Dallas Market Center Hires Derrick Ricketts as VP/Leasing, Home & Design
The Dallas Market Center (DMC) has named home décor industry veteran Derrick Ricketts as VP/Leasing, Home & Design, reporting to Eva Walsh, Executive VP/Leasing.
Ricketts will be responsible for the strategic merchandising and leasing of the home décor floors inside the 5,000,000-sq.-ft. venue. Home décor is the fastest-growing of the major product segments at DMC, buoyed by a strong housing market and its location adjacent to some of the fastest-growing cities in the country.
Customer traffic from the interior design community is driven in part by year-round design events. To meet the growing demand, DMC’s Interior Home + Design Center, a new 220,000-sq.-ft. marketplace serving interior designers and retailers, will open in 2017 and will serve as the centerpiece of a long-range strategic initiative to provide enhanced value to manufacturers by serving market-time retailer attendees and interior designers.
“As we expand our home décor marketplace and serve a growing customer base, Derrick’s industry knowledge and service mindset are important values,” says Cindy Morris, President & CEO of DMC. “Furthermore, he is a respected and energetic professional with a reputation for going the extra mile. We are thrilled he is joining the team.”
Ricketts comes to the DMC from lighting/casual furniture/accessories manufacturer Aidan Gray, where he oversaw and managed both the internal and external sales teams, corporate showrooms, and the customer service department. As National Sales Manager, Ricketts was instrumental in working with national and regional retail accounts to promote the Aidan Gray brand and increase its presence.
Prior to Aidan Gray, he served as Houston Territory Manager at the rep firm Codarus and was responsible for negotiating real estate space within retail stores for leading home furnishings brands such as Pine Cone Hill, Bungalow 5, Abyss & Habidecor, and Lilli Alessandra. His retail customers included Kuhl Linscomb, Area, Three Doors, and Longoria Collection. Ricketts was nominated three times for an ARTS Award in the category of Midwest/Southwest Sales Representative, winning the honor in both 2010 and 2012.
“My passion is for home furnishings, and I have had the good fortune to work with many leading companies in manufacturing, branding, sales, merchandising, and customer service,” Ricketts recounts. “So it’s a unique opportunity to bring those fulfilling experiences into a dynamic marketplace that has both a solid reputation and a new momentum to serve more customers with additional home décor resources.”
