Inside look at how merchandise hits store shelves

DALLAS, TX (KTRK) -- Dallas Market Center is 5 million square feet of shopping space, but the public is not allowed inside. It is 15 floors of a shopper's heaven, but the stores inside are only open to retail buyers and store owners.

"It's a secret world that a lot of consumers don't know about," said Dallas Market Center's communications manager Lauren Grey.

Maria Atkins owns Forever Treasures boutique in Lake Jackson and came to Dallas to shop for inventory to fill her store.

"When you get up here, it is very overwhelming. It is unbelievable the selections," Atkins said.

At the fall apparel and accessories market, buyers were selecting merchandise that will hit store shelves in spring 2015.

"Retailers come and buy for home accents, gourmet products, lighting, fashion, apparel. Basically anything you would find in a store, you can find here at Dallas Market," Grey said.

Buyers are choosing from well-known brands like Brighton, Vera Bradley, and Fossil. But there are also several up and coming designers hoping to get their work in stores across the country.

Houstonian Hector Villarreal is a former weatherman turned women's shoe designer and partner of Lucho Boutique in Uptown.

"For whatever reason, women love shoes. So I thought why not?" Villarreal said of his decision to start designing ladies footwear.

When buyers place their orders from designers, they must predict what shoppers will want in six months and how much they'll be able to sell.

"I try to buy quantities that do not force me to go to the sale mode because once you do that, they'll only come for that. And I have seen that on some of the products I have done," Atkins said.

The price that buyers pay at Market is usually about half of the price tag you see in the store, which is an industry standard.

"I price my stuff at what they refer to as keystone, which is double plus the cost of shipping," Atkins said.

When the store owners come to market, they're privy to the next big trends before they hit store shelves. The decisions that you make when Christmas shopping could have come from Dallas Market. The market in Texas could also impact shoppers around the world.

"We were picked up by a company that wanted to take our line to the Middle East, Dubai in particular, and also a couple of shops in France and one in Italy," Villarreal said.