The Inspired Home Show Reunites the Home + Housewares Industry

Strong retailer attendance, both domestic and international, drives successful return to in- person events

The Inspired Home Show 2022 wrapped up on March 7th at McCormick Place in Chicago after three highly successful days. It was the first time that the event, formerly known as the International Home + Housewares Show, has taken place since 2019. Twenty thousand attendees and over 1,000 exhibiting companies signed-up to discover new products, reconnect with colleagues, and advance the home + housewares industry.

The Show featured multiple new and returning attractions, including products, retailers and students honored at the gia Global Innovation Awards; four keynote presentations on consumer trends, retail thought leadership and industry statistics; three days of educational sessions in the Innovation Theater; multiple networking events including a social media influencer meet & greet and New Exhibitor and Trending Today Previews; and a full slate of celebrity chef demonstrations in the Cooking Theater, headlined by Martha Stewart.

Most importantly, though, was strong industry support for the Show, demonstrated by the presence of 1,016 exhibitors from 40 countries, and retailers from 49 of 50 U.S. states and 84 countries.

Attendees confirmed at the Show included not only a strong showing from gift, specialty and independent retailers but also from senior-level executives, DMMs, GMMs and buyers from major retailers and distributors including representatives from:

U.S.-based

Ace Hardware

Albertsons

Aldi

Amazon At Home

Bed Bath & Beyond

Big Lots

Bloomingdales

C&S Wholesale

Costco

Crate & Barrel

Do It Best

Dollar General

Hobby Lobby

Homegoods

Hy-Vee

Imperial Distributors

Joanns

Kohl’s

Kroger

Macy’s

Meijer

Overstock

Pampered Chef

Qurate/HSN/QVC

Ross Stores

Sam’s Club

Sur La Table

Target

The Container Store

TJX Companies

Tuesday Morning

Walgreens

Walmart

Wayfair

Wegman’s

Williams Sonoma

Zulily

International

Grupo Pao De Acucar, Brazil

Polishop, Brazil

Linen Chest, Canada

London Drugs, Canada

The Bay, Canada

Cencosud, Chile

Falabella Retail, Chile

Hipermercados Tottus, Chile

Sodimac, Chile

Continente SAS, Colombia

Grupo Exito, Colombia

Jeronimo Martins, Colombia

Pepe Ganga – Almacenes Maximo, Colombia

Sodimac Colombia SAS, Colombia

Super Almacenes Olimpica, Colombia

Imerco A/S, Denmark

Sukasa SA, Ecuador

TIA SA, Ecuador

Galeries Lafayette, France

Leroy Merlin France, France

Monoprix, France Teleshopping, France

Home Shopping Europe, Germany

Otto GMBH & CO KG, Germany

Rewe Group Buying GMBH, Germany

Distribuidora R&V Comercial, Guatemala

Hometown by Praxis Retail LTD, India

Home Store and More, Ireland

United Hardware Limited, Ireland

Chedraui, Mexico

Comercial Multinova SA De CV, Mexico

Coppel SA De CV, Mexico

El Palacio de Hierro, Mexico

HEB, Mexico

Liverpool, Mexico

Mercado Libre, Mexico

Organizacion Soriana, Mexico

Sears Operadora, Mexico

Tiendas Chapur, Mexico

Alpha 55, Morocco

Do It Center, Panama

Farmacia Arrocha, Panama

May’s Zona Libre, Panama

Cencosud Retail SA, Peru

B3 Sp. ZO.O, Poland

Superwnetrze PL, Poland

Tamimi Markets, Saudi Arabia

Yeo Teck Seng (S) PTE LTD, Singapore

Shoprite Checkers PTY LTD, South Africa

Verimark (PTY) LTD, South Africa

El Corte Ingles, Spain

La Oca, Spain

COOP, Switzerland

Manor AG, Switzerland

EnPlus, Turkey

Ace Hardware, United Arab Emirates

Burton McCall LTD, United Kingdom

Eddingtons LTD, United Kingdom

Harrods LTD, United Kingdom

Lakeland Limited, United Kingdom

Next UK, United Kingdom

Saisburys/Argos/Habitat, United Kingdom

Tesco UK, United Kingdom

TJX Europe, United Kingdom

Exhibiting companies – both those new to the Show and those who are long-time participants – indicated that the Show was a tremendous success, citing not only the presence of major buyers, but the ability to have more meaningful time with those buyers during the Show than in years past.

