As an extension of its ANDMORE brand transformation, the omnichannel wholesale marketmaker (formerly International Market Centers) today announced “Formal Markets” as the new umbrella brand name for all of its social occasion and bridal markets.
Previously, these Atlanta- and Las Vegas-based markets were known as VOW Bridal & Formal and World of Prom & Social Occasion.
“The streamlining of our social occasion offerings under a single name reflects the new vision of our company represented by the ANDMORE rebrand,” said Caron Stover, ANDMORE senior vice president, apparel. “The Formal Markets identity reflects the opportunities these markets create for formal fashion buyers and sellers to make connections across categories to grow business.”
The Formal Markets name better represents the full depth and breadth of social occasion fashion resources presented by ANDMORE following rapid category growth and recent geographic expansion. From its established base for the bridal and prom categories at AmericasMart Atlanta, ANDMORE has significantly grown social occasion categories such as quinceañera and homecoming, and in 2022 launched its first-ever Las Vegas edition, creating new coast-to-coast buying and selling opportunities for the industry.
This business transformation from IMC to ANDMORE follows a year-long initiative to redefine the company’s vision, align all channels under a single brand experience, and offer more ways to seamlessly connect wholesale buyers and sellers through physical and digital platforms.
"Today marks an important milestone as we embark on a new era for our company," stated Bob Maricich, ANDMORE CEO in the company announcement. "ANDMORE captures our spirit of innovation and focus on doing MORE to support our customers by enhancing and extending the value of our physical markets for both buyers and sellers across the furniture, home décor, gift and apparel industries.”
Excitement Continues This Summer
From July 31 to August 4, 2023, in Atlanta, Formal Markets will present its largest-ever showcase of formalwear with 180+ individual collections in both permanent showrooms and temporary exhibits across three social occasion floors at AmericasMart Atlanta Building 3, making it the largest formal market in the country.
ANDMORE’s second annual Formal Markets edition in Las Vegas will expand to showcase some 110 collections in more than 90,000 sq ft of wall-to-wall bridal and formal exhibits, August 14-16, 2023, at the Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas.
Beyond exhibits, ANDMORE’s Formal Markets shows in both Atlanta and Las Vegas also will offer full slates of events and education as well as hallmark buyer amenities. Highlights include live fashion presentations and industry-leading speakers such as Steve Lang and Patrice Catan.
August also marks the debut of ANDMORE’s new @Market app, an all-in-one market mobile experience to help buyers optimize the physical market experience. Features of the new @Market app, which is the first tool in ANDMORE’s omnichannel strategy to enhance physical markets with digital tools, include registration, pre-market planning, at-market navigation, product and showroom organization and post-market activity recaps.
Retailers can use the app for enhanced market planning, Scan ‘N Go registration and turn-by-turn navigation plus capturing and organizing market photos and keeping up with the brands discovered at market through a post-market recap. The @Market App is now available for download exclusively in the Apple App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/market/id6444213157.
2024 Formal Market Dates Confirmed
ANDMORE presents its collection of bridal, prom, quinceañera, mother-of-the-bride, accessories, homecoming and special occasion lines three times annually: March and August in Atlanta and August in Las Vegas.
Formal Markets dates are confirmed through 2024: Atlanta event dates are April 9-11, 2024, and August 5-9, 2024, at AmericasMart Atlanta; and the Las Vegas event runs August 26-28, 2024, at the Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas. For information and registration, visit www.FormalMarkets.com.