NHS 2013 Bustles with Optimism and Educational Opportunities
Booming U.S. real estate market bolstered activity at popular hardware trade fair
2013/09/03 | By Steve Chuang
Still North America's biggest trade fair for the hardware and related industries, this year's show, organized by Reed Exhibitions, featured thousands of exhibitors in the Central and North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center and welcomed a flood of professional visitors and buyers from at home and abroad. Some veteran attendees felt that the show's turnout was larger than the 2012 edition.
Maintaining the past tradition of the show, a wide-ranging variety of products was laid out systematically according to category. The Hardware & Tools category had some 650 manufacturers, Farm & Ranch highlighted over 200 makers, the Building Products area was filled with 150-plus producers, Hardware was occupied by more than 250 suppliers, Lawn, Garden & Outdoor Living gathered over 850 manufacturers, Paint & Accessories attracted about 250 suppliers, the Plumbing & Electrical area was flush with around 250 producers, Storage & Organization accommodated some 250 companies, and Outdoor, Tailgate & Recreation had 80 exhibitors. The Inventors' Spotlight and International Sourcing area had hundreds of suppliers, mostly from China, India, and Taiwan, and Pet Products featured over 200 companies.
Highlighted Areas
The show offered attendees a close look at the latest industry trends by arranging highlighted areas for exhibits of product categories deemed rich in business potential in the ever-changing market.
One example was the addition of the Building Products category. This new feature was enthusiastically embraced by exhibitors and attendees alike, especially with the bullish turn that the American property market took early this year.
According to news reports, housing starts in the U.S. increased 7% in March, much better than the 1.7% that market observers had earlier expected, with a total of 1.04 million housing units were under construction nationwide, a new high since June 2008. At the same time, new house sales reached some 417,000 units, up 1.5% from the previous month and 18.5% from a year earlier.
Sonya Ruff Jarvis, vice president of attendee programs for NHS, confirmed that the idea for Housing Products was inspired by the growing strength of the housing market. The new category will keep the show more closely in tune with developments in the housing market and home improvement industry.
Displays in the Building Products area included a variety of aluminum items, builder tools and instruments, doors, fasteners, nails, nuts, bolts, rivets, screws, flooring and floor coverings, insulation, lumber and wood products, masonry products, concrete and cement, millwork, moldings, roofing, siding, vapor barriers, wallboards, windows, and skylights, among other products. All of the products were identified by special signage that connected them with the Building Products category.
A greater array of pet products was spread throughout the showground and clearly identified by brown pet pennants on the display booths. For some reason, this feature proved even more popular than in 2012.
The American pet economy, with more than 85 million cats, 75 million dogs, and over 1 million other pets, is increasingly regarded as a new growth engine for home improvement manufacturers with a market value of several billion US dollars a year. This is one of the rare segments that remained buoyant even during the recession, because during the downturn pet owners tended to stay at home to save money and spend more time with their pets. This encouraged them to spend more on pet products.
Apparel, aquatic and pond products, bowls and watering products, cleaning products such as stain and odor control collars, harnesses, leashes, containment crates and hutches, coops and carriers, flea and tick control products, food and nutrition supplements, gates and doors, grooming and bathing products, repellants, toys and gifts, training products, treats and rawhide, and waste management products were among the attractions on display in this category.
Also notable was the Farm & Ranch category, underlining the increasing interest of ordinary consumers in vegetable farming in their backyards as a means of saving money while experiencing the rural lifestyle. To explore this market, exhibitors of clothing, footwear, gloves, canning products, carts, dollies, chemicals, weed killers, fruit-tree sprays, fertilizers, tie-downs, feed and seeds, fencing hardware, power equipment and accessories, trimmers, portable heaters, log splitters, spreaders, and related tools made their utmost efforts to attract the attention of visitors.
“Made in America” Makes a Hit
Following President Barack Obama's urging of domestic enterprises to bring their overseas manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. and the growing disgust of consumers in reaction to news reports of health-damaging products imported from emerging countries, “Made in America” has become a buzzword among both consumers and suppliers. It was designated as one of NHS 2013's new “hits.”
In cooperation with Made in USA Brand, the show introduced a Made in USA category the first time. About 150 exhibitors in this category, spread throughout fairground and identified by special decals and pennants around their booths, showcased various products with the Made in USA Brand Certification Mark--the only mark registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to label and identify products that are made at home.
Membership in the Made in USA Brand club is now just over the 1,000 mark, and the label is expected to become more popular with local suppliers in years to come. Numerous studies have shown that American consumers are increasingly prone to buy products made at home because of quality and patriotic considerations, and insiders say that the Made in USA mark today is associated with better quality and more domestic jobs.
