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March 27, 2024

IHA: New Format, New Products Fueled Strong Exhibitor, Retailer Participation at Inspired Home Show 2024

Posted In: Featured News | The Inspired Home Show | The Inspired Home Show 2024 | Trade Shows & Associations

The International Housewares Association reported nearly 30,000 home and housewares professionals from more than 120 countries convened at The Inspired Home Show 2024, which concluded its new three-day, two-hall format on March 19 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. The Show featured 1,648 exhibitors from 38 countries, according to IHA.

“The 2024 Show built on the success of last year’s Show with total square feet of exhibition space being slightly higher,” said Derek Miller, IHA president and CEO. “The change to the format was very positive, making the Show incredibly efficient — moving between the three primary Expos, now consolidated into two halls rather than three, was very well received by both exhibitors and buyers,”

Strong support for the Show was demonstrated by the industry through the presence of major key retailers and leading exhibiting brands, IHA reported. Attendees confirmed at the Show included senior-level executives, DMMs, GMMs and buyers from major retailers around the world.

U.S.-Based Retailers at Show
AAFES Do It Best Pampered Chef
Ace Hardware Dollar General Pottery Barn
Albertsons Dollar General – pOpshelf Publix
Aldi Dollar Tree / Family Dollar 

QVC
Amazon Giant Eagle Ross Stores
At Home H.E.B. Rue Gilt Group
Bealls Hobby Lobby Sam’s Club
Belk Home Depot Sur La Table
Best Buy Home Goods Target
Beyond / Overstock HSN The Container Store
Big Lots Hy-Vee TJX
BJ’s Wholesale Imperial Distributors True Value
Bloomingdale’s JCPenney Variety Wholesalers
Burlington Stores Kohl’s Wakefern
Costco Kroger Walgreens
Cost Plus (World Market) Lowe’s Walmart
Crate & Barrel Macy’s Wayfair
CVS Health Meijer Wegman’s
dd’s Discounts Nordstrom Williams Sonoma
Dillard’s Office Depot  
International Retailers at Show
Cota Cicsa — Argentina Corporación Lady Lee — Honduras
Mercado Libre — Argentina, Mexico Praxis Home Retail Ltd — India
Costco — Australia, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom Shoppers Stop Ltd — India
Amazon — Canada, Mexico Coin Spa — Italy
London Drugs Ltd — Canada Lotte — South Korea
The Bay — Canada Shinsegae — South Korea
TJX — Canada, Europe Coppel — Mexico
Walmart — Canada, Central America, Mexico El Palacio de Hierro — Mexico
PriceSmart Inc — Central America Liverpool — Mexico
Cencosud SA — Chile Sam’s Club — Mexico
Falabella — Chile, Peru Mitre 10 — New Zealand
Sodimac — Chile, Mexico, Peru Smith & Caughey’s — New Zealand
Pepe Ganga / Almacenes Maximo — Colombia Titan — Panama
Kop & Kande — Denmark Tottus — Peru
Corporacion Favorita — Ecuador Rustans — Philippines
Almacenes Siman SA DE CV — El Salvador Dino — Poland
Carrefour — France Nice — Saudi Arabia
Monoprix — France Massmart — South Africa
Printemps — France El Corte Inglés — Spain
Aldi — Germany Loeb AG — Switzerland
EK Retail — Germany Ace Hardware — United Arab Emirates
QVC — Germany, United Kingdom John Lewis PLC — United Kingdom
Nuevos Almacenes SA — Guatemala Lakeland — United Kingdom
Sears — Guatemala, Mexico Tesco — United Kingdom
  Grupo Disco Del Uruguay SA — Uruguay

The Show presented more than 400 new and returning companies showcasing their newest products, IHA reported.

 

Here are some exhibiting companies that returned to the Show after an absence, according to IHA:
Artland Ember J.K. Adams
BergHOFF Emile Henry Jean Dubost
Bramli USA, Inc. Etekcity Joseph Joseph
Brod & Taylor Everplush-Tricol Clean Journe Brands
BSH Bosch Fissler Keurig Dr. Pepper
Cool Gear Hurom Koopman
Corkcicle iSi North America Lotus Sustainables
Cuisinart Jata Midea
Deejo-Coriolis Range Kleen Millenarie International
OmniWare Scanpan Wet-it!
Opinel Stolzle Lausitz Glassware Zadro Inc.
Ovente Takeya USA Zwilling J.A. Henckels
Pedrini Tooletries  
New Exhibitors attending for the first time, according to IHA: 
Adatria USA Inc. Fiorenzato PanergyTek USA
American Dream Home Garden Republic PodMkr
Goods Inc. Giroflier Inc. Renpho
Blendi Gtech RKW Ltd.
Challenger Breadware JDE USA Scott France SAS
Character Home, Inc. Jessar Industries Shenzhen Hesung Innovation Technology
Cismea Global JoyJolt The Global Trunk
Cholula Lefte LCC TooA S.p.A.
Cricut Mila Typhur
Cue Company Molekule Urbinz Originals
Deli, Inc. MonTen Soda Ventmere Ltd.
Dorai Home Inc. New Dawn Innovations Vernox
Echelon Fitness Multimedia Orca  

