Dallas Total Home & Gift Market:
First Show of the Year Delivers New Buyers,
Global Product Debuts and Strong Order Writing
“…largest increases ever” “…giant success” “…record market” “…best show ever”
DALLAS – January 25, 2020 – The first U.S. market of the year, Dallas Total Home & Gift Market, successfully launched the winter show season with strong attendance and confident order writing inside the only comprehensive lifestyle marketplace in North America. The seven-day show at Dallas Market Center welcomed buyers from around the world to see it first, buy it first, and get a head start on new products and trends from thousands of brands.
The marketplace presented more than 40 new and expanding showrooms; hundreds of Temps; product collections in exclusive categories including CBD and smart home technology; celebrity guests including Aerin Lauder, Thom Filicia and Carson Kressley; presentations from business thought leaders; and shared discoveries from lifestyle influencers. In addition, special events including “Discover The Five Senses” interactive product displays, the ARTS Awards gala, and promotional giveaways inspired business owners to thrive in the new year.
The result was a high-energy event that produced strong orders throughout the week and into the following week’s Apparel & Accessories Market. Many exhibitors reported larger average orders, more new customers from across the U.S. and internationally, and total sales increases of more than 20%, especially among exhibitors with new products, new or expanded spaces, and/or special promotions.
Supported by innovative marketing programs and aggressive retail prospecting from Dallas Market Center, the show had strong attendance by buyers from across the Central U.S. and a growing number of buyers attending from the Upper Midwest and Southeast. The number of businesses attending the show for the first time represented almost 10% of the total attendance.
Said Cindy Morris, president and CEO: “We were thrilled with the January show but most importantly our exhibitors did great business at the first market of the year. Independent retailers, designers, buying groups and large volume stores arrived early and eager to order, and many showrooms had record-setting shows. Consumers are confident and retail remains strong in the Central US, supported by solid holiday sales, a record number of new residents, and an expanding economy. In addition to highlighting new products that debuted in Dallas, we also created an inspiring customer experience with our Five Senses theme and interactive displays to help buyers take home actionable ideas for their stores.”
Inside neighborhoods of permanent showrooms, retailers discovered more new resources and exhibitors noted the January market success.
From Gift Showrooms
Said John Keiser, CEO, OneCoast: “We targeted the January 2020 Market for our strategic expansion and enhancement for two of our divisions—Gift Division and Mud Pie Division—from 13,000 square feet to 21,000 square feet in order to improve the overall customer experience—both buying and entertaining. The sales results were 20%+ YOY growth for each of the divisions. We are very pleased with our investment in the Dallas Market, and look forward to many years of success.”
Monica Loving, Ivystone noted: “We are confident that we will end up with a solid increase. Our new partner, Park Hill Design, reported that they had a huge Dallas show. The fact that the Dallas Apparel show runs right after the Total Home and Gift show is also a big boost to our January market sales as we continue to grow our business in Dallas.”
Randa Crisler, Portico commented: “We had a FANTASTIC gift show!! Big double-digit increase across the board for Portico with some of our larger, signature brands experiencing the largest increases ever—up as much as 67%. Having Gift and Apparel shows run back to back also made for a very successful month for us. We love the format of combining/overlapping these shows and are happy that the DMC will be doing more of this for 2020.”
From Tosha Pearson, Road Runners: “‘See it first. Buy it first. Sell it first.’ was a giant success for Road Runners. We experienced one of our largest percentage increases ever! We attribute this to a combination of strong brands and new products, reps booking appointments with key retailers, and the stellar messaging from Dallas Market Center.”
The Trade Mart’s Patrick Ongena of Patrick & Co. said: “Once again, Patrick & Company is happy to share that we had a record market. Traffic remained strong for the entire week, and our out of territory orders were up 25% which proved that the DMC marketing and reputation is stronger than ever. Many of our core, long-term vendors experienced substantial double-digit increases. The customers were very positive after coming off a very strong Christmas season and they were ready to buy. It is fantastic to be first!!”
Maureen Carpenter from Nora Fleming: “[We] made a wonderful decision to come back to the Dallas Market Center and open up our own showroom. Together with our colleagues at IvyStone we combined to have our best Dallas market ever! During the show we worked with hundreds of new and returning customers and launched our new products with huge success. The energy at the DMC is always positive and their staff is excellent. We’re looking forward to our next show!"
From Home, Holiday and Floral Showrooms
William White of Gabby commented: “Since we moved the Gabby showroom to the first floor of the Dallas Market Center two years ago, we’ve seen tremendous growth. January’s market was our biggest market yet in Dallas and, we believe, will set the tone for business for 2020. Thank you to showroom manager Cindy Massingill and the rest of the sales team for all they did to make it happen.”
