Jun 18, 2019

IMC expands buyer services staff and activities

International Market Centers (IMC) expands its buyer services team by focusing new and existing staff with expertise in four primary market categories – gift, home decor, furniture and apparel – and launches a new, in-house outbound call center in Atlanta to directly service more buyers each market cycle.

“We are leveraging our learnings and successes in growing Las Vegas Market over the last eight years to develop a specialized team to nurture our valuable buyer relationships,” said Karen Olson, senior vice president, marketing for IMC. “The knowledge and expertise of the team we have developed provides a personalized service to our buyers that is unmatched in the industries we serve.”

Buyer Services

IMC’s buyer services team now features category specialists tasked with supporting key and national accounts across primary product categories. Team members work across IMC’s campuses, providing one-on-one contact with buyers and serving as IMC’s liaisons to nearly 100 regional, national and international buying groups and associations. The team is:

• Cindy Henry, vice president of buyer services
• Sarah Hilton, director of buyer services
• Michelle Harrison, national accounts manager for apparel
• Leigh Chastain, key accounts manager for furniture
• Logan Avidon, key accounts manager for home décor
• Tasha Norland, design services manager
• Marisa Walker, retail services manager

Atlanta Call Center

The opening of a new Atlanta-based in-house call center builds upon the success of IMC’s existing call center operations in Las Vegas.

“The Call Center activity supplements the more targeted, high-touch outreach from the buyer services team,” added Olson. “This will create increased bandwidth for IMC to directly reach more buyers each market cycle, and to drive attendance growth for all IMC Markets going forward.”

Five Atlanta-based full-time call center representatives are dedicated to buyer outreach for IMC’s major gift and home décor markets, six apparel markets and open-year-round design center in AmericasMart Atlanta.

Upcoming markets in Atlanta include The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market, July 9-15, 2019 and Atlanta Apparel, August 6-10, 2019. For more information, visit www.AmericasMart.com.