Retailers Find Exclusive, New Products And Personalized Service During The Portland Gift & Accessories Show®—June 23-26, 2001

Furniture World Magazine

San Francisco: Retailers attending the 140th semi-annual Portland Gift & Accessories Showx discovered products exclusive to this Northwest regional market as well as friendly, personalized service from exhibitors and show management. This semi-annual event featured gifts, handmade merchandise, home décor and decorative accessories and welcomed nearly 5,400 buyers. New exhibiting companies and artisans continually use the Portland market to launch their products to the wholesale buying trade. Many nationally recognized names fill the show with gifts, home and decorative accessories, stationery, resort/souvenir and indoor/outdoor living merchandise in nearly 600 booths. "The enthusiastic response from both our buyers and exhibitors confirms the importance of the Portland Gift & Accessories Show®. Many retailers emphasized that the new products found at the show give them an ‘exclusivity’ they would not find in larger markets, and exhibitors stressed that this is an important market because it enables them to service their smaller regional accounts personally," said Kelly McLoughlin, Show Manager of the Portland Gift & Accessories Show, Western Exhibitors, LLC. "Western Exhibitors’ focus has always been the customer service we provide our buyers and exhibitors; we try to be an example for those serving our clientele. It was very apparent that retailers enjoyed working with suppliers at the Portland Gift & Accessories Show® because they tended to pay more attention to the quality of their product and offered better personal service than some of the larger markets. In addition, we put into place a program that promoted show specials that were offered only in Portland and encouraged all exhibitors to offer incentives at their booths," added Mike Dean, President, Western Exhibitors, LLC. Post Show Statistics: Number of Exhibiting Companies: 367, Number of Booths: 570, Net Square Footage: 54,070, Buyer Attendance: 5,347, Retail Store Attendance: 2,968