Said Kyle Camp of K&K Interiors: “We put 120 percent into Dallas--product, presentation, marketing, and sales force. In return we had the best show ever in Dallas. It also was the largest product launch in our history, over 5000 new items, we had over 200 show specials, and we were able to drive a lot of new customers and win-back customers.”
Doug Williams of Kalalou, commented: “Dallas was a big improvement for us with our expansion and new location. This show exceeded all of our expectations, and we enjoyed a record show in our 33-year history.”
Robin Gordon of ELK Group: "It was a great Market for us. We were excited to unveil our newly renovated space showing the market that ELK is and always plans to be an important resource in the Lighting industry. We had a strong response to our new introductions and an opportunity to show our customers that we are focused on bringing new product to market and helping them grow their business!"
Added Peter Clark, President and CEO of LMT Imports and LMT Design LLC.: “We had our strongest showing for a January market in over five years, the most encouraging part of this show was the new faces mixed in with customers that hadn’t been to the Dallas market for a while. Buyers were looking for something new, innovative and exciting, and they responded well with written orders.”
Erdos + Ko’s John Erdos commented: “We had robust sales, we met many new potential clients and had a great reaction to our new furniture and lighting introductions. We closed the week hosting a highly successful ASID Event in our showroom. Overall, it was a great week!”
Direct Export’s Tim Neuenfeldt said: “The Dallas market put its best foot forward by hosting first this year and our buyers responded. It was one of the busiest and most productive Dallas markets in recent memory.”
From Sullivans, Lisa Juul: “We were excited to debut our new seasonal offering at the Dallas market. Retailers reacted positively to our 10 new seasonal themes with over a 1000 new products, along with our special promotions that we are offering in both every day and holiday. As always, we appreciated the support that the DMC provides in order to make the market experience a positive one for all of our customers.”
Added Dallas Market Center president and CEO Cindy Morris: “Buyers told us they are seeking inspiration and a broader array of merchandise in order to stand out and create a lifestyle presentation for customers -- and that Dallas is the only market where they can find it all efficiently. Even after our show officially concluded the market energy and traffic continued into the following week’s Apparel and Accessories Market as we welcomed a second wave of buyers—many of whom seek products from our gift and home exhibitors.”
Significant Buying Power Attends
Attendance data and the Retail Development team at Dallas Market Center confirmed in addition to independent retailers from all 50 states and dozens of countries, a record number of business organizations attended the January show including more than forty retail buying groups, trade groups and associations. These groups create tremendous buying power and represent significant orders across all product categories.
An Inspiring Market Theme
The theme “Discover The Five Senses” was presented across the marketplace via interactive product displays and trend presentations, trend tours and unexpected moments of inspiration. “Discover The Five Senses” was selected as the theme because of its power to help retailers create compelling in-store experiences by harnessing the power of sensory perception. The presentations were complemented by QR codes to access product information and the chance to win up to $5000 in “DMC Dollars” for the June 2020 Total Home & Gift Market. More than 10% of all market attendees participated in the program by scanning codes thousands of times.
Celebrity Guests: Aerin Lauder, Thom Filicia and Carson Kressley
A keynote appearance by tastemaker and business leader Aerin Lauder focused on how her heritage as the granddaughter of Estée Lauder was the foundation and point of difference for her lifestyle brand AERIN. Also appearing at market were Thom Filicia and Carson Kressley, who welcomed guests to the ARTS
Awards Gallery Preview night and co-hosted the 31st annual ARTS Awards on Friday.
Winners of the 31st Annual ARTS Awards
Honoring home industry excellence, the annual ARTS Awards gala honored achievement in retailing, manufacturing, design, and sales representation. The January black-tie gala included masters of ceremonies Carson Kressley and Thom Filicia. Winners from among the finalists in twenty-three categories were announced and the Academy of Achievement honor was presented to Michael Amini, the charismatic founder, chairman, and CEO of AICO/Amini Innovation Corporation. More details are available at the ARTS Awards website: http://www.dallasmarketcenter.com/artsawards/
Product Exclusives: Explore CBD
Perhaps the hottest products in the gift business are CBD, and Dallas Market Center highlighted products and offered retail advice to help leverage this category effectively. More than 30 companies showcased products.
