Plenty of new ideas for buyers

At this year’s National Hardware Show, the second held in Las Vegas and the largest for years, the 3 100 exhibitors represented there from 17 to 19 May occupied an area of 63 000 m². According to the show management, the attendance figure of around 11 000 also set a new record.
Given the fact that today’s retailers serve multiple markets, manufacturers offered products for consumers as well as industrial and commercial customers.
3 100 exhibitors were represented at the National Hardware Show and the concurrent Gourmet Housewares Show.
The most obviously dominant themes, which should offer significant sales opportunities in the months to come, included:
– ergonomic design to make products easier to use,
– environmental awareness, particularly in paints, insecticides and lawn products,
– outdoor living – with modern products like barbecues and patio lines getting the attention,
– special faux techniques for that individual look in home decorating, and tools to make decorating easier.
Product demonstrations were held on many fair stands.
With so many exhibits, show management had to work hard to structure the product ranges in the Las Vegas Convention Center clearly by grouping them into major categories that included plumbing and electrical, tools, paint and decorating, etc. Added to this was the huge garden and outdoor living section that occupied most of the Sands Convention Center. Buyers primarily interested in importing goods from the Far East could shop at the Global Marketplace, also in the Sands Center.
The area occupied by Lawn & Garden World was 29 000 m², or 50 per cent more than last year.
As retail giants in the USA and elsewhere carve out ever-increasing market shares, smaller chains and independent retailers and cooperatives, as well as the wholesalers who supply them, concentrate on finding new and unusual items that will differentiate their inventory from their competitors’. This task was made easier by having a New Products World in both the Las Vegas and Sands Convention Centers, and by structuring the exhibits according to product category.
The number of visitors reached the record level of 11 000.
The Gourmet Housewares Show, running concurrently with the National Hardware Show, presented hundreds of basic and unusual household items of interest to retailers who stock these goods or are planning to do so.
To assist buyers and suppliers in meeting today’s competitive needs, show management hosted more than a dozen educational workshops and…