World Market Center already attracting furniture companies

Kevin Rademacher

Thursday, Dec. 16, 2004 | 11:09 a.m.

The World Market Center is being credited with luring another business to the Las Vegas Valley.

Encore Home Entertainment, which makes furniture for home electronics systems, this week is setting up shop in a 181,000-square-foot plant in Henderson after leaving Commerce, Calif.

"The World Market Center was very important to us," said Rich Serlin, Encore's vice president for sales and marketing. "We truly think Las Vegas has the opportunity to become a significant furniture capital. We think it's important to move our business here."

The company -- which is a subsidiary of APA Marketing Inc. -- designs furniture to fit the latest consumer electronics components. Assembly and distribution are handled out of two factories -- one in Charlotte, N.C., and now Henderson. The local factory, at 250 Conestoga Way near U.S. 95 and Nevada State Drive, will have about 75 employees.

The Henderson location also will include headquarters operations for APA Marketing.

The company is occupying the former L'eggs Hanes hosiery factory which was closed two years ago. It sits near the under-construction Poly-West Inc. trash bag factory and the Interstate Brands Corp. bakery.

Encore did not disclose the amount of its investment in Henderson. Clark County Assessor's Office records indicate that APA bought the seven-acre parcel and the building in September for $5.9 million.

Bob Cooper, economic development manager for the city of Henderson, said the potential of the World Market Center to attract related business is still unknown.

"It's always interesting to see how something like this plays out, but I think there's a lot of good spin offs and a lot of potential for us," he said.

Last week, Lyon Mercantile Group Ltd. announced that it had relocated its headquarters to Las Vegas from New York City to be closer to the furniture market.

Lyon, which will have about 20 employees at its Sahara Avenue offices, provides credit reporting services to the giftware and furniture industries. That made a location close to the World Market Center a natural fit, said Gregg Thaler, Lyon's director of marketing and business development.

Serlin also said the presence of the annual Consumer Electronics Show bolstered Las Vegas Valley's value as a relocation site. The company is currently preparing for its third appearance at CES, which runs Jan. 6-9.

"Consumer electronics is a very important part of our business," he said.

CES is expected to draw 130,000 attendees and 2,400 exhibitors in 20 product categories, including everything from automotive electronics and plasma screen televisions to laptop computers and kitchen appliances.

For Encore, the show is an opportunity to meet with its customers, which range from large retail chains to individual home theater stores. Those electronics retailers, Serlin said, have found that furniture can play an important role in moving their products.

"The retail sector has found that furniture can sell consumer electronics," Serlin said. "It solves the dilemma between a husband and wife over that major purchase."

CES also is an opportunity to see where the electronics designs are headed, a key point to creating the right furniture for the industry.

"We take special time to leave the booth and shop product," Serlin said.