CENS Brings Latest Taiwan Hardware Information to Leading Hardware Shows

Two publications proved a huge success with visitors

The CENS Hardware Magazine and Guidebook to Taiwan Hand Tools, both published by the China Economic News Service (CENS), were highly popular with participants at the 2011 National Hardware Show (NHS) in Las Vegas, which ran May 10-12, and Ferroforma-Bricoforma 2011 in Bilbao, which was held on Mar. 23-26.

Because of high demand, stocks of the magazines, which provided information on the high-quality, reasonably priced tool and hardware products made in Taiwan, lasted hardly more than two days after the shows started.

NHS, in its 66th year this year, is the top American trade fair for DIY tools and outdoor recreation products. This year's show drew around 40,000 visitors to shop among 3,200 exhibitors across nine product categories, including hardware & tools; homewares; paint & accessories; plumbing & electrical; storage & organization; lawn, garden & outdoor living; and tailgating & outdoor recreation.

International attendees came not only from traditional retail and wholesale outlets but also additional distribution channels like grocery stores, drug stores, catalog sales companies, and Internet businesses.

According to NHS, attendance at the 2011 show grew by an additional 4% after posting a 20% increase last year, and exhibitor bookings for 2012 were already up 16% from this year. NHS executives pointed out that increased attendance and buying at the show this year created a strong foundation for the 2012 edition.

Although the 2011 event used reduced space compared with the previous show, it was still on the top of the global heap in terms of occupied area (767,000 square feet for 2011), product range, attendee numbers, and number of trade professionals.

NHS opened with a marching band, a canon blast of confetti, an orange juice toast, and a welcome to the 66th annual event. “With the recently released April jobs report showing an increase in hiring, and the long awaited start to those delayed home renovation and repair projects driving more homeowners to our stores, we thought that nothing could be more appropriate than to celebrate in style,” said Ed Several, senior vice president and general manager of NHS.

The 2011 NHS also featured the debut of Independents' Day – an entire day devoted to independent retailers and their contributions to the home improvement industry. Hardware store owners and other attendees took a break from the action on the show floor to gather around the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) Village stage and share ideas about promoting their businesses in the community.

Among the events of Independents' Day was NRHA's launch of PlanItDIY, an exciting new consumer marketing initiative designed to promote independent home improvement retailers to consumers as “the places to shop” for home projects and advice. As part of the initiative, the NRHA unveiled the PlanItDIY.com website, which promotes traffic to independent home improvement retailers and provides consumers with practical how-to advice and tips.

The NRHA also held its annual Packaging and Merchandising Awards – choosing from more than 130 manufacturers throughout the United States and Canada that submitted their best packaging and merchandising/point-of-purchase display materials.

The awards presented included Hardware Retailing's Top Guns, which included a panel discussion offering advice to independent retailers, and the Retailer's Choice Awards, which allowed retail judges to search the show floor for the products they thought had the best sales potential in their stores.

In Bilbao, Spain, the Ferroforma-Bricoforma 2011 hardware and DIY fair drew16,275 attendees from 80 countries to shop among 600 exhibitors at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC). José Miguel Corres, the CEO of BEC, described this figure as “satisfactory.”

The biggest visitor groups came from France, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and the UK. There were also trade specialists from Poland, Russia, Turkey, Cyprus, Morocco, Algeria, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Saudi Arabia, among other countries, many of whom came with procurement initiatives. In all, the number of foreign visitors was up by 10% this year, compared with 2010. Spanish attendees, mostly from Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia, Cantabria, Galicia, and Andalusia, numbered over 8,000.

Statistics showed that most of those who attended this year's fair were traders, procurement executives and company managers. They were mostly interested in hand tools, power tools, locks and industrial supplies.

Ferroforma-Bricoforma 2011 highlighted over 100 new products in the various sectors on display. Sideline events were organized in the form of presentations, round table conferences, case studies, and talks that, among them, drew a total of 732 trade specialists.

This 19th edition of Ferroforma-Bricoforma was unveiled by Bernabé Unda, the Basque Government Minister for Industry, Innovation, Trade and Tourism. (KL, July 2011)