Building, farm and ranch

Trade fairs are not simply an end in themselves: they always also provide an illustration of market trends as well as of the economic environment for this market. That is precisely what this year’s National Hardware Show will be doing in Las Vegas from 7 to 9 May. The slight recovery of the housing market, for instance, has arrived at the fair, where the Building Products segment of earlier years is now returning as one of the eleven product categories at the event. This is not by a long way the only new feature compared with the previous year, for entirely new categories have been created as well, in order to offer a platform for new trends in the DIY store. So there will be a Farm and Ranch segment this year for the first time. The Pet Products category introduced last year is being continued, and of course the equally youngish category of Outdoors, Tailgate and Recreation now has a firm place in the exhibition catalogue. The product range is divided into eleven categories overall. These include the following, apart from those already mentioned: Hardware and Tools; Homewares; International Sourcing; Inventor’s Spotlight; Lawn, Garden and Outdoor Living; PDRA Paint and Accessories; Plumbing and Electrical; Storage and Organisation. In addition the organisers are again setting up three special areas to highlight the topic of innovation: the New Product World, New Product Launch Spotlight and Inventor’s Spotlight. The organisers attach great importance to offering additional features designed to make it worthwhile for the public to visit the fair. The North American Retail Hardware Association’s (NRHA’s) All-Industry Conference will extend over all the three days. It will be particularly concerned with the topic of multi-channel. Kathy Daly-Jennings of Google, an expert on the retail scene, has been engaged as the keynote speaker. For the first time the Global Home Improvement Conference is to be held as part of the supplementary show programme. Scheduled for 8 May, the conference will be staged by the International Hardware Association (IHA), the European DIY Retail Association (EDRA), the Worldwide DIY Council (WDIYC, a North American manufacturers’ association), the Canadian trade magazine Hardlines and the fair organisers as well. It will be an integral part of the programme of the IHA International Congress, which is being held in parallel to the show. Among the speakers will be Erwin van Osta, head of the Belgian DIY retailer Hubo and president of the…