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| Housewares 2003 |
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The 64th annual International Housewares Show, sponsored by the International Housewares Association (IHA), took place in Chicago, Illinois, in January. The show remains the premiere venue for housewares and home decor products in the world.
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| See the View from the States archive for Mark Dollinger's view on aspects of doing business in the United States.
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The IHA is a great venue to observe and discern important trends in the industry. This year's show featured 1,780 exhibitors, including 429 new companies, 521 international companies, and more than 100 international design leaders specifically recruited to the Show for their product innovation and creativity.
I'll use the show as a backdrop to discuss some of the most important changes that occurred in the U.S. marketplace during the preceding year. I'll focus on two different categories of trends: those related to the industry as a whole and those related to products.
By the way, I was joined at the show by other Trendliners: Todd Dollinger, managing director, Trendlines International; Abraham Dantus, senior director, client development; and Michael Pfeiffer, senior consultant, Trendlines Europe.
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| Industry Trends |
Retail mergers and consolidation. The retail environment continues to be characterized by the big getting bigger and the weak going out of business. This year May Company, the second largest department store chain in the United States, consolidated from seven regional operating companies to five. Ames, the fourth largest mass merchant in the United States, closed its 400-plus stores. In addition, in early January, K-Mart, the second largest mass merchant, filed for bankruptcy protection.
Supplier merger and consolidation. Mirroring the changes in the retail landscape are changes on the supplier side. Newell Rubbermaid acquired Calphalon, a leading professional quality cookware. Sunbeam/Oster and World Housewares filed for bankruptcy protection.
Weak retail sales. The holiday shopping season in the United States (roughly the last week of November through the last week of December) suffered through a prolonged slump, and Christmas 2002 sales were the weakest in a decade. All retailers, large and small, felt the effects.
Strong retail winners. Interestingly, not all categories suffered equally. The weakest sector was department stores with the two largest companies, Federated and May Company, both posting year-to-year negative store comps — "comparison" in retail speak — for the first time in memory. (Comps is the comparison in sales from one period to the corresponding period in the previous year.)
Wal-Mart and Target, on the other hand, continued to grow and increase their market share. But the big winners in a difficult environment were the specialty retailers: Kohl's, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Linens 'n Things.
| | Product Trends |
I've been attending the Housewares Show for more than 25 years, and I've seen dramatic changes over the years at the show, not just in the products, chains, buyers, and customers, but in the show itself.
"Housewares" has been a January institution, but next year the show moves to March, in part to align itself with the needs of its suppliers and buyers, but also to distance itself (chronologically, at least) from Chicago's blustery, freezing January weather.
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Color. Red has reemerged a kitchen accent color and the continued strength of the retro-look of chrome and black were strongly represented. In addition, white was reintroduced as a cookware color by industry leader T-Fal for the first time in many years.
Personal care. Where hair dryers and electric razors once took the lead, personal care has grown in depth and breadth and now encompasses everything from water and air filtration systems for the home to home waterfalls and personal massagers.
Appliances. There is growing use of electronics in basic appliances such as toasters, blenders, mixers, and irons.
Grilling. Outdoor cooking and its related accessory business continues to expand, even though in many parts of the States, barbequing is a seasonal "activity." The indoor electric BBQ business has been largely ceded to Salton's George Foreman (the former heavyweight champion) products.
Innovation. I was surprised by the lack of it. The difficult economic conditions and the cost of making mistakes has caused the large suppliers to play it safe, opting for incremental, rather than sweeping, changes.
International participation. There is a growing, important presence toward globalization of the show. Total buyer registration was 17,450 (including nearly 12,200 U.S. buyers and 5,300 international attendees).
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If you have any marketing questions that you would like me to address in a future column, or have a comment about this column, drop me a line.
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Mark Dollinger
President
Trendlines America
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