Market America concluded its 26th annual International Convention at the Greensboro Coliseum. It’s an event that continues to bring millions of dollars to the city of Greensboro. The event ran Aug. 9-12, and President Henri Fourrier, of the Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, told Triad Business Journal it was expected to bring in $16 million.
Market America, which was founded and headquartered in Greensboro, is a product brokerage and internet marketing company. The company runs the website shop.com.
Marc Ashley, chief operating officer of Market America, said the convention brought over 20,000 entrepreneurs from 10 different countries to Greensboro.
During the convention, attendees use more than 80 percent of the city’s hotel inventory, about 9,000 rooms, according to the Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“We’re glad to have that,” Ashley said. “We’re a company that was started out of a small little house in Greensboro.”
Ashley said attendees are affiliated with Market America and shop.com as entrepreneurs selling and earning through the company’s online retail platform, and the convention is a chance to showcase new products, new technologies and new services training.
Celebrities have usually been a part of the event throughout the years, bringing in the likes of Jamie Foxx, Fat Joe and Kim Kardashian.