Power from Taiwan
As one of U.S.'s most reliable trade partners, Taiwan continued to boost its image at this year's NHS, mainly thanks to the participation of some 80 Taiwanese exhibitors who were organized either in cooperation with the Taiwan Hand Tool Manufacturers' Association (THTMA) by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), a government-backed export-promotion organization, or by CENS.
Hand tool manufacturers made up the majority of the exhibitor group organized by TAITRA and THTMA, including such heavyweights as Allprofessional Mfg. (snip cutters), Infar Industrial (wrenches), Lucky-Brand Industrial (hammers), Re-Dai Precision Tools (ratchet handles), Apex Mfg. (staplers and tackers), and Yih Cheng Factory Co. (screwdrivers).
TAITRA and THTMA also worked together in setting up a Taiwan New Product World pavilion. THTMA indicated that it came up with the idea because some veteran exhibitors from Taiwan were unable to join the show this year for a variety of reasons; the pavilion was designed to spotlight new, innovative products from those companies, bolstering their presence at the show.
Products on show in the pavilion included nut setters, staplers, spray guns, hex key wrenches, gear pullers, air impact wrenches, impact driver sets, tool organizers, adjustable wrenches, painting tools, wrench torches, universal butters, digital torque wrenches, tie downs, tool sets, and folding ladders. THTMA noted that the pavilion, fashionably decorated with a big, eye-catching sign saying ‘Taiwan Hand Tools” beside the entrance, did not just draw the attention of buyers but also boost the image of the island as a top-end supplier of hand tools and hardware products.
Educational Opportunities
The opportunities provided by NHS were not for business alone, but also for education at special seminars and presentations. For one educational event, the show's organizer teamed up with the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) to host the All-Industry Conference at the NRHA Village Stage, where the show's opening ceremony was held.
Held on May 7-9, the conference offered a number of educational seminars and panel discussions featuring prominent personages and industry leaders who talked about market changes, online shopping, and successful retailing methods using new technologies.
One talk on the conference agenda, for instance, was “The Multi-screen World: New Consumer Behaviors and the Impact on Home Improvement Sales” by a keynote speaker, Kathy Daly Jennings, head of Google's Industry, Retail Practice. Ms. Jennings shared her company's observation that consumers in the modern age have multiple accesses to home improvement information and products, and this causes their consuming behavior to change.
A lecture given by King Hill of Marcus Thomas LLC, a market research consultant firm, was entitled “Today's Changing Path to Purchase.” It also focused on changing consumer shopping habits and how the changes will affect e-commerce, in-store merchandising, overall shopping, and engagement.
At a panel discussion on “Meet Today's Empowered Consumer,” Hardware Retailing Managing Editor Jaime Koch moderated as a consumer panel featuring shoppers from different generations talked about their preferences and experiences in shopping for home improvement items. In addition to quality and honesty, good customer service was among their concerns when shopping at a store. The panelists also emphasized that they have become more responsive to technology.
One panelist reportedly mentioned that online responsiveness makes consumers feel special and strengthens their brand loyalty, especially among Generation Xers who are interacting more with companies via social media. This is a trend that brands and retailers can tap into by offering a personal one-on-one experience and creating a relationship with the consumer.
In the “Virtual Last Mile” keynote presentation, Heath Hyneman, CMO of National Builder Supply; Eric V. Holtzclaw, CEO of Laddering Works; and Danny Davis, CEO of Proving Ground discussed what keeps consumers from taking the final step in making a purchase online. Hyneman said that consumers are more likely to abandon their virtual shopping cart on mobile devices (91%) than they are a shopping cart in a brick and mortar store (1%). Davis explained that one possible way to reduce mobile shopper abandonment is to tap into consumers' reasons for purchase: peer and expert recommendations.
Awards
Several awards programs were presented during the show to honor the industry's elites, including NRHA's Top Gun Awards, Golden Hammer Awards presented by Home Channel News, and Homewares Awards, Lawn, Garden and Outdoor Living Awards, and New Product Launch Awards.
The Top Gun Awards were established to honor elite retailers that stand out for their achievements and their dedication to the sector, and the Golden Hammer Awards were given to high-profile venders in more than 30 categories who were selected by their peers as well as members of retail and distribution channels.
The All-American Awards were presented in four categories: best packaging, marketing, trade show display, and new product. The winners were chosen from over 125 companies exhibiting in the Made in USA Product Display area in the National Hardware Show's Made in USA Pavilion.
Taiwan's most experienced export-oriented media company, CENS, was also at NHS to circulate its informative publications, including Guidebook to Taiwan Hand Tools and Hardware. With a solid reputation built up among domestic and international readers over 38 years, CENS's publications were highly popular with visitors at the show.
The next NHS will take place on May 6- 8, 2014.