IMC And AmericasMart To Merge
International Market Centers (“IMC”) and AmericasMart [Atlanta] (“AmericasMart”), two best-in-class operators in the furniture, gift, home décor, rug and apparel B2B industries, have entered into an agreement to form the world’s largest owner and operator of premier showroom space. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The combined corporate entity, which will operate under the name “International Market Centers,” will own and operate nearly 20 million square feet of permanent showroom space in Las Vegas (NV), High Point (NC), and Atlanta (GA) creating the world’s largest permanent mart operator for furniture, home decor, rug, gift and apparel. The individual Markets and their respective venues will continue to operate under existing names and branding. IMC and AmericasMart will bring together the best practices, technology, and personnel from both firms to create premier B2B Market experiences across more than 20 annual events. Robert Maricich, the current Chief Executive Officer of IMC, will become Chief Executive Officer of the combined entity. He said: “IMC has always had immense respect for AmericasMart and its founders, the Portman family, who established a tremendous reputation in the industry. We look forward to bringing together our two companies to provide exhibitors with exceptional access to global Markets, and buyers with even more convenient opportunities to explore top products across sectors.” AmericasMart houses the world’s single-largest collection of home decor, gift, area rug and apparel merchandise, with a complex comprising over 7.1 million square feet of space in downtown Atlanta. AmericasMart hosts 17 annual Markets and shows, including The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market and The Atlanta International Area Rug Market. The Markets regularly serve over 4,500 exhibitors. AmericasMart welcomes nearly 200,000 attendees per year including international attendees from 80 countries and buyers from the top 100 retailers in the U.S. The creation of architect-developer John Portman, AmericasMart has been an icon of commerce for more than 60 years and an enduring landmark in the City of Atlanta. Within the 14-block Peachtree Center complex which Portman designed and developed without the use of any public funds, the campus has been expanded in phases since its opening in 1961. By stimulating trade and tourism with this and many other projects, Mr. Portman was the catalyst that established Atlanta as one of the nation’s premiere convention cities. “AmericasMart has long served as a crossroads of commerce,” noted Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr. “This joining of the incredibly powerful talents and resources present in both organizations will sustain and advance that role for the ultimate benefit of the customers we jointly serve,” Portman added. Jeff Portman will serve as an advisor to the Board of IMC. Blackstone...
AmericasMart Names Heinzen York VP Home
Jenny Heinzen York joins AmericasMart today as vice president of Home in a move that signals continuing growth for the Atlanta Market’s expansive home furnishings product mix, according to Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr., vice chairman, president and chief operating officer. Heinzen York, who for almost 10 years served as editor in chief at Progressive Business Media’s “Home Accents Today” magazine, assumes the lead role in articulating the AmericasMart Home brand story to the home furnishings industry. “Jenny brings to us a deep and expansive knowledge of the home industry across every dimension of its operation, influence and reach, from product design and manufacturing to wholesale distribution and—perhaps most importantly—the increasingly complex environment of home furnishings retailing and consumer buying behavior,” notes Portman. “Her view is global, her command of industry inner workings exhaustive and her reputation among manufacturers, designers and retailers impeccable,” he adds. Heinzen York’s responsibilities will include creation and development of digital and print media content, seminar content programming and presentation, home industry leadership organization participation and feature roles in AMC-TV original video productions. She will work interdepartmentally with primary concentrations in AmericasMart’s publishing, proprietary media and marketing...
