Tickets for the Housewares Conference & Innovation Awards are selling fast but there are still a few places available if you act now!

Latest confirmed retailer attendees include Lakeland, Heal’s, Wilkinson, The Good Cook Shop, Hubbledays of Henley, La Cuisiniere, Cooks of Trentham, Frankie & Johnny’s Cookshop, Upstairs Downstairs, Trevor Mottram and AGA Cookshop.

Tailored exclusively for the housewares industry, this annual prestigious occasion is organised by www.HousewaresLive.net and sister title www.HousewaresLive.net. The event takes place on Wednesday March 26 at Wokefield Park in Berkshire. Attend both events to maximise your time, network with your peers and hear the latest news from the housewares industry. To reserve your place, go to www.housewaresconference.net or call Christine Fitzgerald on 01622 699176 or email her at cfitzgerald@datateam.co.uk.

If you require accommodation, contact the venue direct at www.deverevenues.co.uk/en/venues/wokefield-park; 0871 222 4828. Reduced room rates of £92 per double room per night are available by quoting this code: WELL250314. But hurry! Demand is high, so you need to act fast!

An impressive line-up of expert speakers has been hand-picked to give presentations at the daytime Conference. The roll call includes:

*Michael Weedon, deputy CEO and communications director of bira (British Independent Retailers Association).

* Paul Britland, buyer for high street chain Wilkinson, who has worked in the housewares industry for more than 25 years. He will chart Wilkinson’s rise from its first store openings to the present day and give an insight into its supplier and product development plans for the future.

* Yossi Gliksman, founder and proprietor of Upstairs Downstairs in the Shropshire market town of Oswestry. Established in 1987, the specialist cookshop is the winner of the Best Cookshop category of the Housewares Retail Innovation Awards 2013

* Sam Kelly, a TSR director within the Retail and Technology division of market research company GfK, and Erol Sukan, business group director of GfK.

* Anne Harrison, vice chairwoman of the Women’s Institute, who was recently one of the four judges on ITV’s ‘Food Glorious Food’.

* John Ryan, stores editor of business magazine ‘Retail Week’

* Katie King, managing director of PR and social media agency Zoodikers Consulting

The conference will be hosted by Will Jones, housewares executive director of BHETA. Will said: “I’m delighted to be asked to host the Housewares Conference as ultimately, events such as these are for the benefit of all associated with the industry.”

Taking place in the evening, the Housewares Innovation Awards ceremony will reward the best housewares products, housewares salespeople and housewares retailers of the past 12 months. The evening will be hosted by TV chef Malcolm Harradine, while the awards will be presented by Ben Ebbrell and Barry Taylor, founders and directors of SORTED, the UK’s largest social media cooking channel.