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Four manufacturers say they'll show in Vegas

By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, November 18, 2001

LAS VEGAS — While the planned World Market Center has yet to release names of the more than 70 companies it says are committed to exhibiting at a furniture market here, a few manufacturers have indicated their support.

Aico, Fairmont Designs, Magnussen Presidential and Creative Ideas say they are committed to space, although some have yet to sign leases.

"We agreed on all the terms and conditions, so it's pretty much a go for us," said Michael Amini, president of case goods importer Aico, which is looking to lease between 20,000 and 30,000 square feet.

Amini believes that with all the talk surrounding the project, it's bound to be the center of attention when the first market opens, projected for January 2004.

Aico has no plans at this point to leave San Francisco, which has been a great market for Aico for years, Amini said.

Steve Balsamo, president and chief executive officer of Creative Ideas, a Corona, Calif.-based manufacturer of home office furniture, said, "San Francisco has been a great venue for us, but I have a lease for space in Las Vegas, which I intend to sign."

Despite his success in San Francisco, he thinks the show may be "getting tired." Furniture is all about what is new and exciting, Balsamo said, and Las Vegas, where every hotel is an amusement park of sorts, seems to underscore that.

"It probably will cost me close to $60,000 to outfit the 5,500 square feet I plan to lease in Las Vegas, but I believe it is going to be a good investment," he said.

Magnussen Presidential signed a lease for space in the WMC contingent on the developers leasing at least 70% of the space in the first phase. "We think the project is an exciting opportunity," said President Jeff Cook.

San Francisco remains important to Magnussen Presidential. Asked if one market could replace the other, Cook said, "We'll have to wait and see how each of the markets grow."

Fairmont Designs plans to take more than 24,000 square feet on the seventh floor of the WMC, said Ted Weitz, executive vice president of the case goods resource, which occupies the entire sixth floor of the National Furniture Mart in High Point and has a San Francisco showroom.

At this point, Fairmont plans to continue showing in San Francisco, he said.

Dave Palmer, general manager and director of leasing at the World Market Center, said he hoped to release the names of tenants sometime in December.

Meanwhile, some of the industry's largest manufacturers say they have yet to commit to the project.

Furniture Brands International, which owns Thomasville, Broyhill and Lane, is reluctant based on "business judgments," said Lynn Chipperfield, senior vice president. "We will continue to examine the Las Vegas market with a view to what is best for our companies, and we are not prepared to make any commitments at this time."

LifeStyle Furnishings International also wants to see more before it considers commitments.

"We're certainly looking at it as a serious market," said Alan Cole, LifeStyle CEO. But he noted that most of LifeStyle's case goods companies operate with a targeted or dedicated distribution strategy, "so that really doesn't lend itself to the type market we think Las Vegas will be."

LifeStyle will be evaluating both Las Vegas and San Francisco, where its BenchCraft and Berkline upholstery companies show. "We want to understand more about who the tenant base will be … and the customer draw before we make our final decision," Cole said.

Acknowledgements
Editor in Chief Ray Allegrezza and Case Goods Editor Powell Slaughter contributed to this story.

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