Vegas sets winter dates
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, March 20, 2005
Las Vegas — The World Market Center here has set dates for its second market in a move that could put the squeeze on a competing furniture show here, and give the San Francisco market another attendance headache.
WMC's first winter market is slated for next Jan. 30–Feb. 3, which overlaps with the San Francisco Mart's Feb. 1–4 dates.
What's more, WMC officials said they have tied up all remaining space for temporary exhibits in the main exposition centers in Las Vegas on the winter dates. That may leave limited options for organizers of the competing Las Vegas Furniture Show, which will be in the Sands Exposition Center this summer on dates that overlap the WMC's July 25–29 show.
WMC co-managing partner Shawn Samson said the winter show will have more temporary space than this summer's show, but declined to say how much.
The summer market will be at the new WMC complex downtown — with 1.3 million square feet in its main building and 350,000 square feet in temporary space under tents — and in the Las Vegas Convention Center, where the WMC has secured about 830,000 square feet.
For the winter show, Samson said the WMC again has secured space at the Convention Center and also at Mandalay Bay, two of the three main exposition centers. The third, the Sands Exposition Center, already is fully booked on those dates with the Surfaces floor coverings trade show, he said.
Stephan Phelps, president of Triad Expositions, which is organizing the July 26–29 Las Vegas Furniture Show at the Sands, conceded the space Samson cited is tied up, "but there are holes. We will definitely have a January show.... We have options for space at the Sands and the Venetian and we have other options we are pursuing,"
This summer, the Sands show will cover about 390,000 square feet and will have about 100 exhibitors, he said.
Samson said that in addition to the Las Vegas Convention Center and Mandalay Bay space, the WMC has first rights to meeting or ballroom space at other major hotels.
He said this means there will be at least three, and possibly more, WMC exhibit locations in the winter.
He said the system of shuttles linking hotels and show venues will be expanded. "These venues are just five or six minutes apart," he said.
WMC General Manager Dave Palmer said that in choosing the winter market dates, "We listened to the needs of our exhibitors and buyers, and evaluated the domestic and international calendar to ensure we were complementing the existing schedule of industry events."
Apparently, the winter San Francisco Market wasn't a consideration. Earlier this year, the San Francisco Mart moved its summer dates to Aug. 3–6, partly to avoid conflict with the WMC and also to coincide with a San Francisco gift show.
It set its winter 2006 market for Feb. 1–4, which now overlaps the WMC market.
"The SF Mart will not be moving our 2006 market dates," said SFM spokeswoman Ellen Hall. "We are very satisfied with our decision to align ourselves with the San Francisco International Gift Fair, which has more than 150 home furnishings exhibitors."
Palmer said WMC's winter show coincidence with the Surfaces show is "synergistic."
"We have a respectable lineup of floor covering companies in our first building and intend to grow this category over time," he said.