A complete list of exhibiting companies and brands, along with product details, can be found on IHA’s Connect 365, the Show’s online directory, or through the mobile app.

 

The IHA noted the Show featured multiple new and returning attractions:
  • The New Exhibitor Preview Gallery, featuring brands and products new to the Show.
  • The gia Global Innovation Awards, honoring excellence in home + housewares retailing, product design and student achievement.
  • Five keynotes focused on the future of home + housewares trends in consumer and retail evolution, including Beyond Inc.’s executive chairman and the CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond discussing Beyond’s aggressive growth plans and partnerships with suppliers to drive the next wave of industry growth; TelevisaUnivision also examined the surging buying power of Hispanics in the U.S. housewares market.
  • A robust Innovation Theater session lineup featured industry experts Pam Wood and Renee Badiola of Circana identifying opportunities for growth in Canada and Mexico; Tom Mirabile of Springboard Futures previewing the forthcoming Consumer Value Equation Index, which will be used in IHA reports throughout the year, and InSight™ Trend Index, which will begin posting on HomePage News in early May; Walmart executives discussing the Walmart Marketplace; and Chris Lubick of Verdi Commerce explaining how refurbished housewares opens new market opportunities.
  • Inspired Women in Housewares event providing networking and a panel discussion with top leaders from YouCopia, Made By Gather and Lifetime Brands sharing challenges and successes as women leaders in the industry.
  • Housewares Cares Charity Gala, celebrating its 25th Anniversary, benefitting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the James Beard Foundation, World Central Kitchen, Feeding America and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute | The Jimmy Fund.
  • Video and audio recordings from selected Keynotes and Inspiration Theater sessions will be posted later this week on the Show’s website at https://www.theinspiredhomeshow.com/education/.
Exhibitors and retailers commented on their experiences at the Inspired Home Show 2024, which featured a new three-day, two-hall format in McCormick Place South and North buildings:

“We’ve been coming to The Inspired Home Show now for 14 years. It’s a long trip from Australia, but we come back every year because it’s the best place to see our customers. We see our reps, key accounts, independents. This is the biggest show in the world for us and where we get everyone in our industry together and show them new product, bringing through what worked last year. I mean, this is it for us. This is as good as it gets. The Inspired Home Show is by far the biggest show in the U.S. Another reason why this one is special is the number of different exhibitors that come here. You’ve got everything from a little corner inventor, a little backyard inventor, to the biggest brands on the planet. It’s impossible to miss. There is no greater concentration of buyers in America than at this Show.”

 

– Alex Gransbury, Founder & CEO, Dreamfarm

“This was a very vibrant and robust Show. There was lots of energy across the Show floor. We had strong engagement with our key retail partners who visited with us multiple times. A good indication that 2024 is starting off positive.”

 

– Neal Asbury, President & CEO, The Legacy Companies

“The Show has been very positive given the breadth and quality of buyers that we’ve seen. In previous years, you might have had 20 people attending from one retailer, and it was very hard to discuss business or really talk to the people that make the decisions. We now have two or three people coming in from some of our lead retail partners, and they spend more time, it’s much more productive and they really are excited to be able to come here without being crowded out and to get their job done.”

 

– David Nicklin, Senior Vice President Marketing & Licensing, Gibson Homewares

“Honey-Can-Do has exhibited at every Chicago Show since our founding in 2008, and this was definitely one of our best.  We had meetings with just about every major retailer in the U.S. in our category as well as with a number of influencers.  We received important feedback on the new items that we displayed and built upon a number of existing relationships.  We also met with many retailers, both domestic and international, with whom we are not currently partnering.  The traffic from key retailers was very strong, and we left the Show a stronger company than when we entered it.  We look forward to The Inspired Home Show 2025.”

 

– Steve Greenspon, Chief Executive Officer, Honey-Can-Do International

“We moved to the North Building this year and felt a renewed energy this Show. We were busy with quality appointments with both buyers and senior management. It provided us a great opportunity to get our new product launches in front of the decision makers.”

