Apr 25, 2013

LA Mart Celebrates 55th Anniversary With a Commemorative Party and Fundraising Event Benefitting Gift For Life

Quick: which gift and home wholesale mart celebrates 55 years of offering unparalleled services and products for the most discriminating customer? If you guessed the L.A. Mart, you’d be correct. The building broke ground in 1956, opened in 1958 and will be celebrating its 55th year anniversary this summer during the newly-branded GALLA (Give And Live In Los Angeles) market in July.

To honor the occasion, the L.A. Mart will host its anniversary party under the stars on July 20, from 6-9pm. The celebration coincides with the launch of GALLA, Give And Live Los Angeles, the new name of the L.A. Mart’s gift and home markets. Proceeds from the event will benefit Gift for Life, the industry’s only national fundraising entity that raises money for Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA.) The evening event will include food, cocktails, music and one of the best features of the west coast: enjoying an outdoor party on a warm summer night with friends.

“It is an honor to be in a position to celebrate the 55th anniversary of one of the oldest continuously operating wholesale mart buildings in the country,” says Frank Joens, senior vice president, general manager of the L.A. Mart. “When they opened their doors in 1958, the first owners knew that this was the start of something special as it was going to be one of the nation’s first permanent wholesale showroom marts, a concept that had yet to catch on in other parts of the country. We are thrilled to be throwing a big party under the stars that will benefit Gift for Life, commemorate the past and celebrate the very exciting future.”

Fifty five years later, the building is bustling as more than 100,000 buyers and designers pass through the building annually. The L.A. Mart has become the destination for West Coast buyers to find unique product offerings during its popular quarterly GALLA gift and home markets. Further, brisk daily business serves as creative inspiration and an outstanding buying resource for hundreds of buyers visiting daily to stock their shop’s shelves or for interior designers seeking furniture and accessories for their clients.

To learn more about the L.A. Mart or the GALLA shows, please visit LAMart.com.

About the L.A. Mart®
The L.A. Mart® celebrates over 55 years of serving the gift, home and design 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 L.A. Mart is the pre-eminent market center on the West Coast.