Las Vegas Weekly

THE CONSUMER: Inside World Market

Info in case you’re not a buyer for a major retail outlet

The sweet smell of World Market Center's success still lingers over Las Vegas as vendors wrap up loose ends from its maiden voyage last week.

More than 300,000 attendees came together over the five-day shopping spree to take care of the big business that is home furnishing and interior design. In fact, the 1.3-million-square-foot World Market Center, with its 10 floors of showrooms, proved it wasn't large enough and event organizers had to add two additional pavilions to accommodate those manufacturers and vendors who wanted to attend but could not fit inside the main building.

The future looks bright for those businesses. World Market Center plans to add about 9 million more square feet of showroom space north of the existing building over the next few years.

If you aren't a part of the multi billion worldwide home furniture and accessory business and you are wondering what's inside, you'll find just about anything you could imagine to furnish your home. We're talking about everything from floor coverings and window treatments to decorative art, beds, dressers, sofas, end tables, television stands, wall units, light fixtures, lamps, plates and even olive-oil dispensers.

The building's general layout is extremely basic. A large entry hall with an impressive wall of water cascading down near a circular stairway is its most impressive feature. From there on up, it's all business as a series of escalators runs through the center of the building.

Yes, there are no windows. But it doesn't matter much. Each business decorates its space as it sees fit. Some are quite elaborate, with scrim screens and ambient light, while others are bare-bones basic, with nothing more than industrial carpet and paint. It's really not that different than most retail spaces inside a typical mall—some are better than others.

You've probably heard of some of the big players such as Lane and Serta, but you may not be familiar with the importers such as Cellini Francesca or Lins International. Don't beat yourself up if you don't recognize any of the businesses represented at World Market Center. The whole idea is to let buyers from places such as Bloomingdale's Home, Macy's, RC Willey, Pier One and Cost Plus World Market take care of choosing the best merchandise that you will find in their stores.

If that's not the way you like to shop, don't fret. World Market Center will be open to the public for short but sweet sales when vendors need to make way for the latest and greatest.

Anne Kellogg is a native Las Vegan with a thing for purchasing stuff. E-mail her at
consumer@gmgvegas.com