Market Report: San Francisco

The summer edition of the San Francisco International Gift Fair got off to a slow start, with buyer attendance relatively light on opening day. Saturday, however, dawned beautiful and warm, and some wondered whether good weather was actually keeping buyers away instead of coming to the convention center to do business. Others reported that light Saturday attendance is normal, and were confident that subsequent days would see more buyer traffic — an observation that proved accurate.

Nevertheless, San Francisco is a struggling market, due in part to the rise of Las Vegas, which is siphoning off buyers. San Fran used to draw more buyers from Hawaii, Montana and other surrounding states; those people seem to be going elsewhere to shop these days. Indeed, a casual survey badges on the show floor and shuttle to the Giftcenter & Jewelrymart supported this observation.

The Giftcenter and Jewelrymart, under new ownership since the beginning of the year, has faced challenges. As with many regional showroom buildings, it's seen a decline in permanent tenants. In the Anne McGilvray showroom, we spoke with Liesl Ludwig, who noted that their business was good for the show because they actively reached out to their customers to make appointments with them. (This strategy was echoed by several others.) They also noted that there was less drop-in business, and plans to make improvements to the building — which are intended to help repopulate it — are reportedly underway.

For the complete San Francisco gift show report, visit www.giftsanddec.com and click on “Direct From Market.”