Vegas changes dates
Shifts from July to September in 2009
By Larry Thomas and Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, October 13, 2008
LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Market has pushed back the dates for its second 2009 show until September, and will shorten the market by one day to a four-day event.
The new fall show dates, Sept, 14-17, 2009, are close to the dates traditionally set aside for High Point's premarket and are about one month before High Point's fall market, which is set for Oct. 17-22, 2009.
Dates for next year's winter show in Las Vegas, a five-day event beginning Feb. 9, remain unchanged.
“Our research clearly shows that buyers and exhibitors don't want more days in a market; rather they want to focus on a market that is convenient and productive and is respectful of the value of their time and money,” said Bob Maricich, president and CEO of the World Market Center in Las Vegas.
“Las Vegas Market has emerged as the most efficient and productive market experience, and our new date pattern reinforces our commitment to maximize opportunities for participating exhibitors, buyers and designers,” he said.
Maricich said the new dates occur when hotel rates in Las Vegas and other travel costs are “quite reasonable.” Plus the new schedule avoids January, a month that has several European shows, and August, a vacation month for many Europeans, he said.
Asked if the date change was an attempt to force buyers or exhibitors to choose between High Point and Las Vegas, Maricich insisted it was not.
“We absolutely are not forcing anyone to choose,” he said. “We are merely responding to the needs of our buyers.” He said WMC's third party survey and polls clearly showed “the best times of year for furniture markets, regardless of what's going on in the rest of North America, were early February and early September.”
Next fall's show will take place the same week as the All Baby & Child (ABC) show, the nation's largest trade show for juvenile and baby furniture, which will be held in the nearby Las Vegas Convention Center.
The September Las Vegas Market also will begin two days after the conclusion of a furniture show in Shanghai, China, that is shopped by several major U.S. retailers.
“I guess we can work them both, but that's a little tight,” said Jake Jabs, owner and CEO of Englewood, Colo.-based American Furniture Warehouse, who usually goes to both shows. “We might even fly direct from Shanghai to Vegas.”
Brian Casey, president of the High Point Market Authority, said that while next fall's premarket dates haven't been set, there are no current plans to change anything based on the Vegas move.
“They're kind of doing a disservice to their customers and to the industry, to a certain extent, by trying to splinter things,” Casey said.
“We'll watch what they're doing, but frankly, High Point is in a good leadership position for this industry. We have the support of all price points and particularly the high-end sector,” he said.
Also, the major and most serious furniture retailers “continue to keep High Point the most important market for their businesses,” Casey maintained.
“The aggressiveness coming out of Las Vegas, I think, is an effort to get themselves repositioned in some way,” perhaps to lease some of the WMC's empty space to the toy or gift sectors, he said.
Maricich said the WMC does plan to launch a standalone gift and decorative accessories show in the summer of 2010, but said separate events for various segments of the industry have always been a part of the group's long-range business plan. Other industry segments will be evaluated for possible standalone trade shows as well, he said.
Keith Koenig, president of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based City Furniture, said he wished the market schedules had remained unchanged because the three-month lapse between High Point and Las Vegas made for a friendlier schedule for both buyers and sellers.
“I don't think it was a wise decision given the current environment,” he said. “Everyone is going to be careful about their costs, so retailers and manufacturers will all have smaller budgets for travel and marketing expenses.”
Koenig sits on the board of the High Point Market Authority, but he also operates Ashley Furniture HomeStores and Ashley has chosen Las Vegas as the main market for its HomeStores dealers.
“I've been pretty vocal and, I think, representative of a fair number of retailers who feel that four markets a year is a real challenge for us retailers to shop,” he said. “And clearly when the markets are this close together it's a challenge for manufacturers to bring out new products at Las Vegas in September and then again at High Point in October.”
In announcing dates for the fall 2009 market, WMC officials also fixed dates for the 2010 and 2011 shows. Those dates are Feb. 1-4 and Sept. 13-16, 2010; and Feb. 14-17 and Sept. 12-15, 2011.
Starting next fall, all Las Vegas markets will operate on a Monday-through-Thursday schedule.
