DMG Takes Larger Stake in CMC
United Kingdom-based Daily Mail Group (DMG), which operates the California Gift Show conducted at the California Market Center (CMC), said it has purchased a “significant share” of the CMC.
Details were few, but the CMC issued a release saying that there would be few day-to-day changes at the complex.
CMC was formed in 2001 by DMG, the Dallas Market Center (DMC) and George Little Management. DMG held the master lease with Hertz Investment Corp., owners of the California Mart. The center encompasses the California Mart’s apparel offerings and several floors of gift and home-accessories showrooms. Last year, management of the building shifted to the Market Center Management Company, which also manages the DMC and the ShanghaiMart in China.
The CMC said the DMC would continue to oversee management and leasing of the CMC’s gift and home-decor showrooms, and general manager Paul Lentz would continue to oversee the in-house leasing, marketing and operations staff.
Bill Winsor and Cindy Morris are “absolutely” still involved in the management of the building, Lentz said. The DMC team will now shift their attention away from apparel and focus on the hard goods side of the CMC’s business, according to Lentz, who added that management would also be looking strategically for new business such as new shows.
“They’re going to be really front-and-center and involved on the gift side because that’s the side that needs bolstering and help in the relationships,” he said, adding, “We have a good, solid apparel group, good solid marketing team and how do we bring the best of everybody to the table. It’s like any business venture, it’s constantly evolving and that’s what’s going on here.”
