During the recent June markets, we fielded several questions about future market dates for Apparel & Accessories Market and Total Home & Gift Market, specifically bookending the shows and our plans for June 2026 when the World Cup comes to Dallas.
For several years the January Total Home & Gift Market and Apparel & Accessories Market were bookended and also the shows were bookended last June. By bookended I mean that Total Home & Gift Market ended on Tuesday and Apparel & Accessories Market started that same day. This will not occur in the future for several reasons, and I wanted to be transparent with our decision-making process.
The January shows will not bookend because of the challenges of turning the temporary floors from one event to another. In January, we hold Apparel & Accessories Market together with Western (WESA) and English (AETA), and in January 2025 the Men’s Show will immediately follow. Because of the growth in our apparel business and our national leadership in that category, we utilize every square foot of temp space in the World Trade Center. The Total Home & Gift Market takes place first, and to turn the temp space between shows is extremely challenging. Some have asked then why not start Total Home & Gift Market even earlier, but the January 2025 show already begins early—on January 8—so that is not a realistic option. That’s why beginning in January 2025 there will be one week between the Total Home & Gift Market and Apparel & Accessories Market.
The June shows will not bookend because of the timing of the ordering for apparel collections. In June 2023, we bookended the Total Home & Gift Market and the Apparel & Accessories Market but we quickly learned that many collections were closed to new orders. In order to support exhibitors we needed to move the apparel show earlier, and that’s why for the foreseeable future the Apparel & Accessories Market will be the week before Total Home & Gift Market. After this recent Gift show, several exhibitors asked about closing the show on Sunday instead of Tuesday but the registration data show hundreds of retailers arriving on Monday and Tuesday, including many local retailers and others who like to shop without the crowds.
As a reminder, we do hold a combined market once a year in March when Apparel & Accessories Market and Total Home & Gift Market can both take place because there are no temps during the Gift show.
Regarding June 2026 markets and the World Cup, we will keep our previously announced June 2026 dates for our shows. Dallas will host nine World Cup games in June and July of 2026. Keep in mind that these games will be held 20 miles away in Arlington at AT&T Stadium, so guests will be spread out between Ft. Worth, Arlington, and Dallas. This is very different from many other cities like Atlanta where World Cup games are taking place downtown. We have contracts in place with our partner hotels over the World Cup dates and feel confident with our existing date pattern.
In closing, we continue to be confident that Dallas is the best positioned of any market in the country today and over the long-term. Our city is convenient and safe for travel, our marketplace has plentiful parking and is easy to navigate, and our categories of products and exhibitors create a one-stop lifestyle marketplace.
We are thrilled with our momentum. Thank you for your partnership.
Cindy Morris,
CEO, Dallas Market Center
