Urban Expositions Cancels Material World Shows
After a 10-year run, the organizers of Material World, a textile and technology trade show, have quietly shuttered the event.
Urban Expositions, which first launched Material World in 2000 in Miami Beach, Fla., and then expanded it recently to Los Angeles, said it didn’t make economic sense to go forward.
“We looked at the last two shows [of Material World in Miami Beach] and they had declined a little bit,” said Tim von Gal, executive vice president at Urban Expositions, located outside of Atlanta in Kennesaw, Ga. “We didn’t really feel we had enough commitment going forward for a critical mass of exhibitors to have a successful show.”
Instead, Urban Expositions will concentrate on its various gift trade shows held around the country. Material World was a unique combination of exhibitors that represented fabric providers as well as technology companies that produced software programs for the apparel and textile industries. In the beginning, it was held annually at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Then Urban Expositions added a New York version of the show in 2005, which was held for four seasons at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center before closing in early 2008. At one point, Material World was held twice a year in Miami Beach.
Most recently, Material World partnered with the Los Angeles International Textile Show at the California Market Center in Los Angeles to co-produce their shows held Sept. 30-Oct. 2. Material World & Technology Solutions had 263 booths at their Los Angeles show, von Gal said. The CMC’s Los Angeles International Textile Show had more than 300 booths.
Joanne Lee, the CMC’s executive vice president, said Material World’s demise will have no impact on the future of the Los Angeles International Textile Show. “By partnering up with them, it was a decision to help the textile industry overall,” Lee said. “Our show has been going on for more than 10 years. It doesn’t necessarily affect our show.”
Material World has also faced added competition recently from a new textile show in Los Angeles called GlobalTex, organized by the Market Center Management Co. in Dallas. Its first show was Apr. 28–30 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with its second show held Oct. 13–15. GlobalTex, which is endorsed by the Textile Association of Los Angeles and the California Fashion Association, has two Los Angeles shows scheduled for 2010.
For now, there are no immediate plans to revive Material World. “We will remain interested in the industry and keep our eye on it,” von Gal said. “If the opportunity presents itself down the road and it would be productive for the industry, we would consider it. But right now, Material World is canceled indefinitely.”—Deborah Belgum
