Citing the citing the COVID-19 situation as “very fluid,” International Market Centers will adjust its markets according to recommendations of the CDC, as well as orders by national and local authorities, it announced. Considered the center of commerce for the furniture, gift, home decor and apparel industries, IMC says it is continuing to plan for summer markets to be held in High Point, N.C., Atlanta and Las Vegas.
“We hope to have the opportunity to produce physical Markets this summer – although we recognize they may look and feel slightly different given the impact of COVID-19. We will continue to monitor the situation and communicate with customers if postponement is deemed necessary,” said Bob Maricich, the CEO of IMC.
At this time, IMC venues in Atlanta, High Point, N.C. and Las Vegas are closed to the public. Tenants have access to showrooms to conduct business provided appropriate social distancing is observed. In-progress construction and tenant improvement projects in individual showrooms may continue provided appropriate social distancing is observed.
“As we all watch the development of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic with feelings of concern and uncertainty, International Market Centers remains committed to the safety and security of our customers and to each other,” said Maricich. “We are all in uncharted territory and it is important that we remain calm, deal with the facts, act accordingly, and stand by each other in this difficult time.”
IMC is complying with the CDC’s recommendation to avoid gatherings and embrace social distancing by adjusting its events schedules. Specific updates for venues and event schedules are:
AmericasMart: In line with the mayor of Atlanta’s order close all nonessential businesses, the campus is closed to the public until April 14; In-progress construction and tenant improvement projects in individual showrooms may continue provided appropriate social distancing is observed; Year-round special events are cancelled and will resume in May; Atlanta Spring Cash & Carry, originally scheduled for May 5-7, is postponed; The April Atlanta Apparel Market (originally scheduled for April 14-18) will be subsumed into the June Atlanta Apparel Market, scheduled for June 10-13.
The Atlanta Convention Center: In line with the mayor of Atlanta’s order to close all nonessential businesses, the facility was closed to the public for 14 days beginning on March 24; Event cancellations are the discretion of organizers.
High Point properties: In line with a local Guilford County, Greensboro and High Point order, IMC buildings are closed the public from March 27 through April 26; Spring High Point Market, originally scheduled for April 25-29, is rescheduled for June 12-14.
Other shows on the schedule for summer include:
Las Vegas Market: July 26-30, at World Market Center Las Vegas and the EXPO at World Market Center Las Vegas
August Atlanta Apparel: August 4-8, at AmericasMart
In an effort to address business disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, IMC and its digital innovation division IMC_di are offering free subscriptions and transactions to customers through year-end on ShopZio, its B2B digital platform that facilitates product and resource discovery as well as e-commerce.
“The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted business quickly and significantly. While ensuring the health and safety of our staff and customers is our top priority, we also have been able to start planning for recovery and we will use our virtual market tools to help our customers do the same,” said Maricich. “To that end, we are offering gift, home and apparel suppliers virtual market tools — at no charge through the end of the year — to help our customers maintain visibility, market available products and transact business digitally as recovery begins.”
Recently acquired as part of the IMC_di initiative, ShopZio is a B2B platform that facilitates product and resource discovery as well as transactional e-commerce. In support of economic challenges caused by the current disruption, all marketplace fees will be waived for the balance of the year for both new and existing ShopZio customers.
ShopZio’s B2B platform will be linkable directly from IMC’s market websites – AmericasMart.com, IMCHightPointMarket.com and LasVegasMarket.com – enabling product discovery and referrals to vendors’ e-commerce platforms.
“As recovery begins and the American public emerges from this difficult period, one thing is certain: People will reach for the things that provide comfort, beauty and solace – the very things that our industries design, produce and sell,” said Maricich. “As retailers reopen for business and begin to restock, these virtual market tools will have established a pipeline to jump-start much needed economic recovery for the gift, home and apparel industries.”
IMC_di also is accelerating development of its new digital market experience, which when launched in Fall 2020 will create more opportunity and streamline digital tools, according to the company.
Eric Dean, president of IMC_di, said, “IMC is committed to bringing buyers and sellers together whenever and however they choose to transact. ShopZio allows us to offer an excellent interim solution to an industry looking for assistance in helping buyers and suppliers get back to business and for leadership in a time of economic hardship.”
ShopZio currently has 35,000 active buyers and 100+ vendors and is already conducting millions of dollars per month in online transactions. The IMC_di team is ready to demonstrate the platform to new customers and prepare their product and SKU-level data for upload. New customers will be on-boarded on a first-come, first-served basis. IMC tenants and exhibitors can sign-up and connect with the IMC_di team at www.imcenters.com/imcdi/shopzio-offer. ■