New and Noteworthy Temps
The Temps at Total Home & Gift Market continued to offer a discovery zone of new products and unique goods for retailers eager to discover new products and brands. The five neighborhoods reported steady traffic and orders from a wide range of buyers. Exhibitors from the Temps joined the chorus of praise for the first show of the year: Said Linda McKinsey of Joy Susan Accessories: “We actually had an amazing show. Buyers attending the show came to do business and buy. We opened lots of new accounts and met lots of people from all over the USA.” Added Wendy Carter of Yikes Twins: "This was my first gift market in Dallas, and I was pleasantly surprised. I met stores from Texas but also buyers from the Midwest where I have been trying to grow my business. I'll definitely be back, especially with the dates coinciding with the apparel market in the summer!"
StyleEyes Influencers and Market Seminars
The knowledge and taste-making skills of leading industry influencers were harnessed during the return of StyleEyes. The diverse group of a dozen trend scouts from across the U.S. identified must-see and unique products and trends across the marketplace including gifts, home décor, lighting, holiday/floral and fashion. StyleEyes posts on Instagram achieved more than 2,000,000 total impressions of their discoveries, and the team gathered for a lively panel discussion chaired by retail guru Pam Danziger.
In addition to the StyleEyes, a full schedule of insightful seminars and discussions also took place including sessions with Dann Foley, Libby Langdon, Patti Carpenter, Shay Geyer, Patty Biro of the Spa Industry Association, Susan Inglis of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, Christian Daw, Jason Clifton, and Laura Therman, Lisa McDennon, Robin Baron, Toma Clark Haines, and Kristi Hopper. Daily seminars on WTC 12 offered valuable insights for growing a retail business from experts including Pam Danziger, Warren Shoulberg, Cris Willis, and Maghon Taylor. Retail expert Rawlins Gilliland offered popular discovery tours, while on the second floor of the Interior Home + Design Center a Design Bar featured holiday and floral demos from J Schwanke, who offered educational seminars and tours, along with additional seminars and hands-on demons from Edward Sajovic and Damon Oates.
Looking Ahead: Combined Lifestyle Markets in March and June 2020
As retailers continue to seek a wider array of new products in order to stand out, only Dallas Market Center presents the most complete collection across all major lifestyle categories in a single location for gifts, home décor, lighting, holiday and floral, housewares, gourmet, fashion, and artisan products. To help retailers efficiently source these new products, the marketplace will host a combined Total Home & Gift Market together with Apparel & Accessories Market in the spring from March 24-27. In June, the summer market experience will be transformed into an annual trade event unifying for the first time all major markets and creating the largest lifestyle market event in North America. Total Home & Gift Market (June 24-29) will be joined by Apparel & Accessories Market (June 23-26), KidsWorld (June 23-26), and Lightovation: Dallas International Lighting Show (June 24-27).
The January Dallas Total Home & Gift Market took place concurrently with Lightovation—Dallas International Lighting Show, the largest residential lighting show in North America and the primary buying venue for lighting retailers. The January edition of Lightovation included new and expanding showrooms, thousands of new products from leading brands, and seminars in The SMART Center--the hospitality and education lounge.
Dallas Market Center offers buyers from around the world a complete lifestyle marketplace of best-selling and unique products in temporary and permanent showrooms, including the largest residential lighting trade event
in North America; the largest and most successful open-daily design center; dominant trade events for gift, home décor, holiday and floral; and the nation’s most comprehensive apparel and accessories marketplace featuring the latest styles from East Coast and West Coast designers.
To make plans for upcoming markets, visit the Dallas Market Center website and download the Dallas Market Center and Lightovation Apps. Also, keep up-to-date on all information by visiting Dallas Market Center on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the DMC Daily Dose.
About Dallas Market Center
Dallas Market Center is a global business-to-business trade center and the leading wholesale marketplace in North America connecting retailers and interior designers with top manufacturers in gourmet and housewares, home décor, holiday/floral, gifts, lighting and apparel. Inside its dynamic, five million square foot campus, nearly 200,000 customers from all 50 states and 85 countries seek industry trends, business education and new products from exhibitors throughout the year via dominant trade events for gift, home décor, holiday and floral; the nation’s most comprehensive apparel and accessories markets featuring the latest styles from East Coast and West Coast designers; the largest residential lighting trade event in North America; and the largest and most successful open-daily design center. The marketplace is located in the strongest economic zone in the country. In addition, more than 80% of Dallas Market Center buyers report that they do not shop other market centers. To make plans for upcoming markets, visit the Dallas Market Center website and download the Dallas Market Center App. Also, keep up-to-date on all information by visiting Dallas Market Center on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the Dallas Market Center blog.
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