Bureaus, chairs and business leads to spare
In the 1992 film "Glengarry Glen Ross," tension mounts when foul-mouthed property salesmen compete with each other for customer leads -- and the right to keep their jobs.
Had that dreary flick been set in contemporary Las Vegas at the semiannual World Market Center home furnishings market, the grim-faced crew of hard-luck salesmen would have had enough leads that they all could have all driven home in Cadillacs.
And that's why backers of the multibillion-dollar downtown market center are optimistic they will keep filling space in the towering buildings for the foreseeable future; the leads are pouring in the form of furniture store operators, designers and other furnishing industry insiders who flock to Las Vegas twice a year to make deals on the merchandise displayed in more than 500 showrooms.
A bustling market is important to everybody in Las Vegas is because the World Market Center is the centerpiece of an effort to revive the downtown economy by breathing life into the once desolate area north of Charleston Boulevard between Interstate 15 and the Union Pacific railroad tracks.
On Monday the center's summer market begins in earnest and is expected to attract more than 50,000 potential buyers, mostly from the United States. It's the second-largest market of its kind behind the High Point Market in High Point, N.C.
World Market Center has apparently won over Richard Landriault, president of Dinec, a Canadian maker of custom wooden bedroom, dining and living area furniture.
"We have stopped going to High Point," he said.
Landriault said he was displaying merchandise in both markets until October, his last trip to High Point. After 10 days in North Carolina, Landriault said he got 160 leads. During the last five-day market in Las Vegas in January, Landriault said he got about 400 leads.
"It is very expensive for people to attend both markets," he said. "We believe the future is here."
Wholesale sellers, who can pay $30 per square foot or more for showroom space, are working hard to put their best foot forward with the hopes retailers will like their products enough to put the merchandise in stores. The entire Las Vegas market, including permanent space at the World Market Center's two operating buildings as well as temporary exhibits in on-site tents and leased space at the Sands Expo and Convention Center at The Venetian, covers more than 3.8 million square feet with merchandise from nearly 1,300 companies.
The Las Vegas market has only been opened since 2005 but operators are hopeful they can maintain the momentum that's drawing energy from High Point, a massive market in a small Southern town that has been the center of the American furniture industry since the late 19th century. High Point has 188 buildings, 12 million square feet of space and attracts about 85,000 people per market.
Competition between markets can be intense because going to multiple industry shows can be expensive for furniture buyers and sellers whose companies face tough, cost-based competition due to the furniture industry's globalization.
World Market Center operators are trying to set themselves apart from historic High Point by encouraging sellers to use their showroom space for only the newest and hottest-selling merchandise, as opposed to showcasing entire catalogs of product that can dilute showroom space and make the experience more challenging for buyers who are mostly interested in the latest offerings.
"We are not the biggest market," World Market center general manager Dave Palmer said. "But it is a very exciting market for a buyer because it is condensed. They can shop this in just a couple of days."
There are plans to add several more large buildings to the Las Vegas market by 2013, which would increase the space to about 12 million square feet. The third building, which will have about 2.1 million square feet and cost $540 million, is under construction and is expected to be open by the summer market in 2008. The fourth building will cost about $450 million and have an estimated $1.5 million square feet, market officials said.
Palmer said as the Las Vegas market evolves it could branch out to cover more products. He anticipated a greater emphasis on flooring, fixed lighting and, given the number of major resorts in Southern Nevada, more hotel furnishings.
Las Vegas could carve a niche as a fixed trading post for hotel furnishings at a time when there is pressure on the hospitality industry to upgrade offerings and keep costs down.
"There is nothing like that. There are trade shows that move around," Palmer said, adding Las Vegas is a logical spot for buying and selling hotel furnishings.
"Not only is the number of rooms here huge, but they are state-of-the-art," he said.
Las Vegas Market Summer 2007 When: Monday through Friday Location: World Market Center, 495 S. Grand Central Parkway.; Sands Expo and Convention Center, 201 Sands Ave. Expected attendance: more than 50,000 Number of affiliated hotels: 21; 17 on Strip, two downtown and two off-Strip What you should know: Expect heavy traffic during the market on Charleston Boulevard, Grand Central Parkway and Bonneville Avenue. Use alternate routes if possible. Growing Pains Despite the optimism of its operators, the downtown the World Market Center is facing some challenges to its continued expansion. At the top is that the downturn in the housing market could sap demand for home furnishings. Also, the Cost Plus World Market furniture chain is challenging the World Market Center’s branding and marketing efforts in court. The lawsuit by Cost Plus Management Services of Oakland, Calif., says the Las Vegas center infringes on the name of the Cost Plus World Market chain of 286 stores in 35 states. In a complaint filed Feb. 7 in U.S. District Court in Nevada, Cost Plus seeks an injunction to prevent World Market Center from using the name or globe logo that adorns the 10-story facade of the center’s first building at 495 S. Grand Central Parkway. Cost Plus also wants World Market Center to pay up to $1 million in damages “per counterfeit mark,” according to court documents. Tenants have also complained about high rent prices and slow foot traffic in parts of the Las Vegas Design Center, an area that comprises the first two floors of buildings A and B where showrooms are staffed year-round for sales to interior designers and other industry insiders. “There are times here I don’t get people past here for two weeks at a time,” said Reck Thompson, showroom manager for Brazil Baroque, sellers of hand crafted custom furniture from Brazil. Thompson said year-round tenants around the Brazil Baroque showroom in building B have left, which makes it more challenging for those who remain to attract business. He said management of the center could do more to upgrade the common areas in building B to encourage more buyers to come in and linger to make deals. “We don’t have an inviting lobby in my opinion,” Thompson said. “I am pretty much here standing on my own.” Stacey Christakos, owner of Decorative Details, a company that employs Mexican artists to craft vases with 22 karat gold and silver designs to sell in high-end stores in places like Wynn Las Vegas, also said low levels of foot traffic between markets is a problem in building B. “A lot of tenants have moved out. They are going to fill this for market, but then they will be empty again,” said Christakos, whose products retail from $1,500 for a vase to $20,000 for a lighted table. She said she is hopeful foot traffic will improve as the World Market Center matures and raises its profile in the industry as a top destination to find merchandise. “Outside of market, day to day, the traffic is not there yet,” she said. “The advertising they are doing, the publicity, is not reaching the people who need to come here.” BENJAMIN SPILLMAN/REVIEW-JOURNAL