Atlanta Gift & Home Furnishings Markets To Be Biggest Ever
AmericasMart® Atlanta advances its long-standing role as the center of global entertaining trends with its January 2017 presentation of the largest-to-date permanent Gourmet Housewares, Gourmet Foods and Tabletop and Entertaining collection at The Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market®. The multi-floor showroom collection showcases more than 800 lines housed in nearly 150,000 square feet of exhibition space. The collection’s growth is fueled by top lines and designs enhanced by the accessibility and connectivity of tabletop and gourmet product strategically located and aligned to ensure natural shopping synergy. Buyers from both categories can easily source complementary merchandise on contiguous floors, and can access adjacent Building 1 home furnishings offerings, which encourage interior designers and furnishings retailers to explore new categories. This expert design has made AmericasMart the Market of necessity for top tabletop and gourmet manufacturers and specifiers, and yielded a Marketplace of flagship showrooms. New-to-Atlanta exhibitors Crow Canyon, Spiker, SCS Direct, Promaster, Rojemac, Prima Design USA and TMD Holdings join lines including Versace, Wolf Gourmet, Q Squared, Wusthof, Holiday Fried Pecans, Stonewall Kitchen, Tervis, Baccarat Crystal, Juliska and Spiegelau at the January Market. AmericasMart’s permanent showrooms are complemented by the temporary Gourmet Foods, Housewares, Tabletop and Entertaining, and juried Tabletop LUXE and Gourmet LUXE collections. Highlights include Architec Brands, Coast and Cotton and Talisman Designs in Housewares; Ben & Lael Inc., Britten Couture Home, Gitter Gallery LLC, Libbey Inc, Nora Fleming, LLC, Mahogany Home, Le Cluney, Magenta, Sobremesa by Greenheart and French Studio Imports in Tabletop and Entertaining; and Georgia Grown, Cherry Republic, Jelly Belly Candy Company, Louis Sherry Chocolates, Owl’s Brew, Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn, The Resident Chef, Savannah Bee Company, Verdant Kitchen, Beautiful Briny Sea, and DeBrand Fine Chocolates in Gourmet Foods, plus many, many more. “From the pantry to the kitchen to the table, the must-have product is all here,” says Kristi Forbes, AmericasMart vice president of Gift Leasing. “Not only do we have the most comprehensive collection of housewares, gourmet and tabletop product, AmericasMart sets the trends and the standards for the industry.” Exhibitors are reporting a wide range of buyers at the Markets. Chris Rosse of Rosse & Associates, Inc., who has shown at AmericasMart for more than 30 years, reports a mix of buyers including Latin American stores ordering high-end luxury items and younger buyers sourcing better casual product with a focus on organic or handmade craftsmanship. Buyers are able to find inspiration like never before with a more interactive educational series in the Demonstration Kitchen, sponsored at the January 2017 Market by Fiesta Dinnerware, who launches its new color exclusively at AmericasMart. On tap are an appearance by Paula Deen; designer Nathan Turner...
AmericasMart Opens ICON Call For Entries
The ICON HONORS Call for Entries opens today launching the 2017 competition for the home and gift industry’s most celebrated and recognized mark of achievement. Competition for ICON HONORS recognition is open to the home and gift industry at large across all categories of trade and product and service sectors, including the design community. Retailers, manufacturers, sales agencies and service providers are eligible to compete in a broad field of 16 distinct ICON HONORS categories. The 2017 Call for Entries is offered exclusively online with all submissions and nominations made at ICONHONORS.COM through March 13, 2017. “ICON HONORS marks the extraordinary achievements of those who dare to reach beyond ordinary circumstances and conditions,” notes Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr., vice chairman, president and chief operating officer of AmericasMart Atlanta and ICON HONORS founding partner. “Year after year, ICON HONORS gives voice to the dreamers, creators, achievers and change-makers who give the home and gift industry purpose and hope for the future. That is its mission and essential contribution to the industry we love,” adds Portman. ICON HONORS is produced and staged by AmericasMart® Atlanta in exclusive partnership with the Gift & Home Trade Association (GHTA) and Progressive Business Media, and in affiliation with Gift For Life. With a coterie of more than 65 Honorees named over its first seven years—from every dimension of the home and