 

– Tom McMahon, President, JURA Inc.

“The Inspired Home Show 2024 was a great success for Whitmor. The traffic was steady, and the retailer meetings held were very high quality and provided us with dedicated time to engage in strategic conversations with many of our retail partners. The condensed footprint of the Show seemed to be highly appreciated by the retailers in attendance as well.”

 

– Scott Felsenthal, CEO, Whitmor, Inc.

“Our booth was busy with quality meetings all three days, including large major key accounts as well as independent specialty stores. We recently changed our distribution strategy for Canada, and this was our first show since doing so. It was exciting to see numerous Canadian retailers face-to-face and show them the full Kuhn Rikon product line.”

 

– Melissa Ledbetter, Director, Marketing & E-commerce Sales, Kuhn Rikon

“WOW, what an amazing Show! During the three days of The Inspired Home Show, we had over 180 meetings—starting with customers at 8:45 a.m. on Sunday until our last customer left at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday. We’re still riding the wave of excitement and feeling energized to regroup and start following up with the incredible connections made this year on the Show floor.”

 

– Bill McHenry, President & CEO, Widgeteer

“The retailers were interested in innovative functionality, unique products and incorporating trending colors into kitchen electrics. Gourmia’s offerings struck a chord with retailers by being aesthetically pleasing and integrating innovative technology, making this year’s The Inspired Home Show a resounding success for the Gourmia team.”

 

– Heshy Biegeleisen, Founder, Gourmia

“We enjoyed highly productive meetings at The Inspired Home Show this year. Our sales team was consistently busy with customers big and small, with a lot of international interest.”

 

– Adam Fischer, Vice President, Brand, Cangshan Cutlery Company

“This was my 20th Chicago Show, and I honestly can’t remember a better one. The energy was good–high quality of attendees and a productive mix of domestic, international, specialty and major accounts from various channels. Everyone seems to be proactively working strategies to grow business and take risks this year. I don’t think there’ll ever be a substitute for this show; it’s simply essential. Oggi wrapped up this show feeling very confident about 2024, worth every penny of the investment in participating. We will be back next year.”

 

– Will Symonds, President, Oggi Corp.

“With the condensed hall space and time, we definitely saw higher efficiency and traffic to our booth this year. IHA has been always a great platform on gathering information on the industry trends, new opportunities and innovations.” 

 

– Douglas Wang, CEO, Drinkmate

“Given (the streamlined layout) of the show, retailers were able to spend more quality time in our booth for meetings, instead of racing around the show. This led to more in-depth, thoughtful conversation and planning for the year ahead. Color was an omnipresent trend at this year’s show. Adding a punch of color to products that are typically found in black, white, stainless or grey has the potential to grab the attention of an entirely new base of customers and younger generations.”

 

– Jennifer Dalquist, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Nordic Ware

“I walk [The Inspired Home Show] to establish better relationships. There are a lot of products, but it’s the relationship that gets established. How do we work together to establish better turns and better margins and most importantly a better customer experience? I think too many buyers from retailers across the country are coming to a show like this thinking that they’re just here to navigate price. They need to navigate and establish relationships. We need to put personal relationships back at the forefront. I love The Inspired Home Show because it really gives me an opportunity to meet vendors from every category, and it gives me the opportunity to learn about what people are doing that I’m not thinking about. Why do I really come here? I come here to learn.”

 

– Marcus Lemonis, Executive Chairman, Beyond, Inc.

“[Being here] at The Inspired Home Show is a great way to get out, meet new suppliers and see all the innovation that’s out there. I’ve been super impressed with all the color. It makes me really think about the Bed Bath & Beyond business and how we can really get ahead of all the new trends and make sure that we’re being on the forefront of everything housewares for our customers. We’re looking for that innovation—for that thing that wows us and is going to wow our customers. Often the smaller suppliers have the most unique things. You never know what you’re going to find and that’s the fun of the Show. It’s an efficient way for our buyers to see what’s going on in the space and consume a lot of information in a short amount of time. [This Show] is a very efficient way for our buyers to be on the forefront of what’s going on.”

 

– Chandra Holt, CEO, Bed Bath & Beyond

The Inspired Home Show 2025 will take place March 2-4 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Attendee registration is currently open at https://app.theinspiredhomeshow.com/registration. Exhibitor registration is currently open at https://www.theinspiredhomeshow.com/exhibit/2025-space-app/.

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IHA International Housewares Association The Inspired Home Show The Inspired home Show 2024 TIHS24

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