The Chicago Market builds retailer support
Hosts Midwest outreach tour
-- Casual Living, 11/5/2008 7:17:00 AM
The Chicago Market: Living and Giving hosted more than 500 buyers, designers and reps at four successful networking events across the Midwest this fall to tap directly into retail sentiments and show how Chicago can be even more valuable to their businesses. The regional outreach tour continued The Chicago Market’s focus on independent retailers and their local reps at the events in Minneapolis, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago.
The informal parties were a chance for independent retailers, reps and designers to network and mingle with fellow members of the industry and The Chicago Market team.
“Chicago’s regional outreach was a huge success in bringing buyers together outside of Market in their hometowns to network and share ideas with us and their peers,” said Joan Ulrich, senior vice president, Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. “Our team met so many new buyers who can benefit from Chicago’s broad offering, and we look forward to hosting them at The Chicago Market in January and beyond.”
Manufacturers, representatives and buyers alike said the events were beneficial to business – and highly enjoyable.
“The Merchandise Mart event in St. Louis was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with past customers and meet new ones, reminding everyone what a great resource the Mart is,” said Richard Tallin, president, AA Importing Co. “It was a fantastic example of how hard the Mart is working to put great retailers and great suppliers together.”
“As one of the buyers at the party in St. Louis, I made some important business contacts,” said Scott Cristal, president of Cristal Harbour, Inc. “I thought it was a very classy, well done event and well worth the trip.”
Attendees at each event received a bag of giveaways at the door and were entered to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Chicago for the January 2009 Market, including hotel and airfare. The winner of the all expenses-paid trip was Jon Kuhlmann from Kirkwood Florist.
“The Chicago event was a chance for me to get to know other sales reps and customers better,” said Melrose International Sales Rep Gina Lempa. “I met someone new last night that had a great story to share. I was completely inspired and saw a new prospect that I can bring back to incorporate into my business.”
As announced in July, The Chicago Market will combine forces with apparel show STYLEMAX, Jan. 15-21, 2009, bringing the collective, expansive resources of both Markets to buyers under one massive roof at The Merchandise Mart. At the same time, the boutique-style Gallery Suites on 12 will debut with additional temporary resources for buyers looking for the latest trends for the home.
With the two Markets running concurrently and the new temporaries, buyers in Chicago will enjoy a broader and deeper range of lines at the same time in the same place. Retailers will have more products to shop and find the latest trends consumers are buying, expanding their retail product mix.
The Chicago Market: Living and Giving will run Jan. 15-21, 2009. STYLEMAX will be located on the 7th floor and coincide with The Chicago Market’s Market Suites Temporaries, including Beckman’s Handcrafted Show, on the 8th and 12th Floors, Saturday, Jan. 17, through Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009.
For more information on The Chicago Market: Living and Giving, visit www.shopchicagomarket.com or call 800-677-6278 (MART).
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