“Not only are all the major retailers here, but they are spending more quality time than ever. Often during trade shows, the buyers are rushing from one meeting to the next. This year, we had executives spending thirty, sixty, ninety minutes with us. Those are the exchanges that truly build relationships.” – Tobias Gerfin, CEO, Kuhn Rikon

“There is a lot of retail leadership here this year. It’s the buyers, but it’s also their boss and their boss’s boss. We’ve had incredibly productive meetings with current customers and also with major prospective customers.” – David Nicklin, VP, Marketing, Gibson

"We’ve met with people from all over South and Central America, Europe – and even a few from Asia; it feels like there are even more international people here than normal. We have written more orders at this show than we've written at any other show, and we don't come here to write orders. We are seriously blown away.” – Will Symonds, President, Oggi

“I came in with pretty high expectations, and the Show exceeded them. We’ve had meetings scheduled with buyers from start to finish – all the way through late Monday afternoon.” Bill Endres, CEO, Select Brands

“The Show was a fantastic success. It may have been our best Show ever. We saw all our regular buyers plus more. From specialty stores to our large online retailers to international buyers from around the world, it was fantastic.” – Yvette Laugier, Managing Director, Peugeot Saveur

"We were busy from start to finish. We saw a lot of our top buyers here, and we checked the box on just about every key larger retailer, so we’re very happy.” - Lee Riddle, VP Sales, Lodge Manufacturing

“The Inspired Home Show was a great show for us. We had productive conversations with all of our key accounts, showcasing our newest products. We were able to plan future visits to continue our sales momentum. We also had engaging interactions with top consumer media sharing new product innovations and trends.” – David Shull, EVP, Marketing & Communications, Jura Inc.

"This has been one of the best shows we've ever had. We've been coming 12 years, and we've had people all day Saturday and Sunday." – Mark Greenwood, VP New Product Development, YouCopia

“We are so glad that we came to The Inspired Home Show as an exhibitor this year. We have supported IHA for many, many years, and we are happy that the show was so successful this year.” – Kevin Chandrarajan, Marketing Manager, Salton

“Fantastic buyers. We saw everywhere from, of course, our independent customers; we saw great regional chains. We had some opportunities to meet with the largest mass buyers out there. We saw Walmart, we saw Ace, we saw Hy-Vee. We saw everyone we wanted to see. It was amazing.” – James McHenry, Director, National Accounts, Widgeteer

“This is our first year being at the show and being an exhibitor, and overall the experience has been nothing short of incredible. This is something we will continue to do year after year.” – Megan Cunningham, Brand Manager, Ardent Life Inc.

Social media also lit up with success stories and excitement.

"It's been an amazing show! Great connections and awesome new opportunities for 2022! We can't wait to show you all the phenomenal things we have planned this year!” @theinspiredhomeshow #TIHS22" - @cangshancutlery (via Instagram)

“Happy to report that The Inspired Home Show was a big success for Nuni. Not only did I reconnect with some old colleagues in person, but I grew my network exponentially this year. Where else will my company get the opportunity to meet with the major brands within the toaster space? - Elliot Benitez, Nuni Tortilla Toasters (via LinkedIn).

“Our team had a fantastic time chatting with our incredible new and existing customers & consumers. So many great introductions, meetings and conversations were had.” – Honey-Can- Do International, LLC (via LinkedIn).

"That’s a wrap! Our first tradeshow in the United States has come to a fantastic close. Thank you to The Inspired Home #TIHS22 for an incredible experience! We look forward to keeping in touch with all the wonderful new customers and friends we’ve made." @Use BOP (via Facebook)

The Inspired Home Show 2023 will take place March 4-7, 2023, at McCormick Place in Chicago. Buyer registration is currently open at TheInspiredHomeShow.com/Register. Space applications to exhibit will be accepted beginning in May.

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