DIVAN INTERVENTION

Thousands of furniture industry personnel are expected to pour into Las Vegas for the winter market event that begins Monday at World Market Center downtown.

Considering the state of both the furniture and gambling industries, there's a lot at stake these next few days for the guests and the host city.

People on each side are fighting for their livelihoods as the worsening economy batters the consumer confidence needed to bolster both furniture sales and Las Vegas visitation.

"I think November and December was far worse for the industry than anybody ever imagined," World Market Center Chief Executive Officer Bob Maricich said. "January wasn't much better."

The situation has people at World Market Center hustling to do everything from offering temporary leasing options to providing marketing assistance to long-term tenants to adding elevator operators with instructions to smile, greet and direct attendees at the upcoming market.

"I don't care where you are in the food chain, you have to do something," Maricich said. "If you sit back you are just going to get run over."

The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, a confidence-tracking indicator, was 61.2 in January, down slightly from January 2008 and well behind the 78.4 mark last January and the cyclical peak of 96.9 of January 2007.

It shows that a recession that hit the furniture industry early when home prices first sagged has spread throughout the entire economy and resulted in a cloud of malaise that's making it harder to convince people to visit Las Vegas for business or pleasure.

The situation has prompted World Market officials to shift their focus from increasing leasable square footage on the 57-acre site to keeping tenants in the three existing buildings.

"You tell me when the economy is going to turn around and I'll tell you when we are going to start construction on the next phase," Maricich said of the proposed fourth building market officials decided to postpone months ago. Their original vision called for eight buildings by 2013.

For now the outlook is on the short-term future on what Maricich calls the "blocking and tackling" fundamentals of the business.

The World Market Center doesn't release leasing numbers publicly, but Maricich said the occupancy rate in the structures hasn't changed much since the last market event in the summer, before the wheels came off the economy.

"It has been painful getting there because we lost as many as we signed up," he said. "And, you know, I suspect we will lose more because of this economy."

Maricich also said projected attendance is off by single-digit percentages from the previous market event. It had been down by double digits until a recent surge of last-minute bookings, he said.

If there's anything positive for both the World Market Center and Las Vegas, it is that each specializes in delivering an experience that can't be recreated in a catalog or on a Web site.

Mary Frye, president of the Home Furnishings Independents Association, attends several market events annually in Las Vegas, North Carolina, Atlanta and Dallas. She'll be in Las Vegas this week.

She says even when the economy is down, retailers need to touch and test new products to decide what, if anything, to buy and how to sell it to their customers.

"Furniture is so much more than just the function," Frye said. "If you just needed a place to sit, a milk crate turned over would work."

Frye said furniture retailers depend on market events to motivate their sales forces.

Sales representatives visit the market to check out the merchandise, meet with the builders and designers, and pick up tidbits they'll need to show customers why a particular product is unique and worth the price.

"How do you put a price tag on having an enthusiastic sales team, as opposed to one that just shows up because everyone has to be somewhere?" Frye said. "This is the spark that fuels our businesses and we need to romance it for all we are worth."

Having hotel rates as low as they've been in recent memory is making it easier for people to do business in Las Vegas.

On Friday, rooms were available during this week's market for $22 per night at the Plaza, the closest hotel to World Market Center.

There were also $22 rooms at Binion's, $35 rooms at the El Cortez, $61 rooms at Four Queens and, for visitors willing to drive across town, $15 rooms at Boulder Station.

Ken Smith, an accountant who specializes in the furniture industry, says companies that build or sell furniture can use all the breaks they can get.

"We already have seen some fallout in terms of companies going out of business," Smith said.

He said he doubts either the Las Vegas market or its main competitor in High Point, N.C., will be expanding much anytime soon.

"The industry has always been thought of as being oversaturated with retailers and manufacturers," Smith said.

To make sure World Market Center remains viable throughout the recession and beyond, Maricich says the venue will broaden its customer base. In June 2010 it will start hosting a home gift event and already the buildings have been configured to offer temporary exhibit spaces during events, which fetch higher rents than permanent showrooms.

World Market also emphasizes that the entire event is concentrated at three high-rise buildings within a stone's throw of one another. That makes it easier for visitors to make sure they see everything on display during a given show, and have time left over to check out Las Vegas or head home early.

It's a contrast from the High Point facility that takes place in more than 100 buildings spread throughout an entire town in rural North Carolina.

Hopefully for Las Vegas, World Market Center's efforts will be enough to convince furniture professionals who come this week to return for future events.

"If you go in a couple of times and see the same merchandise on the floor ... they may quit coming back," Smith said.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.