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Future Shows
2008 May 6-8 Las Vegas |
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CONTENTS:
FEATURE: Tabletop Sets Up Profits For Kitchenware Stores
RETAILER PROFILE: Mr.J's Culinary Essentials
GOOD REP: Paula Hugus, Chief Executive Officer of Bray-Farmer Associates
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MERCHANDISING TIPS
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Tabletop vendors say there are a number of ways kitchenware stores can test the tabletop category without much risk.
• Start small: think seasonal pieces for the holidays; stand alone drinkware; espresso and cappuccino spoons and pasta servers
• Consider adding unusual impulse purchase items like a cute pet bowl.
• Don’t let tight square footage constrict your product mix: many vendors at the Gourmet Housewares Show offer fixture programs geared for a small footprint.
• When merchandising, mix and match brands because that encourages shoppers to think beyond patterns they already own.
• Once tabletop fixtures are installed, keep up appearances: don’t let them sit half empty.
• Add decorative bakeware and matching dinnerware.
Photo Pet Bowl by Signature Housewares
HAVE FUN!
Lied Discovery Children’s Museum
833 Las Vegas Blvd. N,
Las Vegas, NV 89101
702-382-3445
www.ldcm.org
If you are bringing the family to Las Vegas let the kids romp through the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum while you work the trade show floor. One of the country’s largest children’s museums, the Lied features more than 100 hands’ on exhibits. |
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Tabletop is a category that helps add to the sell-through for gourmet specialty stores, and I’m pleased that we have a wide assortment of exhibitors who offer such a diverse product selection to retailers. It is a product selection you won’t find anywhere else.
Even if you didn’t think that tabletop was your venue, our show gives you the chance to spend some quality time with top notch tabletop executives, who not only offer unique products, but also have some very creative solutions for both store merchandising, and more importantly, purchase strategies. So put tableware on your menu when you come to the show this May
Susan Corwin
vp and show manager
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FEATURE: Tabletop Sets Up Profits For Kitchenware Stores
by Thyra Porter
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When the Gourmet Housewares Show opens here May 6-8, a number of tabletop vendors will be launching new lines geared to specialty kitchenware stores.
The reason? Those stores are stocking up on tabletop products as a way to gain diversity and add market share. That trend has made the Gourmet Housewares Show an essential stop for tabletop vendors who want to reach high-end kitchenware retailers.
For Yamazaki, consumers who are in a kitchenware store to purchase a high-end kitchen tool are likely also thinking about how their table looks, says Ray Basanta, vice president of sales.
To that end Yamazaki will introduce a number of products exclusively at The Gourmet Housewares Show in Las Vegas.
“That’s where we can sit down and talk with gourmet retailers and work out individual programs with them,” Basanta notes.
Zak Designs is another tabletop company offering special programs for independent gourmet retailers, says Lisa Eggers, vice president of marketing and lifestyle for the company.
“As a company, Zak Designs offers a low minimum first order requirement, which allows stores to stock quality Zak products in the quantities that are appropriate to their available shelf space and budget restrictions,” Eggers says.
Signature Housewares president Keith Morrison says his company supports retailers with a number of programs geared to address high freight costs.
“Freight costs can be exorbitant,” he notes. “That’s why we have a number of pricing programs that can wipe out freight costs in the contiguous 48 states.”
For Morrison, a long-time Gourmet Housewares Show exhibitor, the show is an ideal place to meet with retailers and fine tune specific programs to can meet their needs.
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| Retailer Profile: Mr. J’s Culinary Essentials, Bellevue, Washington |
 Retailers say consumers are as interested in presenting food at the table as they are in preparing food in their kitchens.
And while Mr. J’s Culinary Essentials is focused on kitchenware and cooking, tabletop is displayed front and center, according to manager Adele Nugent.
“Tabletop has the best real estate in the store,” says Nugent.
“The first thing you see when you enter the store is a fully set table. Right now it is set for the holidays: we have dinnerware, glassware, flatware, linens, candles layered on the table,” she says.
Such presentation is important for Mr. J’s because the tabletop categories: including paper goods, linens, glassware and dinnerware; add “multiple sales to the store’s bottom line,” Nugent says.
Selling Points: Mr. J’s makes shopping for tabletop fun by encouraging its customers to play with tabletop by bringing in their own dinnerware and flatware and then mixing and matching with the store’s new patterns, says Nugent.
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| Good Rep: Paula Hugus, Chief Executive Officer of Bray-Farmer Associates, Atlanta, Georgia |
 Paula Hugus suggests that her retail clients bring in dinnerware that can be customized by the consumer. “Retailers need to be aware of the way consumers entertain today,” Hugus says. “By bringing in dinnerware lines which can be customized to a consumer’s lifestyle, you will broaden your consumer base,” she says. Think color, not just brand. “Beautiful colors that complement each other are really effective. Skyros, for example, carries a line of multiple colors designed to be mixed and matched to a consumer’s taste.” And don’t be afraid to display different brands in one display, if you think the pieces work well together.
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What Are Your Hot Topics? If you’d like us to address your specific concerns let us know by giving me a call at 207-799-3473 or e-mailing me at thyra_porter@glmshows.com
Thyra Porter, editor, Gourmet 365 |
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To register, or for the most up-to-date info, please visit www.thegourmetshow.com
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The Gourmet Housewares Show® is produced and managed by George Little Management, LLC, a dmg world media business. For more information on all our shows, visit www.glmshows.com. It is co-located with Global Home Textiles Show, produced and managed by GLM and The National Hardware Show, produced and managed by Reed Expositions.
To read previous issues of Gourmet 365, please click here. |
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