No place like home

During an event punctuated by a visit from a former president, optimism continued to reign among many who attended the recently completed Las Vegas Market at World Market Center Las Vegas.

"My wife single-handedly tried to compensate for the recession in the home furnishings industry this year. Not because she's secretary of state, but because she's a homeowner," said former President Bill Clinton, who delivered the keynote address on the trade show's second day, of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

All kidding aside, Clinton's address was just one of the high points of the biannual trade show. The five-day market also saw many new product introductions, put the spotlight on coming trends for home fashions, provided valuable advice for retailers to help them boost their business and offered many opportunities for networking and socializing between manufacturers, importers, retailers and interior designers from around the world.

World Market Center reported that total attendance was up 5.7 percent from last summer and buyer attendance increased nearly 4 percent from summer of 2009.

"To have the best summer market in three years is really just short of fantastic," said Robert Maricich, chief executive officer of International Market Centers, which acquired World Market Center Las Vegas in early May.

Although World Market Center never reveals exact attendance figures, traditionally it hovers near the 50,000 mark.

And while some of the smaller showrooms may not have experienced the strong sales and plentiful visits from buyers they expected, many manufacturers were pleased with their order writing during the summer show, which is usually attended by fewer people than the winter event.

"Sligh had a good market in Las Vegas with traffic up 82 percent from a year ago. Traffic into our showroom was the highest since the July 2008 opening of World Market Center Building C," said Rob Sligh, president of the Holland, Mich., manufacturer. "Actual written orders were up 41 percent from a year ago. We have lots of good follow-up opportunities for orders in the field based on contacts at market. No doubt our improvements are coming from increases in market share as business at retail has yet to regain its prerecession vibrancy."

John Conrad, senior vice president of merchandising for the Greensboro, N.C.-based Powell Home Fashions, said he was very pleased with the number of people visiting the showroom and orders being placed on the market's first day.

"This market was very successful. Market attendance was down, however sales were up. We attribute this increase in orders to our retailers recognizing that our product line embraces consumer needs for affordable stylish home fashions. Powell offers furniture for every room in the home."

Among the more popular items in Powell's showroom were its varied youth bedroom collections and casual dining groups. In fact, its new full-over-full bunk bed was selling before the market officially opened, Conrad said, adding that many retailers have been requesting this type of configuration. The full-sized beds also come apart, making the piece ideal for second bedrooms and for transitioning youths into young adults.

Sligh attributes part of the company's success at market to its new products.

"Our new office and entertainment furniture collections, including Northport, Landsdown and Morocco, are big hits showing that retailers will buy when products are exciting and compelling," Sligh said.

Designer Angelo Surmelis, who opened a showroom for his angelo:HOME collection for the first time, was ecstatic with the response from those who visited. He said he also had the opportunity to meet with the companies that manufacture his designs and was able to create 200 new items within a matter of minutes. These designs will debut in the fall.

Phoenix, Ariz.-based aspenhome also saw new product drive customers to its showroom.

"Aspenhome's initiative this market was to show how consumers are using home office products in every room in the house. Our product introductions complemented the changes we see in the current environments. Our campaign 'Works for Me' was highly successful; retailer attendance met expectations and was on par with last year," stated Renee Loper, director of marketing and communications for aspenhome.

"We had great reaction to our new introductions -- particularly the d-Bodhi collections and strong reorders placed across our current product lines," said Wade Oppliger, vice president of upholstery and seating for Four Hands, which is based in Austin, Texas. "Our retailers clearly voted that Four Hands' breath of product and ease to work with continues to provide the right value and great designs for their stores."

Maricich said he heard from many manufacturers and importers that it was the product bringing people into the showrooms.

"The common denominator was manufacturers and importers bringing out new product and not giving up or playing it safe. They were all rewarded for their efforts despite the economy," he said.

At the same time, retailers are looking for new product lines and new product categories that will appeal to consumers.

This trend of designing products for how consumers are using home furnishings coincided with Clinton's remarks. During his address, he told the more than 11,000 people assembled that in order to turn good intentions into real changes they needed to spend more time thinking about the "how."

"We need to focus on what we want America to do and how we're going to get there."

By devoting time thinking about how to make good things happen, Clinton said he's able to build up the positive while reducing negative forces.

"There are no easy answers, but there are no problems we can't deal with," he said.

Maricich said Clinton's appearance changed the entire tone of the market, bringing a note of seriousness to the facility.

Last week's event was the first market to be held since the complex was acquired by International Market Centers, which also owns the major facilities in High Point, N.C. Historically, the two markets have been rivals, but Maricich said he believes the joint operation is actually a boon for the industry.

With strong financial footing, the new ownership structure is giving "everyone the faith that this is a platform that will be here long term and removed the naysayers that said the business will be going away," he said.

IMC recently acquired five additional buildings in North Carolina, bringing its portfolio to 18 buildings spanning more than 11.5 million square feet.

"We are pleased that this unprecedented combination of properties is complete and that these attractive assets have come together under one structure and management team," Maricich said. "With the addition of these five premier facilities to our portfolio, we can now devote our focus to our primary mission -- creating the most effective, efficient and compelling platform for our industry. We look forward to working with our wide range of business partners to develop a world-class business-to-business platform for both buyers and sellers in the furnishings, home décor and gift industries."