Jan 7, 2013

Change is in the Air: Urban Expositions Launches Windy City Gift Show

In an effort to reestablish the Chicagoland area as the premier trade center for gift retailers throughout the Midwest and surrounding areas, Urban Expositions has announced plans to launch the Windy City Gift Show. Set to debut January 18-21, 2014 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, the new semi-annual exhibition will offer retailers a tremendous product selection in a convenient, cost-effective location just minutes from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

“From its easy accessibility to its solid convention infrastructure to its vast retail base, history has shown there are many reasons why the Chicago area should host a vibrant trade show for the gift industry,” explains Doug Miller, president, Urban Expositions. “In studying the marketplace, we felt Rosemont offered countless money and time-saving benefits to buyers and exhibitors alike. An ideal convention city that caters to the business-travel audience from O’Hare, the city offers quality hotels at affordable prices, easy access, an excellent convention facility and a brand new entertainment district filled with restaurants and entertainment venues.”

Consistently rated among the premier convention and destination cities, Chicago is the third largest city in the US and the economic hub of the entire Midwest trading area. It’s an area with a strong retail base, including small, independent stores, larger, innovative retailers and home to major hardware buying offices.

“We’ve received numerous requests from the region’s industry supporters to provide a long term solution for the marketplace,” adds Miller. “We understand the market and the fact that this region is known in the industry for the strong partnerships and loyal business relationships between its large sales agencies and local buyers,” adds Miller. “These reps know and understand the specialized needs of their retail customers who, in turn, want to do business with people they know and trust. We will work to make sure that the Windy City Gift Show provides the perfect meeting point for these industry members.”

Because of its central location and easy accessibility – just minutes from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and within a six-hour drive of 24-plus urban areas — the Windy City Gift Show is expected to attract retailers from throughout the region, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky. These retailers will represent every category, including gifts and decorative accessories, souvenir/resort, floral, boutique, hardware, apparel/women’s accessory stores, stationery/greetings, garden centers, jewelry stores, museums/zoos/aquariums, toy stores, specialty gourmet food stores, bookstores and more.

In addition, the show’s selection will be custom-tailored to reflect the regional tastes and interests of the area – its strong seasonal business, great lakes and coastal towns, lodges and resorts. As a result, this distinctive selection will also offer appeal to top national retailers as well.

The Windy City Gift Show is projected to open with a diverse offering of lines categorized into distinct product sectors, including: Gifts – the largest section of the show featuring general giftware and a number of key subcategories like gourmet, seasonal, personal accessories, plush and toy; Handcrafted – a unique section featuring international and domestic artisans, designers and manufacturers of handmade merchandise; Design Chicago – design-led merchandise custom-tailored to the region’s forward -thinking retailers, including contemporary and innovative product lines that cut across all categories, such as giftware, home décor and tabletop; and Jewelry Cash & Carry -offering fine/fashion jewelry, fashion accessories and other items – all available for immediate delivery to the trade.

Sales efforts for the Windy City Gift Show will be overseen by Joan Ulrich, Vice President of New Business Development, Urban Expositions. Ulrich joined Urban in 2012 from MMPI where she was responsible for building revenues for the company’s permanent showroom buildings and trade shows in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

In addition to its full-scale sales efforts, Urban will launch an aggressive, targeted buyer marketing campaign designed to blanket the region with messaging about the new event and its opportunities. Pre-market promotions will be backed by a full roster of on-site programs and promotions designed to complement and enhance the new show’s extensive product selection, including educational seminars, networking events, show hospitality and entertainment.

For Buyer information, visit www.urban-expo.com or call 800.318.2238. For Exhibitor information, contact Joan Ulrich at 800.318.2238, ext. 0337 | julrich@urban-expo.com

ABOUT URBAN EXPOSITIONS
rban Expositions is the largest gift and souvenir trade show organizer in the U.S., hosting a total of 25 shows each year. In January of 1996, Urban Expositions launched the semi-annual Philadelphia Gift Show, which has become one of the largest and most successful regional gift events in the nation. Since then, the company has continued to grow through acquisitions and new show development. Based in Kennesaw, GA, Urban Expositions offers a complete roster of trade show management services, including exhibit sales and marketing, operations, exhibitor/ attendee promotions and services, media relations, seminar and event coordination, database development and management. For more information, visit www.urban-expo.com or call 800.318.2238.