Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
The 2019 International Home + Housewares Show is sold out, according to the event’s owner and operator International Housewares Association (IHA).
More than 2,200 exhibitors (including 400 new companies) from over 50 countries will show their wares at the Show, which takes place from Saturday March 2 to Tuesday March 5 at McCormick Place Exposition Center in downtown Chicago.
IHA president Derek Miller said: “The high demand to be part of our world-class marketplace continues for our IHA member suppliers. We look forward to bringing the industry together at the premier global housewares industry event.”
The event is categorised into four show-within-a-show expos: Dine + Décor, Discover Design, Wired + Well and Clean + Contain. Among first-time companies and well-known suppliers returning after an absence are:
Dine + Décor Expo: Blue Sky Clayworks; Boker USA Inc.; Cookduo; Dutch Deluxes; Foreside Home and Garden; Inspired Generations; Lenox Corporation; LifeStraw; Sobremesa by Greenheart; Stoelzle Lausitz Glassware; and tote + able.
Discover Design Expo: A Packing Solution dba Culcreate; Constructive Eating; Darto; Devco LLC; Manual + Iron Cookware; Paddywax; Paladone; The Perfect Pint; Purpose Built dba Prepdeck; SoYoung; Strand Design; and Time Concept
Wired + Well Expo: Admiral Corporation of America Inc.; Anova Culinary LLC; Canavac/RhinoVac; CLK Coproration; GREE Electric Appliances, Inc. of Zhuhai; Home Easy U.S.A.; Intex Recreation Corp.; IQAir North America, Inc.; Kenmore® Floorcare/Cleva North America, Inc.; MyPillow; and TAO Clean.
Clean + Contain Expo: Addis Housewares, Ltd; American Crafts; Ann Clark Cookie Cutters; Charlie’s Soap; DishFish; Georgia Pacific; Hangman Products; Quickshine; So Simple Solutions; WALKWHIZ; and WM Barr & Company.
This year the Show will feature a focus on the specialty beverage movement, increased educational opportunities in the IHA Smart Home Pavilion and a continued emphasis on building careers in the housewares industry through the Experience Day programme for college students.
The specialty beverage movement will be spotlighted in two events and exhibits at the Show. First, it will be the theme of the Trending Today Preview: A Marketplace for Specialty Beverage, held on March 2 before the Show opens. This event will feature 60 exhibitors highlighting craft beverage trends including coffee, beer, cocktails, tea and water, along with specialty glassware and accessories, craft beer and cocktail kits. The Trending Today Preview is open exclusively to buyers and news media.
Specialty coffee products and education will be featured in Celebration of Coffee: a special booth in the Wired + Well Expo featuring products designed to enhance the at-home brewing experience.
Meanwhile, The IHA Smart Home Pavilion has expanded to more than 30 exhibitors presenting the future of housewares. The Smart Talks stage will feature presentations from experts discussing the rapidly evolving Internet of Things technologies and how these developments impact the housewares industry. New this year will be a display by b8ta, a retail store and platform that helps bring smart-related products to market in a new retail-as-a-service model. In addition, exhibitors with smart and connected products throughout the Show will have booth signage indicating their smart home products.
The Discover Design Expo will feature nearly 200 companies and brands from all Show categories, along with Design Debut, which allows 12 new-to-the-Show exhibitors – whose product demonstrates high-design and innovation – to experience the Show without having to create an entire display.
Exhibitors can vie for the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) for Booth Design, which honour exhibitors for their booth presentation. These awards are based on creativity in design, merchandising and messaging, and will be divided into two categories: exhibitors with booths over 300sq ft and exhibitors with booths measuring 300sq ft or less. Eight gia finalists will be named, two from each expo, with two Global Honorees announced on March 3.
IHA is helping to encourage the next generation of housewares suppliers by bringing college students to the Show with an Experience Day on March 3. Some 150 students are expected to participate. They will walk the Show floor and have breakfast roundtables with members of IHA’s Young Professionals Advisory Council. Last year, about 100 students from colleges nationwide participated in the inaugural event.
Other Show highlights include the New Exhibitor Preview, featuring with 90 first-time exhibitors, held on the morning before the Show opens; the Hall of Global Innovation featuring the Show’s special exhibits, including Pantone ColorWatch, the IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia); the IHA Student Design Competition; and the Innovation Theatre, with 21 presentations exploring issues including the connected home, global lifestyle trends and omnichannel marketing, plus educational seminars led by IHA’s colour expert Leatrice Eiseman and lifestyle guru Tom Mirabile.
A Power Hour from 5.30-6.30pm on Saturday March 2 through to Monday March 4 offers exhibitors and buyers an opportunity to extend their meetings for an additional hour after the show closes at 5.30pm.
To register for a Show badge, visit www.housewares.org. To view the entire Show line-up, download the Show’s mobile app, IH+HS 2019 from m.housewares.org, or visit www.housewares.org and search Housewares Connect 365 to view exhibitors, floor plans, product catalogues, new product photos and videos – with contact information for each exhibitor.
