Dec 20, 2012

L.A. Mart Announces 6 New Showrooms and 9 Showroom Expansions in time for the January 2013 Show Season

The L.A. Mart, the pre-eminent market center for gift and home furnishings products on the West Coast, today announces tremendous increases to its showroom line-up during the fourth quarter. Six new showrooms join another four major industry companies in time for the upcoming January Gift & Home Market, January 23-28, 2013 including S.P. Larner, International Gem & Minerals, E. Barrett, Carol Solomon & Associates, Roozt, Alan & Leigh, Kiss the Frog, Be Home, Sunshine Sales and Ty, Inc.

The new ownership six months ago has galvanized the building while staying true to its roots. The new owners hired 25 year industry veteran Frank Joens as Senior Vice President and General Manager who immediately brought in a team to help continue to propel the L.A. Mart in its growth mode. In addition to new showrooms deciding their presence at the L.A. Mart is a great business decision, Joens and his team continue to support its industry veterans and long-term L.A. Mart showrooms with 16,000 square feet in expansions which include Stephen Young, Echo by Fine Lines, Anne McGilvray, Collective Home, Dillon Wells, Karen Alweil Studio, DB Imports and My House.

Karen Alweil, owner of Karen Alweil Studio in the L.A. Mart, is thrilled with the recent growth the building has been experiencing due, in part she says, to the new ownership and management and is increasing her showroom space. “Having been in the L.A. Mart for decades, I am ecstatic to be expanding my showroom here,” she exclaims. “Los Angeles is my home base and I have found that L.A. is quite often the pulse of new style in our industry. Buyers who shop this building know that they will find trends here first.

“The fact is, the L.A. Mart is truly the only five-day a week gift wholesale building in the country, which reinforces a business model that really works. The formula is simple, we have great gift shows plus we have the added bonus of writing business year-round,” she adds.

“Having a presence at the L.A. Mart has been and continues to be an important business decision for many manufacturers and sales representatives in our industry,” says Joens. “The new ownership has proven it is supporting our industry in a big way by making the experience for both showrooms and buyers enjoyable, exciting and profitable. We’re excited at the additions and expansions of our showrooms in such a short time and look forward to even stronger results in 2013.”

About the L.A. Mart®
The L.A. Mart® celebrates 50 years of serving the gift and home community as Southern California’s most comprehensive collection of fine regional and national showrooms available to the trade professional. Encompassing 724,000 square feet of gift, accessory and furniture offerings, the L.A. Mart Gift & Home Center features thousands of premium product lines, from custom manufactured to nationally branded gift, home, and lifestyle merchandise. The newly integrated and expanded California Gift Show, taking place each January and July, makes the L.A. Mart the pre-eminent market center for gift and home furnishings products on the West Coast.