BUYERS AND EXHIBITORS ALIKE IMPRESSED WITH BIG ORDERS AND BIG OFFERINGS AT
THE JULY 2007 THE CHICAGO MARKET: LIVING AND GIVING™
CHICAGO, IL (August 1, 2007) – The Chicago Market: Living and Giving™ enjoyed a hugely successful Market this July with the debut of Market Square, a packed Big Night concert on The Merchandise Mart’s South Drive and the educational and inspirational Retail Forum and Tour. The Chicago Market: Living and Giving ran from July 19-25 with Market Suites, including Beckman’s Handcrafted Gift Show® from July 21-24.
“Buyers and exhibitors alike were impressed with our offerings this Market,” said Joan Ulrich, senior vice president, Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. “From the incredible debut of Market Square to our packed Big Night concert event, The Chicago Market: Living and Giving proved once again that Chicago is a destination Market with an incredible collection of experiences.”
Highlights of the July 2007 The Chicago Market: Living and Giving included:
Market Square:
Market Square debuted to rave reviews this Market. Market Square is the Merchandise Mart’s newest destination resource that has created a one-stop-shopping experience for the trade for retailers and designers. Market Square offers a diverse selection of on-trend home and decorative accessories, lighting, bedding, wall décor, mirrors, tabletop, and much more.
“Market Square is a great resource to get inspired – you walk around, see the best of all the product and you want to run back to your store and replicate it all!,” said Gail Michel, accessory buyer for Wickes Furniture Company. “Market Square is interpreting style in a way that other markets lack. I am very excited to see Chicago set themselves apart with the depth of product and the ease of shopping Market Square – you can actually see the big picture when you are there.”
Special Events:
The Big Night at The Mart on Monday, July 23 was the not-to-be-missed event again this Market. Super Diamond, the premier Neil Diamond tribute band, performed live and exclusively for a packed crowd of Market attendees along the scenic Chicago River.
The Market’s Signatures events were set record attendance and allowed industry personalities and authors of best-selling titles to mingle with attendees and autograph copies of their latest books. This Market, Signatures personalities included: Jeremy Pohlen, author of “Oddball Illinois: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places,” Judith Fertig, author of “Weeknight Grilling with the BBQ Queens” and Fourth generation Chicago restaurateur Carlyn Berghoff author of the long awaited, “The Berghoff Family Cookbook: From Our Table to Yours, Celebrating a Century of Entertaining.”
The Summer Retail Tour and Forum enjoyed its biggest crowd to date, filled with excited retailers. The evening started with four industry experts from the GHTA (Rosanne Brown, Venice Stationers; Carol Schroeder, Orange Tree Imports; Melissa Haberstroh, The Burlap Horse; Sherrie Ness, Bates Nut Farm and Farmer's Daughter) as they lead a discussion on current trends. After the forum, retailers boarded trolleys for a tour of local boutiques that exemplified the retailing trends discussed at the GHTA Forum. Tour participants were inspired by the best that Chicago retailers have to offer while they had dinner and sipped drinks on this trolley tour.
“The forum was really informative, especially since I have a neighborhood boutique,” said Trisha London, owner of Zella Brown in Chicago. “We are looking to get involved in a community where our retail neighbors respect us and our company.”
Retailers’ Choice Award:
The Chicago Market: Living and Giving™ is proud to announce the winners of the July 2007 Retailers’ Choice for Most Inspiring Showroom and Market Suites Exhibitor. The showroom winners include: Creative Visions in Marketing, Inc. (1599), DNA (12-664), K & K Interiors, Inc. (13-207), Melrose International, LLC (12-140) and Sullivans (1418). The Market Suites exhibitor winners include: Adventure Marketing (7-1030), Ethel & Myrtle, Inc. (7-1107 and 8-6072), Honey House (7-2068), Language Art (7-4040) and Whispering Pines Carving (7-5061).
The Chicago Market: Living and Giving Announces 2008 Show Dates:
January 2008: The Chicago Market: Living and Giving
Showrooms: Thursday, January 17 through Wednesday, January 23
Market Suites: Saturday, January 19 through Tuesday, January 22
July 2008: The Chicago Market: Living and Giving
Showrooms: Thursday, July 17 through Wednesday, July 23
Market Suites: Saturday, July 19 through Tuesday, July 22
MEDIA CONTACT:
Claire Weingarden
Public Relations Manager
Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.
Phone: 312.527.7790
E-mail: cweingarden@mmart.com
The Chicago Market: Living and Giving is a trademark of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI). Beckman’s Handcrafted Gift Show is a registered trademark of MMPI.
Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI) is a trade show and property management firm, specializing in managing buildings devoted to wholesale showrooms and commercial office space. MMPI produces more than 300 trade shows, market events and conferences each year.
MMPI manages The Merchandise Mart and 350 West Mart Center in Chicago; Market Square, the Suites at Market Square, Hamilton Market, Plaza Suites, Furniture Plaza and the National Furniture Mart in High Point, N.C.; the Architects & Designers Building and 7 W New York in New York; the Boston Design Center in Boston; the L.A. Mart in Los Angeles; and the Washington Design Center and Federal Center Southwest in Washington D.C.
Vornado Realty Trust, owners of MMPI, based in New York City, is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust. Vornado’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are traded under the symbol VNO.
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