul, as well as Middle East retailers from Dubai and Kuwait. 

Trends resonating this Market included "Made in America" and "Made in California," reinforcing the gift show's California-centric positioning and the overall sentiment to support American manufacturing. Also highly evident and in-demand were multi-functional, multi-purposed products. "This Market witnessed an increase in retailers supporting a 'made-locally' position," said Jeff Sampson, vice president marketing, L.A. Mart/L.A. Mart Design Center/California Gift Show. "We are proud that nearly half of our permanent showrooms offer California designed/manufactured products year-round. Quite a few of those products fell into the multi-purpose category as consumers expect greater value which these multi-functional items deliver on." 

Nearly 20,000 square-feet of new/ expanded permanent resources debuted this July Market, including Western states rep group Keena; echo by Fine Lines, the new division of Fine Lines Company presenting boutique lifestyle brands; Design Center anchor PALECEK with an additional 6,500 square-feet of merchandise available for immediate purchase; Chow's Oriental Fine Arts and Noir Trading rounded out the new year-round buyer resources.