gift industry—ICON HONORS in 2017 will again recognize superior achievement from a diverse field of submissions and nominations. ICON HONORS are conferred annually in July in conjunction with The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market® on what is universally recognized as the most anticipated and important night in the home and gift industry. The four ICON HONORS recognition categories, with their individual subsections, include: INNOVATION Innovation 1: Technology Innovations/Marketing; Technology Innovations/Networking; and Technology Innovations/Selling. Innovation 2: Product Innovations/New Products; Product Innovations/Redesigned Products; and Product Innovations/Licensed Products. Innovation 3: Packaging Innovations/New Designs; Packaging Innovations/New Material; and Packaging Innovations/Eco-Friendly. CONTRIBUTION Contribution 1: Community Influence/Business Development and Community Influence/Outreach. Contribution 2: Industry Influence/Leadership and Industry Influence/Cause-Related Product. BRANDING Branding/Identity: Brand Identity Development/Brand Launch; Brand Identity Development/Brand Continuity; and Brand Identity Development/Rebranding. ACHIEVEMENT Achievement 1: New Achiever. Achievement 2: Career Achiever. ICON HONORS additionally confers special recognition through the Lifetime Achievement Honor, AmericasMart Medal of Excellence Honor and The GHTA/Gift For Life Honor of Excellence. These Honors are conferred at the sole discretion of the ICON HONORS governing board representing the partners. Those individuals and entities named as Honorees in this level of recognition include LEE Industries, Howard Henschel (The Norman Group), RM Innovation, Hallmark, Douglas Self of jdouglas, Barbara Bradley Baekgaard (Vera Bradley), catstudio, Century Furniture, Restoration Hardware,...
AmericasMart Reports 100% Growth In January Market Temporary Exhibitors
AmericasMart® Atlanta’s January 2016 Market Temporaries will post 100 percent year-over-year growth in international exhibiting companies with globally sourced product presented across all 35 collections, according to JoAnn Miller Marshall, executive vice president of AmericasMart trade shows. The growth in international exhibiting companies parallels continuing expansion for the AmericasMart temporaries mix, which will showcase more than 2,000 exhibiting companies at The Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market® (Showrooms January 12-19; Temporaries: January 14-18). “AmericasMart Atlanta is a true global marketplace of unmatched product resources,” notes Miller Marshall. “Again in January 2016, this market becomes the destination of necessity for artisans and tastemakers from across the globe looking to do business with the world’s leading retailers and designers.” Lines from across the world – including the United Kingdom, China, Ukraine, Canada, Israel, Ecuador, Australia, India, Chile, Japan, Viet Nam and the Czech Republic – will be present throughout the January 2016 collections. Among the January 2016 international exhibiting companies are Tense Wood Watches (Canada) in Gentleman’s Boutique, Art Hide (Australia) in HIGH DESIGN®, WRAP! (Chile) in On Trend Gifts, Artel Glass (Czech Republic) in Tabletop LUXE, Firepits UK in The Gardens® and Paper Art Viet (Viet Nam) in Write On! Stationery, Paper & Occasions and more. The temporary exhibitors supplement AmericasMart’s expansive permanent merchandise collection which also features resources from around the globe. January Market buyers can explore the influence of European trends on the current US home and gift industries at an interactive presentation from global trend ambassador Patti Carpenter on the opening day of the Temporary Market, Thursday, January 14. Carpenter shares emerging international macro trends in color, print, surface design and materials and distills the broad-based themes directing trends around the world and their impact on American markets, while offering a first look at the must-see product innovations people will be talking about in the seasons ahead in “Through the Looking Glass: A Study In Contrasts.” International buyers and exhibitors will be welcomed in a newly renovated International Buyers Lounge on Building 1, Floor 9. The space provides everything these Market attendees need while away from the office. In addition to providing a quiet place to relax, it offers a full range of business services including meeting rooms, computers, free internet access, fax and copy services. For more information about international exhibiting companies and a full list a Market details, please visitwww.AmericasMart.com/January....