Interior Lifestyle USA to be Launched in Cooperation with WMC July Market

Furniture World Magazine

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: Messe Frankfurt, Inc. and World Market CenterSM, Las Vegas, have formed a strategic alliance to produce Interior LifestyleSM USA, a new trade event that will present some of the best features and exhibitors of the acclaimed Heimtextil and Ambiente shows. The new event will be hosted in conjunction with the inaugural Las Vegas MarketSM in July 2005, and will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center concurrent with the World Market CenterSM temporary exhibits and the AWFS®Fair (Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers). Combined these prominent events are expected to draw in excess of 70,000 buyers from the USA and around the world. In adding the new show, World Market CenterSM expands its base as an integrated market for international home and hospitality contract furnishings. The new Interior LifestyleSM USA debuting with the July 2005 Las Vegas MarketSM is expected to host leading global manufacturers of the home textiles and furnishings industries, brought together for the first time in the USA and draw global attendance. “We are very pleased to enter into this strategic agreement with Messe Frankfurt – a preeminent global trade show organizer,” said Shawn Samson, co-managing partner of World Market CenterSM. “World Market CenterSM is positioned as a significant international player in the home furnishings and hospitality contract industries. We will continue to expand our international strategic alliances in the future.” Jack Kashani, the other co-managing partner of World Market CenterSM, added, “This is also very positive news for our current roster of exhibitors and buyers. As a result of this collaboration, we will expand the resources and products from international exhibitors, and further attract buyers from around the world to Las Vegas MarketSM.” Roland Bleinroth, President of Messe Frankfurt, Inc., added, “We are very excited to work with World Market CenterSM and to contribute to the success of the first Market Week with our special presentation platform and exhibitor mix, which will be seen for the first time in the USA. Working together, Messe Frankfurt and World Market CenterSM are creating a fresh new approach in the U.S. for showcasing home and hospitality contract products and furnishings.” To accommodate Interior LifestyleSM USA – an international showcase featuring home textiles, home accents and interior décor products – additional space has been secured at the Las Vegas Convention Center, alongside World MarketplaceSM. This new feature presentation will be produced as a show within a show as part of Las Vegas MarketSM. The selected product lines reflect the best of Heimtextil and Ambiente – two long-running shows produced by Messe Frankfurt and held in Frankfurt each January and February, respectively. Heimtextil and Ambiente are the biggest and most important international trade fairs in their respective sectors worldwide. The addition of Interior LifestyleSM USA, puts the inaugural Las Vegas MarketSM at a total of 2.5 million square feet of permanent and temporary exhibition space – making it the largest single debut of any home furnishings market or Las Vegas trade show. “Messe Frankfurt is pleased to form this strategic relationship with World Market CenterSM and to be a part of inaugural Las Vegas MarketSM. Having analyzed the US markets, we believe that World Market CenterSM is poised to become the predominant international marketplace for home furnishings and hospitality contract in the US,” said Roland Bleinroth, President of Messe Frankfurt, Inc. “The success of World Market CenterSM in creating a critical mass of exhibitors for its debut event, and its ambitious plans for rapid expansion of its Market is truly remarkable. The international offerings of this new show on the scale and diversity proposed is unprecedented and Messe Frankfurt is committed to expanding its contributions to this platform in the future.” Interior LifestyleSM USA will cover a depth of product categories including design-oriented home furnishings, home interior accessories, home textiles, bed/bath/kitchen linens, furnishing fabrics, upholstery fabrics, curtains and draperies, wallpaper and wall coverings, carpets, floor coverings, decorative domestic lighting systems, crystal, glass, table-top, porcelain, seasonal articles, decorative art and more. Spanning 7.5 million square feet upon completion, World Market Center Las VegasSM is an integrated home and hospitality contract furnishings showroom and exhibition complex serving the United States and international markets. Phase One, opening in July and already fully-leased to 230 companies, will feature permanent showrooms consisting of furniture, decorative accessories, lighting, area rugs, and related segments, as well as a Design Center open year-round to the trade. “World Market CenterSM will be responsive to the needs of the global economy, and has more international appeal than any other U.S. Market,” said Shawn Samson and Jack Kashani, the co-managing partners of World Market CenterSM. “Our new Market will offer a progressive approach for each segment of the industry, and equally as powerful, Las Vegas is already the top U.S. destination among U.S. and foreign travelers. Las Vegas will attract thousands of international buyers because of its first-class infrastructure and amenities, renowned resorts and restaurants, an accessible airport with non-stop international flights, and convenient transportation systems within the city.”