New location for traditional show  

The National Hardware Show is an old-established trade fair. It was launched in New York in the late forties, moved to Chicago in the mid-seventies, and from this year on will be based in Las Vegas. During the Chicago period the show was organised jointly with the AHMA manufacturers’ association, until it came to a parting of the ways last year, partly as a consequence of differing views on the event’s venue in the future. The organisers, Reed Exhibitions, decided on the move to Las Vegas in order to counteract the flagging interest on the part of both exhibitors and visitors over recent years.
However, the turnaround in the event’s development is not going to be marked just by a new venue. The entire show concept has come under scrutiny. Many discussions were held with industry representatives, in order to ascertain what they expect from a trade fair and what it must consist of. The results of these efforts will be on view at the Sands Expo and Convention Center from 10 to 12 May.
The new concept has already met with a positive response from exhibitors. According to information provided by the organisers at the end of February, they have succeeded in reversing the negative trend in exhibitor figures for the first time since 1999. Altogether 2 054 exhibitors from 26 countries will be presenting their products and services over the three days of the event in Las Vegas. Among them are quite a few firms that have not participated in the show for many years, but have now decided to attend it once again. The exhibition space is fully booked, and an adjacent ballroom has already been hired to satisfy the demand. If the final exhibitor figure is the 2 054 mentioned above, that will be an increase of 4.3 per cent over the previous year. Represented at the NHS last August were 1 969 exhibitors, who occupied an area of 43 000 m².
This year will see a great number of group stands for international exhibitors in Las Vegas. These will include companies from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Brazil, Sweden, Australia, Japan, Israel and China. Particularly strong interest is being expressed by suppliers from the United Kingdom. Robert Cappiello, the National Hardware Show’s Industry Vice President, is pleased that “The British Hardware and Housewares Manufacturers’ Association has doubled the space for its group stand this year.” He is also very optimistic where the trend in attendance figures is concerned, declaring that “Advance registrations from overseas are up by 100 per cent.” And a gratifying trend is already becoming clear within the United States as well. Altogether, more than 12 000 visitors from 72 countries had already registered by the end of February.
Starting this year, Las Vegas is the new venue for the National Hardware Show.
A new exhibition concept awaits them all. This provides for the inclusion of the entire spectrum of gardening and lawn care products in the new keynote “Lawn & Garden World” section, as just one example. This is where it will be possible to view the latest products and trends for outdoor living and lifestyles, a rapidly growing market segment that is worth US $ 100 bn. Also new is the “New Product World”. Here it is possible not only to obtain an overview of the latest products, but of innovative merchandising ideas as well.
An accompanying educational programme will be held within the framework of the “Industry Summit on Home Improvement”. This will offer twelve independent conferences and more than 60 events for dealers, buyers, distributors and manufacturers. The topics covered in these sessions will include marketing for women, merchandising and packaging design.