AVB CEO Jim Ristow officiates at yesterday’s FTS Experience Center grand opening. Assisting in the ribbon cutting are COO Dave Meekings, left; BrandSource President Tom Bennett, right; and AVB board members (left to right, rear) Andy Kersey, Jeff Zeglin, Chad Lang and Tim Hillebrand.
Cutting-edge showroom shines at grand opening gala and giveaway
By Alan Wolf, YSN
It’s official — FTS’s new high-tech Experience Center showroom at the Las Vegas Market is open for business.
The wraps officially came off at yesterday’s grand opening gala, where AVB CEO Jim Ristow snipped the ribbon and welcomed members, vendor partners and trade guests to Furniture Technology Source’s permanent new digs.
Located in showroom B1400 at the World Market Center, the FTS Experience Center features AVB’s interactive “endless aisle” KIOSQ displays and other proprietary tech, along with collaborative spaces for dealers and vendor partners.
The reception, which was held on the first day of this week’s Winter Las Vegas Market, was followed by a member-only drawing for vendor-sponsored getaways valued at $5,000 each. The lucky winners were Jimmy Keene II of Image Home Furnishings, who will be heading to Miami courtesy of Restonic; Ziyad Ayyad of Watsonville Home Elegance who will be spending time at South Padre Island thanks to Serta; and Julie Abbey of Appliance Center of Toledo who will be Santa Barbara bound courtesy of Flexsteel.
The Experience Center will be staffed throughout the Market, which runs through Feb. 2, and Lunch & Learn sessions that began on Sunday, Jan. 29 continue today at noon.
A second Experience Center is planned for the High Point Furniture Market in North Carolina, with a soft opening slated for the Spring Market in April, to be followed by a grand opening this fall.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
