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Coronavirus:
IHA Cancels Show
After careful consideration regarding the ongoing spread of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) overseas and recent cases in the United States, the International Housewares Association’s Board of Directors has decided not to hold The Inspired Home Show 2020, scheduled to take place March 14-17, 2020 at McCormick Place in Chicago.
“For the last several weeks, we have been watching this situation very carefully, with our primary concern being the safety and well-being of the home + housewares industry,” said Derek Miller, IHA president. “The IHA Board of Directors made this decision after consulting with industry constituents including exhibitors and retailers. In the end, the global nature of our event, combined with the worldwide concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak and ongoing travel restrictions make it impossible for us to hold The Inspired Home Show next week.”
The IHA Board of Directors and IHA staff will be working together over the next several weeks to measure the financial impact on the industry and the Association. Once an analysis is complete, additional information regarding exhibitor refunds will be made available.
IHA had previously announced that the International Sourcing Expo, which primarily houses Chinese-based suppliers, would not open in 2020 due to the restrictions on travel between China and the United States.
The Inspired Home Show 2021 will be held March 13-16 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Complex.
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Upcoming 2020 Gift & Home Markets
- The Inspired Home Show, March 14-17, Chicago, IL - (CANCELLED)
- ASD Market Week, March 22-25, Las Vegas, NV
- New York Tabletop Show, March 31-April 3, New York
- Denver Apparel & Accessory Market, April 5-7
- Denver Apparel & Accessory Market, May 31-June 1
- Rocky Mountain Gift Show and Denver Apparel & Accessory Market, Aug. 28-30
- Denver Apparel and Accessory Market, Oct. 11-13
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Fed enacts emergency half-percentage-point rate cut
The Federal Reserve issued an emergency reduction in its interest rate target of half a percentage point in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The monetary policy committee voted unanimously to cut the rate Tuesday.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, testifying on Capitol Hill, praised the Fed for the rate cut.
"This is going to have an impact in the short term on the economy. It's very different than the financial crisis. The good news here is there will be an end in sight,” he said.
The U.S. markets responded positively to the Fed’s actions and moved into positive territory after opening flat.
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ASD Market Week Returns to Las Vegas
ASD Market Week will return from March 22 through 25 in Las Vegas. As the leading B2B trade show in the city, ASD Market brings together more than 45,000 buyers with the world's widest variety of retail merchandise in one efficient shopping experience.
Through attending the ASD Market, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy nine trade shows in one central location, gaining instant access to more than 2,700 wholesalers, manufacturers and importers from over 19 retail categories.
At ASD Market Week:
- Find up to 300% margins when you buy at the lowest prices and shop the widest section of products
- Check out 19 categories, including gift, home, fashion and accessories and general merchandise
- Visit the more than 400 new vendors at every ASD show
- Stay on-on trend! ASD Market Week features a wide selection of trending products
ASD Market Week VP of Marketing, Camille Candella, said there are a number of new features and events rolling out for the next show.
“Primarily, we are an order-writing show, so we are excited to be hosting more than 400 brand-new vendors at this event,” she said. “In fact, we just released our
Vendor Preview
, which is a sneak peek of the new on-trend products on display at this show. At ASD, we know buyers come to find new products at a low price point, but they also attend to network and learn what’s new in the industry. This year, we’re working to cultivate unique opportunities for our attendees to meet the best in the business.”
One of the newest initiatives is The Future of Retail, which will welcome a selection of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Retail & E-Commerce Honorees to connect with ASD attendees aged 35 or younger. The Future of Retail
will take place on Monday, March 23, and will host a panel discussion with leading insiders. Guests will also enjoy drinks and the opportunities to mingle with retail’s future leaders.
“We [will] also have Twilight Market, which is an after-hours event that takes place on Tuesday, March 24, in our Cash + Carry Hall,”said Candella. “There, attendees can shop for jewelry, fashion accessories, diamonds, and gifts-to-go with complimentary champagne and music. This is the only hall that we allow products to be taken off the show floor, and our attendees will have the opportunity to have some fun while building relationships with their peers.”
Talking upcoming trends, Candella said self-care products are on the rise. “Anything from soaps and body lotions to books and journals are going to be a big deal in 2020,” she shared.
CBD wellness and beauty products are also a hot commodity, and ASD Market Week will feature more than 200 CBD products on the show floor. There will be a hunt for the newest Top CBD & Hemp Product of 2020. During a “Puff Pass Pitch” Monday, March 23 at Culture+, attendees can watch as contestants pitch their products in the CBD, hemp, health and wellness, and beauty industries to a panel of judges from Planet 13, ERBA, and Reef Dispensaries.
ASD Market Week will also feature a brand-new educational sessions
schedule
with more than 80 seminars on the latest in RFID, visual merchandising, private label, sourcing, and more.
Candella said buyers should attend ASD Market Week because of its great selection and margins, crossover buying, and the opportunity to shop a wide variety of product that may not be available at buyer “core” markets. ASD Market Week offers additional product lines that buyers may not have considered otherwise. Candella suggested attendees come prepared with a plan and take advantage of resources provided. Whether its checking out matchmaking solutions on the main show floor that enable attendees to identify the best vendors, making use of the comprehensive
Show Planner
, or downloading the
Event App
, ASD Market Week has attendee navigation covered.
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Buying American: Several Sources to Check Out
Made in America items are more popular than ever these days, especially when issues such as the coronavirus outbreak creep up and send the giftware industry into a tailspin. So where can gift store buyers find made in America items to sell in their stores? Here are a few suggestions:
FGmarket is a retailer's direct connection to thousands of gift, supply and floral wholesalers. Founded in 2003, FGmarket emerged as an online tradeshow for wholesalers and suppliers across the country. The idea was to give those who independently own retail stores and unique boutiques a way to connect with suppliers and wholesalers that meet their needs.
Wholesale Central is strictly business to business. No consumer sales. No retail sales. Wholesale only.
Wholesale Central is a B2B directory that helps wholesale buyers find wholesale suppliers and products. When you find a supplier, please follow the link to the supplier's website, where you can do business with them directly.
The vendors listed on this site may make all their products in the USA or may assemble the products in the USA. This website is part of a family of online portals linking to wholesale vendors where retail stores can view home decor products and order inventory.
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Coronavirus Continues to Impact Industry
Dan Loughman, president of
Roman
– a leading manufacturer and distributor of award-winning inspirational and Christmas-themed items – said the coronavirus outbreak is going to continue to cause extensive problems for companies in many industries and has caused some issues for Roman.
“Part of China's shutdown was during the regular Chinese New Year when most factories and offices closed, so that's lost time that would have occurred anyway,” he shared. “With the delay in getting workers back to the factories, that downtime is now extended indefinitely. For the industry, that means that production on product is not underway. If production was complete or nearly complete before Chinese New Year, there's no truck to get it to the port. There's no crew to get it from the port on a boat. There's no boat to get it to the USA. Whatever delivery dates that were provided at the January shows are out the window. No one knows what goods will be available for any customer for a few more weeks or even months.”
He added that Roman did manage to get several containers in or on the water before the shutdown, so that product, plus whatever was already stored in Roman's warehouse, is what the company will be able to supply for the first half of the year. For the balance of the year, goods will begin to trickle in as production slowly starts back up.
“There will most likely be items we simply won’t produce, sacrificing their space at the factory for the most important items,” Loughman added. “When factories start working again, they will have to look at all of the purchase orders from all of the U.S. vendors and decide which to make first, which to make later and which to not make at all. Vendors need to be careful with the product they do get. A lot of retailers with no history or loyalty to the vendor will be calling looking for product,” he continued. “Logistics will be a large hurdle when things start moving again. Everyone’s going to need trucks and containers in every industry. So the gift industry vendors will be competing with Nike, Apple and much larger companies for space. That will cause additional delays and added expense.”
Retailers will also face additional problems obtaining product.
“They need to early and order big,” Loughman suggested. “They should take delivery as soon as possible on anything, regardless if it's garden for now, or Christmas for later. Different vendors have different policies and systems to allocate inventory, if they even have one. Getting a Christmas item in April is better than hoping you’ll get one in September,” he continued. “Most vendors provide December dating, so it’s a storage burden, not a financial burden on the retailer. Smaller retailers that wait for summer to place a Christmas order won’t get anything. Larger retailers that placed orders in January will get product, but most likely won’t get all of the items, and might not be able to reorder anything. It is still early, and the situation can change for the better, but there is still a lot of uncertainty.”
In this webinar, John Toler of Evergreen Enterprises and Jimmy Fang of C&F Enterprises reveal their thoughts on the four potential impact areas the coronavirus will have on the gift, garden and home supply chain. The impact on factories and upcoming trade shows is still fluid, and Toler and Fang share what they have learned since the Chinese New Year ended and factories have restarted or attempted to restart.
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Giftware News will feature a series of profiles on businesses that offer American-made products. First up is FarmHouse Fresh.
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Made in America: Feeling Groovy With FarmHouse Fresh
Based in McKinney, Texas, FarmHouse Fresh offers a variety of products that pamper one's skin and soul.
Founder and president Shannon McLinden said her company is a spa treatment line at heart, and the collection has been tested tens of thousands of times by internal estheticians, massage therapists and spa guests – in hotels, spas and resorts from Dallas to Dubai – who have enjoyed delicious farm-to-table spa facials, body wraps, massages and more.
As natural/vegan/organic products continue to grow in popularity, people seek out companies like FarmHouse Fresh. “We've seen trends toward the immediate gratification of results-oriented skincare that utilizes peptides and actives,” McLinden shared. “We follow our customer’s desires. So we offer an array of options, and we are always listening. Our fresh ingredients and formulas have an immediate effect on skin,” she continued. “We have whipped peptide body mousse, plumping body oils, richly textured face masks that deliver fast radiant results – [with ingredients] from organic pumpkin puree and banana puree to avocado butter – and everything is made in the U.S.A., with many ingredients grown ourselves, or sourced through local farm families.”
Some of the company's best-selling items include rich shea butters for hands and body, whipped “Moon Dip®” body mousses, food-based face masks, triple milled frothing shea butter bar soaps, lip polishes with juicy local farm ingredients like Blackberry-Wine, farm basket gift sets with a sampling of favorites, and a hemp collection with CBD that includes whipped mousse, body oil, facial serums, and bath fizzers with surprise “total swellness” fortunes inside. The company will also feature a new range of products from Watermelonaid this summer, including a watermelon & CBD silky gelee serum and Blissed Moon Dip, a new watermelon-basil scented peptide whip infused with U.S. grown watermelon extract.
FarmHouse Fresh began 16 years ago when McLinden began formulating a range of scrubs to keep her heels from cracking.
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“I was a runner, and when your feet go from hot to cold, you get cracked heels,” she shared. “My first sea salt scrubs (Sweet Cream, Whipped Honey, and Early Apple) were selected by Oprah for her O List. She loved the scent of our Sweet Cream Scrub and so I made a lotion in that scent, and then suddenly I received a thank you note from Courtney Cox. The successes kept flowing in,” she continued. “Today we grow many of our own extracts from our hilltop ranch in McKinney, Texas – including microgreens like organic kale and watercress, to heirloom organic cucumber. Our skincare products deliver high-nutrition in delicious scents and textures. We stock over 4,000 accounts, including retail boutiques and luxury spas, hotels and resorts, with an offering of over 200 products across facial, body care, fragrance and gifts.”
The company has a strong mission focus – upwards of upwards of 10% of profits go directly toward the rescue and rehabilitation of abused and neglected farm animals. Many such animals come to recover and live at the company's Farm Animal Sanctuary, located at the headquarters ranch.
“Our ranch was just featured in People Magazine for our combined effort of growing sustainable holistic skincare that also saves animals,” McLinden added (additionally, some of the products have names like 'Fluffy Bunny' and the majority carry PETA Cruelty-Free logos). “It’s incredibly rewarding to know every purchase of a FarmHouse Fresh product does even more than its intended personal use – it literally changes an animal’s life.”
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SIAL Paris 2020 to Feature Sustainable Theme
SIAL Paris, will take place from Oct. 18-22 at Parc des Expositions de Villepinte.
Known as the biggest agri-food trade fair in the world, the 2020 edition will launch a new dynamic revolving around uniting food professionals around the major transformations taking place in the industry. The theme this year will be #Own the Change. As the sector reinvents itself to rise to environmental, digital and demographic challenges of the changing world, SIAL Paris 2020 will provide 7,200 exhibitors and 310,000 visitors with professional tools to master these challenges and become drivers of change in their own right: Sial Paris will be by their side to surmount the obstacles and invite each to become advocates for the positive, sustainable future of food.
“The rapport with food is changing and we have to make new choices,” said Nicolas Trentesaux, general director of the SIAL. “There is now an urgent need to re-think our relationship with agriculture, with the transformation and distribution of products, to deliver a meaningful experience to consumers. At the SIAL, we believe that business performance only makes sense if it leads to improvements in health, the environment and society as a whole. Our role is to understand, analyze and develop the trends at work in our ecosystem by giving our exhibitors and visitors the keys to create the solutions of the future.”
Between now and 2030, the worldwide population is speculated to rise to 8.6 billion – a substantial increase that represents an immense challenge for the food community. New solutions that respect people and the environment will need to be initiated or reinforced: distribution formats, logistics chains and innovative food processing systems. At SIAL Paris 2020, through a series of conferences, debates and roundtable talks led by high-profile international speakers, there will be discussion among exhibitors and visitors on the key issues. During this vast international consultation, food professionals everywhere will have the chance to propose solutions and concrete actions to respond to the enormous changes facing the sector. The results of the consultation will be shared and developed during the 2020 edition of SIAL Paris.
For more information, visit the SIAL Paris
website
.
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Introducing the Zoku®
Kids Pocket Utensil Set - A Little Lunchtime Innovation
The new Zoku
®
Kids Pocket Utensil Set is easy to use and even easier to clean. It includes three neatly nesting utensils – a spoon, fork and knife – all made of durable 18/8 stainless steel. The utensils store snugly inside a slim sanitary travel case that is cute and kid-friendly.
Made to fit easily in a backpack or lunchbox, the Kids Pocket Utensil Set comes in fun designs featuring whimsical animal faces — shark, pig and cat. The colorful cases are leakproof, lightweight and compact.
Kids will love the look, and parents will love the practicality. The desire to replace single-use plastics with more eco-friendly choices is another reason to buy.
The entire set is dishwasher safe. Kids can put their soiled utensils back in the case after eating, and then the whole set can be washed when they get home. This keeps backpacks and lunchboxes free of any food debris.
The Zoku Kids Pocket Utensil Set is BPA and Phthalate free and comes in pink, blue and mint. It will be available for shipment June 2020, with a suggested retail price of $15.99.
Zoku’s line of innovative products includes drinkware, frozen treats, cocktail ice and food-to-go.
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