Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
The International Housewares Association (IHA) has announced the hiring of Jeff Murphy as vice president, international, and the retirement of Perry Reynolds.
Jeff will join on February 1. He has been involved in international sales for more than 20 years. Most recently, he served as vice president of international sales at Wilton Brands LLC for more than 13 years. Before that, he was an international sales consultant, working with clients such as Nordic Ware, Progressive International, Home Products International (Homz), Pfaltzgraff, Anchor Hocking Glass and Wilton Brands.
Jeff said: “Having been an international sales executive and IHA member for many years, I have made valuable use of the great benefits that IHA offers to its members. I now look forward to working inside IHA to create even more value for the IHA membership, particularly with regards to its international scope and efforts.”
Meanwhile, Perry will be retiring on March 31 at the end of the International Home + Housewares Show 2017 (which is sponsored by IHA and takes place in Chicago from March 18-21), after 40 years of service in the housewares industry including 20 years with IHA.
During his tenure at IHA, Reynolds served in various management positions, most recently as vice president, global trade development.
He joined IHA in 1997 with experience on both the retailer and supplier sides of the industry. He began his housewares career as a buyer and merchandise manager for retailers in the mass market, supermarket and distributor channels, before moving to the manufacturing side with positions at EKCO Housewares and Progressive International.
After his retirement, Perry will continue to work with IHA on various projects on an occasional basis.
He said: “It has been my honour to service this great industry, and though I’m leaving IHA on an everyday basis, I plan not to move too far away.”
IHA president & chief executive officer Phil Brandl added: “Perry brought a unique perspective to IHA from having been on both sides of the manufacturer/retailer relationship.
“Through the years, he has used those experiences to create programmes and services that have enhanced the International Home + Housewares Show for attendees and exhibitors and strengthened IHA member services.
“Perry is well-known throughout the industry, especially among our community of independent retailers, and we are pleased he will continue to represent IHA for occasional projects.”
Perry’s trade development responsibilities will be assumed by Jon Jesse, vice president, industry development, who joined IHA in 2016.
IHA is the 78-year-old voice of the US housewares industry, which accounted for $331.1 billion at retail worldwide in 2014 ($75.1 billion at retail in the US). The not-for-profit, full-service association has 1,700 member companies and offers a wide range of services, including industry and government advocacy, export assistance, State-of-the-Industry reports, point-of-sale and consumer panel data, executive management peer groups, a web-based community at www.housewares.org, and group buying discounts on business solutions services.
Jeff Murphy
