Mart officials say attendance climbed for summer market

Officials at Las Vegas' World Market Center say attendance at the recently concluded summer market was the best since 2008.

While declining to provide exact figures, center officials said the show, which brought together furniture and furnishings manufacturers and commercial buyers during the first week of August, included 7 percent more retail store buyers, 3 percent more designers and double the number of buyer groups.

No attendance figures were released, though the center typically says 50,000 people attend its twice-annual shows. More than 1,300 companies exhibited in permanent showrooms or temporary booths, market center officials said.

During the year's first half, World Market Center said it signed new or renewed leases covering 440,000 square-feet of exhibit space in the
5.1 million-square-foot building complex. However, the market does not disclose occupancy rates.