ATLANTA — Channel 2 Action News gets an inside look at one of the city’s biggest economic engines!
America’s Mart generates enough revenue every year to equal five Super Bowls.
Channel 2′s Richard Elliot takes a deep dive into where the “apparel show” just opened Wednesday.
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It looks like a 14-story shopping mall located in downtown Atlanta and in a way it is.
But, it’s not a mall for regular people.
Buyers from stores big and small come here and purchase clothes, jewelry and other apparel directly from the manufacturer, like 212 Goods’ Christian Lynch.
Lynch has been bringing his line of sustainable women’s jackets, blazers, and outerwear from New York to Atlanta for 20 years.
“Atlanta has a very, very strong business-to-business market center here,” Lynch said.
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America’s Mart is located in several downtown buildings, including one personally designed decades ago by Atlanta’s legendary architect John Portman.
Andy Drasites is the senior managing director of the Blackstone Group which owns America’s Mart.
“America’s Mart is an amazing center of commerce in Atlanta,” Drasites said.
These apparel shows attract around tens of thousands of people every year and all those visitors need hotel rooms and restaurants, generating a huge amount of money for the city.
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“The combined economic impact of our commerce is more than five Super Bowls. It is absolutely incredible. We have 200,000 buyers and sellers each year,” Drasites said.
Lynch loves the business atmosphere in Atlanta but that’s not the only reason he comes.
“Keep up the good work Atlanta. I love you and your food is amazing,” Lynch said.
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