Jun 5, 2012

California Gift Show Welcomes New Permanent Showrooms and Temporary Exhibitors to the 2012 July CGS Market

California Gift Show (CGS) announces an impressive roster of new and expanded permanent showrooms and new and returning temporary exhibitors to launch the CGS summer show. This recent flurry of leasing activity signals the market’s response to the strength of the region and the L.A. Mart/California Gift Show brand.

“As the U.S economy begins to improve and as consumer confidence begins to notch upwards, the gift industry in the region is responding accordingly,” said Jeff Sampson, vice president marketing, L.A. Mart/CGS/L.A. Mart Design Center. “Manufacturers and multi-line rep showrooms who do business here are demonstrating their conviction by signing on the dotted line, that’s great news for everyone, especially for the retailers who shop with us.”

Joining the line-up of showrooms at L.A. Mart are CGS temporary exhibitors transitioning to permanent spaces, newcomers from competitive market centers, and existing showrooms expanding in square footage and renewing long-term leases. Highlights include: six-time CGS exhibitor Keena, a western states multi-line rep firm. Keena offers home and personal accessories, a partial listing of lines include; Austin Press, Corkcicle, Danica, Funnybone, Kobo, Mywalit, Russell + Hazel, Thomas Paul, S’well, Urban Aid and more. Owner Catharine Keena “felt that Keena needed a home in Southern California and that the retailers based there would benefit from our presence in a permanent showroom space at L.A. Mart.”

Reinforcing the reach of the L.A. Mart’s Design Center division is the lease renewal and showroom expansion of PALECEK who added 6,650 square feet totaling almost 10,000 square feet. “We are very excited about our recent expansion to our showroom in the L.A. Mart allowing us to add considerable space for displaying our PALECEK and Pierce Martin by PALECEK products,” said David Beld, executive vice president, PALECEK. “Adding this amount of square footage will also allow us to use a portion of the new space to sell furniture, lighting, wall décor, and accessories off the floor attracting both designer and retail customers.”

Other new permanent showrooms opening at L.A. Mart include: Chow’s Oriental Arts, Inc., Echo by Fine Lines and Noir Trading. These five new/expanded showrooms add almost 20,000 square feet to the already impressive line-up of year-round shopping resources.

At the Los Angeles Convention Center, approximately 100 new exhibitors representing almost 15,000 new square feet join the roster of returning exhibitors to the Gift and Beckman’s Handcrafted Show L.A. line-up. A small sampling of new Gift Exhibitors includes: Bedhead Pajamas, Tokyomilk, Ty Inc., Picnic Time, Maxwell Division, Lollia, Love & Toast, Ohio Wholesale and new to Beckman’s: Virtu, Broke Jewels, Life on Accessory, Bijoutiere and many more.

2012 SCHEDULE:

JULY
California Gift Show
Wednesday, July 25 – Tuesday, July 31
L.A. Mart Showrooms: 25 – 31
Hours: Monday – Thursday and Saturday – Tuesday: 9 am – 6 pm
Friday, Late Night Shopping: 9 am – 8 pm
Los Angeles Convention Center Temporaries: 27 – 30
South Hall Gift I Beckman’s Handcrafted Show L.A. I Kentia Global
Marketplace
Hours: Friday – Sunday: 9 am – 6pm
Monday: 9 am – 4 pm

SEPTEMBER/ OCTOBER
L.A. Mart Fall Gift + Home Market
Sunday, September 30 – Tuesday, October 2, Hours: 9 am – 5 pm

NOVEMBER
L.A. Mart Fall Gift + Home Sample Sale
Thursday, November 8 – Friday, November 9, Hours: 9 am – 5 pm

MARKET TUESDAYS
Each Tuesday of every month, L.A. Mart permanent showrooms will be opened and offer seasonal specials, sneak peeks at new products, meet & greet’s with manufacturers and reps, and much more.
Hours: 9 am – 5 pm

June 5, 12, 19, 26
August 7, 14, 21, 28
September 4, 11, 18, 25
October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
November 6, 13, 20, 27
December 4, 11, 18, 25

For information on L.A. Mart Gift + Home, visit www.lamart/gift.com. Image downloads are available at: www.pressroom.mmart.com/cgs/image-gallery/ and at www.facebook.com/californiagiftshow

ABOUT L.A. MART and CALIFORNIA GIFT SHOW
L.A. Mart® is a registered trademark of MMPI. The California Gift Show® is a registered trademark of MMPI. Beckman’s Handcrafted Show™ L.A. is a registered trademark of MMPI. L.A. Mart is home to nearly 200 permanent year-round, residential, decorative accessory and gift showrooms serving the retail and interior design industries. The California Gift Show Temporaries feature over 800 temporary exhibitors of lifestyle merchandise, home décor and furnishings at Los Angeles Convention Center, making the California Gift Show the preeminent market for gift and home furnishings products on the West Coast. L.A. Mart is located at 1933 South Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90007. For more information call 213-763-5800 or visit www.californiagiftshow.com or www.lamart.com.

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; Architects & Designers Building and 7 W New York in New York; Boston Design Center in Boston; L.A. Mart in Los Angeles; and Washington Design Center and Federal Center Southwest in Washington D.C.

Vornado Realty Trust, owner of MMPI, based in New York City, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust. Vornado’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are traded under the symbol VNO.