Nov 21, 2013

GHTA & AmericasMart to Host Cocktail and Networking Reception for Industry Groups

The Gift and Home Trade Association (GHTA), the industry’s non-profit professional trade association, and AmericasMart will host a cocktail and networking reception for industry groups during the Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market®. The event will be known as the Bridgeway Industry Collaborative and will be responsible for “bridging a gap” by gathering essential industry partners together in one space for the first time ever.

“The GHTA has been working hard over the past several months to facilitate opportunities for all industry organizations to connect and to collaborate with one another,” shared Todd Litzman, president of Brandwise and the GHTA board. “The Bridgeway Industry Collaborative event – thanks to our partnership with AmericasMart – is one of those events and the first step in building a stronger gift and home industry together.”

The GHTA will be joined at the cocktail and networking reception by the Gift Sales Managers Association (GSMA), the Holiday Decorative Association (HDA), the Young Gift Executives (YGE), and the Accessory Resource Team (ART). Approximately 300 people are expected to attend the event.

“GHTA is taking intelligent, timely action in facilitating this collaboration,” notes AmericasMart President and COO Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr. “Our industry is powered by the imagination and creativity which comes from human interaction. We are especially pleased that AmericasMart is the preferred venue for this historic gathering.”

Event Details:

Event: Bridgeway Industry Collaborative

Date: Thursday, January 9, 2014

Time: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET

Location: Building 2, Suite 891 A&B

Additional networking receptions will be announced for the winter 2014 Dallas and Las Vegas markets.

About the Gift and Home Trade Association:

GHTA is the gift and home industry’s professional trade association formed to help vendors, sales agencies, retailers and industry affiliates who are involved in an industry that is fast changing, with the expectation of making it better together. GHTA’s mission is to support, lead, and unify the gift and home industry, focusing on its long-term success. GHTA can be reached by email at info@giftandhome.org. For more information on the Gift and Home Trade Association visit www.giftandhome.org.

About AmericasMart:

AmericasMart Atlanta is the nation’s only global wholesale marketplace housing the world’s single-largest collection of home, gift, area rug and apparel merchandise. The largest of AmericasMart’s 14 annual Markets and shows, The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market and The Atlanta International Area Rug Market in January and July are the ignition switch for global retailing with buyers from every U.S. state and more than 90 countries discovering product in more than 1,400 showrooms and more than 2,500 temporary exhibiting companies.

Located in downtown Atlanta, the AmericasMart complex contains more than seven million square feet of space. It’s a huge global stage on which manufacturers, designers and sales representatives unveil new lines, launch new designs and introduce new categories – all for the benefit of buyers seeking all that is fresh and first in the home, rug, gift and apparel arenas. For more information, please visit www.AmericasMart.com. Follow us @AmericasMartATL or @AtlantaApparel.