WWRD Expands at AmericasMart
WWRD (Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton), the legendary purveyor of crystal, china and other tableware and gifts, is making a major expansion of its AmericasMart showroom space. For The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market, July 11-18, 2012, WWRD will display in more than 4,600 square feet in its expanded location in AmericasMart Building 2, just steps off the escalator on floor 9.
AmericasMart is the preferred destination for wholesalers and retailers to meet to sell and buy home furnishings, housewares, gifts and apparel. AmericasMart’s seven-million square-foot facility holds the world’s single-largest collection of product. Retailers and designers come from across the United States and more than 90 countries to shop.
“WWRD brands capture the essence of elegance and style in innovative designs bridging past and present,” notes Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr., president and chief operating officer of AmericasMart parent AMC, Inc. “Their expanded presence assures retailers and designers a broader, richer selection of the products that have long defined gracious living,” Portman adds.
“The expansion of our showroom in Atlanta will enable WWRD to fully immerse our long-standing partners and the design community in our new product introductions; as well as the Waterford, Wedgwood, Royal Doulton and Royal Albert lifestyles,” said Rick Fencel, vice president of sales-WWRD Independent Accounts.
WWRD maintains unique licensing arrangements with some of the most high-profile innovators in the home and lifestyle market, including Vera Wang, Jasper Conran, Monique Lhuillier, John Rocha and Gordon Ramsay.
“Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton is expanding its space after one year of great success in our marketplace,” says Mary Sullivan, senior vice president, Leasing, Building 2. “We are happy to have these legendary companies with us.”
WWRD showcases its products among many other prestigious gift, tabletop and accessories companies on Floor 9 including Lenox, Lladro, Bray-Farmer Associates, Lazy Susan, Mariposa, Reed & Barton and many more as part of the Living and Entertaining, Gifts, Tabletop & Accessories product center. As consumers continue to entertain at home, the gourmet, housewares and tabletop categories are growing in popularity to meet the demand for a full range of styles and product options. WWRD, which traces its beginning to Josiah Wedgwood’s first ceramics in 1759, also sells luxury tableware under the brands Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, Minton, Johnson Brothers and Franciscan. Josiah Wedgwood was an English artisan, and more than 200 years after his death, Wedgwood china is still quintessentially English. William and George Penrose created their first Waterford Crystal in the Irish seaside city of Waterford in 1783.
WWRD’s luxury products are sold in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and Ireland. Look for a full array of product in the expanded AmericasMart showroom during July Market.
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.
