Episode description

In this episode, we had a conversation with ANDMORE Chairman & CEO Bob Maricich, who was recently named as the 2023 Industry Icon Honoree by TSNN. He shared insight into the company he founded in 2011, built over the last 13 years and rebranded with a new name in 2023.

Maricich talked about the transition of ownership from Bain Capital and Oaktree Capital Management to Blackstone, which has supported the company’s expansion and acquisitions since 2017. Find out how and where the company is investing to transform ANDMORE into an omnichannel wholesale marketmaker for the gift, home furnishings and apparel industries.

Podcast host Danica Tormohlen also shared the top five new stories from Trade Show News Network, Exhibit News Now and Corporate Event News that were published in the second half of July 2023.

Our guest

Bob Maricich is the Chairman and CEO of ANDMORE – formerly International Market Centers (IMC) – the premier omnichannel wholesale marketmaker for the gift, home furnishings and apparel industries. 

Maricich was instrumental in envisioning and developing the strategy for the creation of International Market Centers, L.P. In 2011, he founded IMC with sponsors Bain Capital and Oaktree Capital Management raising more than $1B to fund the purchase of the International Home Furnishings Center, the ShowPlace properties, and the Market Square properties in High Point, NC, and merging them with the World Market Center in Las Vegas to form the world’s largest operator of premier permanent showroom and tradeshow space for the furnishings, home décor, and gift industries. During the next five years IMC built or purchased five additional buildings in High Point, NC, bringing their total to 17 buildings. 

In 2017, Maricich led IMC’s transition to new ownership by Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms, and Fireside Investments. In 2018 he directed IMC’s acquisitions of AmericasMart in Atlanta, GA, and the subsequent acquisition of the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center (ADAC), creating a compelling portfolio spanning the east and west coasts of the United States that now encompasses more than 22 million square feet of world-class B2B exhibition space. 

With the AmericasMart aquisition, IMC also became the managing partner of LightFair, North America’s largest architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference as well as owner and operator of the Atlanta Convention Center at AmericasMart which hosts dozens of outside events, meetings and conferences each year. In 2020, despite the Covid shutdown, IMC constructed the 315,000 sf Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas, addressing the lack of downtown Las Vegas exhibit space. In 2022, IMC acquired luxury tradeshow Shoppe Object and has since expanded it dramatically. In 2023, IMC rebranded to ANDMORE repositioning the company as a fully omnichannel marketmaker utilizing digital tools to extend the value of physical markets and fuel year-round opportunities for buyers and sellers to connect and grow.

Under Maricich’s leadership, ANDMORE serves more than 350,000 global wholesale buyers through its physical markets, design centers and digital channels. It presents some 34 apparel, furniture, gift, home décor and lifestyle markets and buying events – in permanent showroom space and trade show exhibits – in Atlanta; High Point, NC; Las Vegas; and New York. Some 2,200+ exhibitors showcase their products in permanent showroom spaces. It brings in an additional 7,000+ temporary exhibitors in 2 million sf of trade show exhibit space each year. It serves the design trade year-round through showroom offerings and programming at ADAC, AmericasMart and the Las Vegas Design Center. Additionally, it offers digital innovations that optimize the physical market experience. 

Maricich joined World Market Center as CEO in January 2008. Prior to that, he spent 11 years as CEO of Century Furniture Industries, a leading luxury furniture manufacturer. From 1989-1996 Maricich was President and CEO of American Drew Furniture and American of Martinsville, at the time the largest manufacturer of furniture for the hospitality industry. Additionally, he was an executive with Flexsteel Industries, R.S Bacon Veneer Company and Texaco. 

In 2015, the Anti Defamation League honored Maricich with the American Heritage Award. In 2016 he was honored as Man of the Year by the Tri-State Home Furnishings Association. In 2017, Maricich received the American Heritage Distinguished Service Award from the American Home Furnishings Alliance. In 2019, he was named a Furniture Industry Icon by the International Home Furnishings Representatives Association. Marcich was listed among The Atlantan Magazine’s 25 Most Influential People in Atlanta, and also was included in Atlanta Magazine’s 500 Most Powerful Leaders in Georgia. In 2021, Maricich was inducted into the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame, the industry’s highest honor. 

Maricich has been an active board member for numerous charitable organizations including City of Hope, Opportunity Village, and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

Maricich is a graduate of Montana State University with a degree in Civil Engineering. He and his wife, Ande, have been married for 50 years and have three grown sons. He especially enjoys his lifelong passion for fly-fishing.  The Maricich’s reside in Key Largo, FL, and Kennebunkport, ME.

Connect with Bob on LinkedIn here.