DALLAS – The first gift and home trade event of the summer in North America, the Dallas Total Home & Gift Market, exceeded expectations as it welcomed more buyers from across the U.S. and internationally. The show experienced steady order-writing among its thousands of exhibitors including dozens of new and expanding permanent showrooms as well as hundreds of first-time participants in the Temps at Total Home & Gift Market.
Buyer attendance included retailers and interior designers from all 50 states as well as international buyers from Canada, Central America, and South America. The number of buyers attending for the first time continued to outpace pre-pandemic numbers. Attendance also continued to widen geographically: significant gains were made in buyer attendance from the Southeast, Upper Midwest, and West compared with last June’s show.
“This show clearly exceeded expectations and extended the Dallas momentum,” said Cindy Morris, president and CEO of Dallas Market Center. “We continue to set the pace among trade events in the U.S. We saw loyal and new buyers arriving with optimism for the months ahead and significant open to buy, supported by a strong economy throughout the Central U.S. and more than 370,000 retailers now open for business in Texas alone.”
Alison Anderson, owner of A. Dodson’s in Norfolk, Virginia noted what makes Dallas special: “Time and time again the Dallas Market Center delivers Market to the buyer above and beyond my expectations. Dallas makes important business decisions exciting and EASY. Everyone is incredibly kind and helpful from the bus drivers to the Market information booths to the showroom managers. The A. Dodson’s team always feels loved and valued by the entire Dallas Market team and showrooms!”
In addition to independent retailers, the buying power from major stores and buying groups added to the marketplace energy and commerce. Those attendees included Southwest Buying Group, BRIXY, MAI (Monograms of America), Museum Store Association, Purchasing Power Plus, Hobby Lobby, World Market, Michael’s, Buc-ees, Neiman Marcus, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Brookshire’s Grocery, Francesca’s, HOM Furniture, The Paper Store, United Supermarket, Von Maur, and many others.
More than 300 new and expanding permanent showrooms and Temps debuted during the show, together with special exhibits, events, and seminars. Among the exhibitor community, results were shared noting retailer and designer confidence and new buyer traffic.
“We had double-digit growth in customer count with a significant increase from the Western states,” said John Keiser, CEO of OneCoast. “This has validated our decision to build OneCoast’s Western Flagship Showroom in Dallas, which will open in January 2024.”
Randa Crisler, vice president of Portico Collection, commented: “Portico saw increases across all regions with a diverse customer base of our incredible local stores to stores from regions including Illinois, California, and Mississippi.”
“Dallas continues to draw attendees from coast to coast as well as Internationally,” said Matthew Wilson, Palecek showroom manager. “June 2023 Market proved to be strong in attendance and overall business seeing an increase in traffic from Lighting segments and local Industry Partners.”
Lindsay Duncan, President of Patrick & Co., noted: “As we move forward in our second year of ownership, we heard from buyers that Dallas is the most inspiring and efficient market for the business.”
“We are extremely pleased with our debut in The Gallery,” said Robyn Bailey, owner, Mainly Baskets Home. “Based on the reaction and business we did during the show, we are very optimistic about the daily business in between markets as well.”
The Reimagined Temps For New Product Discovery
The Temps at Total Home & Gift Market was the largest summer presentation in more than ten years with more than 1000 booths. The energy on the floor and consistent order writing was noted by several key exhibitors:
“What a joy it was to show in Dallas this year!” said JoAnne Grazzini of The Cat’s Pajamas. “It was stocked with lots of new and established buyers. We opened 22 new accounts, and we got a chance to see some of our great customers as well. We are very happy and will be coming back again!”
“All the feedback from the 80+ Go Texan participants was that the Market was an awesome success,” said Darrell Dean with Go Texan!, the Texas Department of Agriculture Marketing Program. “We had lots of big buyers that came by and we give the Show a huge thumbs up: good sales, good networking, great buyers. We are excited about returning.”
Added first-time exhibitor Kellie Carolson with Teleties: “As a new vendor, we could not have had a better experience! We really grew our Texas and Midwest business with buyers we do not see at other shows. The Dallas Market team is an absolute dream to work with and we look forward to continuing our partnership!”
Retailer Excellence Awards
The 72nd Annual Retailer Excellence Awards took place on June 21, with a crowd of more than 300 guests honoring seven retail winners in seven categories: Specialty Store, Multiple Locations, Visual Merchandising, Store Events, Store Design, Social Media Outreach and Online Initiatives, and Socially Responsible. In addition, Gifts and Decorative Accessories magazine presented awards to the Manufacturer of the Year and Sales Representative of the Year. Finally, Gift for Life, the industry charitable organization, presented its Industry Achievement Award to the co-founders of Brandwise, Jannetta and Todd Litzman.
Showrooms Supporting World Central Kitchen
In partnership with the industry non-profit organization Gift for Life, select showrooms raised funds for World Central Kitchen during the show. More than $40,0000 was raised via the Retailer Excellence Awards and efforts by Portico Collection, Diverse Marketing, and many others.
For details on upcoming markets, including August and September trade events, visit the Dallas Market Center website and download the Dallas Market Center mobile app.