50th Anniversary Celebrated by Peterson Associates Inc
The Merchandise Mart, home to the world-class Chicago Market which opened on January 19, celebrated a benchmark anniversary with one of its premier tenants, Peterson Associates, Inc. This second generation manufacturer’s representative organization who services over 4,500 retailers in the Midwest celebrated its 50th year in business on Saturday, January 21st with hundreds of industry buyers in attendance.
Founded by Robert Peterson, Peterson Associates successfully covered the state of Michigan since 1962. Son Ward joined the company in 1989 as a field sales representative followed by Brad who joined in the same capacity in 1991. The brothers purchased the business from their father in 1996, ensuring family ownership for a period that spans 50 years.
In January of 2001, Peterson Associates entered the Illinois/Indiana market and opened their 4,000 square foot showroom in the iconic Merchandise Mart. The showroom is professionally staffed, and automated with Brandwise, the industry’s leading provider of back office and field sales software. All of the sales representatives are seasoned professionals and are equipped with laptops in the field. They call on and service their accounts on a consistent basis, presenting new product lines, writing orders, assisting local retailers with displays, performing inventories, overall helping their retailers develop and execute winning formulas to compete in the challenging market place.
“We are proud of our Midwest heritage, our talented staff, the great lines we represent and our customers most of all,’ said Brad Peterson, market director and owner, Peterson Associates, Inc. “We believe our responsibility is to our customers, to help keep them armed with fresh products, new information and expert selling advice, we know their local markets because that’s where we live.” Peterson’s proudly represents some of the gift industry’s leading lines including Santa Barbara Design Studio, Michel Design Works, Transpac Imports, tag, Foreside Home & Garden to name a few.
“The Merchandise Mart is extremely proud to have such a fine organization that has persevered and grown during the past fifty years as a tenant and business partner,” said Mark Furlet, Vice President gift + home, Chicago Merchandise Mart. “Especially given the most recent economic climate, the fact that Peterson Associates continues to grow is a testament to their business acumen, we were thrilled to have made their 50th Anniversary Celebration an important part of the Chicago Market.”
2012 CALENDAR SCHEDULE
THE CHICAGO SPRING MARKET
March 25-27, 2012
Running in conjunction with STYLEMAX
THE CHICAGO SUMMER MARKET
Showrooms: July 19–25
Temporaries & Beckman’s Handcrafted Show: July 21–24
THE CHICAGO FALL MARKET
September 21-23, 2012
Running in conjunction with The International Casual Furniture and Accessories Market
Note: Dates are subject to change, please check www.shopchicagomarket.com for up to date calendars
TO REQUEST IMAGES CONTACT nancy@njoseph.com or rosette@njoseph.com.
TO REACH: Brad Peterson, owner
Peterson Associates, Inc.
312- 527-2565 and 231-256-9169
brad@petersonassoc.com vwww.petersonassoc.com
The Chicago Market: is a trademark of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI). Beckman’s Handcrafted Show™ is a registered trademark of MMPI. The Chicago Market is a quarterly wholesale tradeshow designed for store owners, retail buyers and designers. The market offers a wide array of quality products ranging from home accents and furniture to handcrafted to collectible items, holiday, baby/children’s product, gourmet and more. The Chicago Merchandise Mart is located at 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, Chicago, IL 60654. For more information call 800.677.6278 (MART) or visitwww.shopchicagomarket.com.
Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI) is a trade show and property management firm, specializing in managing buildings devoted to wholesale showrooms and commercial office space. MMPI produces more than 300 trade shows, market events and conferences each year. MMPI manages The Merchandise Mart; the Architects & Designers Building and 7 W New York in New York; the Boston Design Center in Boston; the L.A. Mart in Los Angeles; and the Washington Design Center in Washington D.C.
Vornado Realty Trust, owners of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI), based in New York City, is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust. Vornado’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are traded under the symbol VNO.
