Many innovations in Orlando

This year's show, which was staged in Orlando, Florida, from 7 – 9 May, featured more than 3 500 manufacturers of both national and international brands, familiar old favourites, and hundreds of new producers.The event has become more than just a hardware show: it now offers housewares, an extensive garden range, and even sections for gourmet cookware and home textiles. Which have been added in recognition of the fact that many big-box retailers, as well as smaller specialist stores, are now catering to female heads of households.With more than 1 300 exhibitors from outside the US, this is no longer a national fair but an international event geared to satisfying the requirements of buyers and distributors from all over the world. The show management makes it very easy for visitors to find interesting new products among the thousands of exhibits on display by staging a “New Product World” in every major section. Evident this year were many time- and labour-saving devices developed by both established companies and new entrants in this market. Among the most interesting innovations found in the new product displays were: • Solar lights for garden paths which change colour,• A battery-operated portable tubing cutter,• An oscillating sprinkler that fertilises as it waters,• A plastic bag for use in mixing concrete,• A motorised cool box,• A folding garden cart,• Portable battery-operated patio lights,• A wide variety of hand tools.Visitors could also attend a series of seminars. These included an event staged by Hardware Retail magazine, which introduced four extremely successful independent retailers. They ranged from the operator of a large store that shares a car park with Home Depot to a chain of 130 convenience hardware outlets. Each panel member emphasised the quality of their employees – well paid and well trained – as one of the key factors for their success in competition with the big boxes. The message was simple: A smart independent retailer or a small chain can compete with giant competitors by specialising and being “different”, and by rendering better service. Price is not always the only attraction for the customer.This year's National Hardware Show had to compete with the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, which was held in Las Vegas at the same time, so that the number of visitors seemed somewhat lower than usual. No precise attendance figures have been issued by the show management yet.Next year's National Hardware Show will return to Las…