DIYWEEK.net

The Exclusively Housewares show is embarking on a two-year project that will culminate in the creation of a dedicated hall for its small domestic appliance exhibitors in 2015.
Brooke House Exhibitions, which organises the event on behalf of the British Home Enhancement Trade Association, says the move has been prompted by growing interest in the small electrical sector from buyers and suppliers alike - with an increased presence of SDA suppliers promised for the 2014 show.

And it adds that a new hall will also free up space for mainstream housewares suppliers at the show, which has a considerable waiting list.

"Our interest in this sector will include all the small electrical product categories as reported on by GfK: linen care, electrical cooking, including microwaves, beverage making, food preparation and floorcare," explained show director Simon Boyd.

"The show will implement a proactive marketing campaign to ensure that the relevant suppliers in these sectors, and the appropriate buyers from our current visiting companies, and from the electrical retail sector, are aware of the show's increased SDA offer."

Exclusively Housewares, which runs annually in June at London's Business Design Centre, already has a significant number of SDA exhibitors, including Ascaso, Bamix, Bodum, Bugatti, De'Longhi, Dualit, distributor EPE, Graef, Horwood Homewares, Hostess, Jura, Kenwood, Meyer, