National Hardware Show Attracts a Who's Who in Major Retailers

NORWALK, Conn., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The 65th annual National Hardware Show®, which will take place May 4-6 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is expecting one of its strongest and most diverse line-ups of buyers in the Show's 65-year history. The attendee list is a veritable Who's Who in important players in the Home Products industry, covering not only traditional retail and wholesale outlets but untraditional channels like grocery, mass, drug, catalog, Internet and international retailers. This includes industry giants like Home Depot, Walmart, Sears, True Value, Costco, Sam's Club, Ace Hardware and many more representing more than $237 billion in sales revenue – or almost 90 percent of the industry total. All told, attendance is up more than 1% over last year -- quite a feat in a challenging economy.

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"Retailers and distributors are constantly looking for ways to stay ahead of the competition and deliver innovative unique products to their shoppers," said Ed Several, Group Vice President & Show Manager, National Hardware Show. "They tell us that the National Hardware Show allows them three days of uninterrupted opportunity to discover those products and take them back to headquarters or to their local markets."

The National Hardware Show® is completely sold out of exhibit space to manufacturers from the Home Improvement, Lawn & Garden/Outdoor Living, Tailgating and other key industries.

The categories of buyers attending this year include Top 500 Giants like Home Depot, Sears and Walmart; Wholesale Clubs (Costco, Sam's Club, BJs); Mass Merchants/Specialty/Internet Catalogue (Target, Amazon.com, QVC and Home Shopping Network); Hardware Cooperatives (Ace, True Value and Do it Best); Hardlines Distributors (Pro Group, Distribution America and Orgill); Major Grocers (Wakefern/ShopRite and Price Chopper); Chains (CVS and Albertson's); and Lawn/Garden/Outdoor Living Distributors (Arett Sales Corporation, Commerce Corporation and Foster's).

Marvin's Home Centers, a chain of 27 home improvement stores located throughout Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, is sending 10 representatives to the Show, including company president Craig Cowart. "For many years, Marvin's has felt it important to attend the National Hardware Show, and we send the majority of our buying staff, as well as several of the officers of the company," Cowart said. "The show allows us the opportunity to visit with several of our retail industry and home center friends from around the country. To us, it is far more than a product exhibition. It is a way to stay in tune with what is going on in the home improvement industry as a whole."

The Show is organized into seven major product focus areas: Hardware & Tools; Homewares; Lawn, Garden & Outdoor Living; Paint & Accessories; Plumbing & Electrical; Storage & Organization and an international sourcing area. New features this year include a Tailgate Product Merchandising Pavilion and "As Seen on TV" area, and a New Product Launch Spotlight will be featured in the lobby of the Central Hall. "We find the show floor to be an excellent vehicle for making new contacts," Cowart added. "The vendor exhibitors have evolved over the years, and today's show offers a good variety of both national and regional suppliers."

The National Hardware Show® will be held May 4-6, 2010, at the Las Vegas Convention Center and celebrates a rich history spanning 65 years of serving the home improvement marketplace. From its early beginnings in New York during the post-World War II housing boom and eventual move to Chicago in the 1970s to today's current location in Las Vegas, the National Hardware Show continually evolves through the industry's involvement, commitment and passion to improving America's quality of life through their homes. Today, the National Hardware Show is the place for global manufacturers, associations, organizations and the media to unveil their new products, ideas and insights to a broad spectrum of home improvement resellers.

SOURCE National Hardware Show 2010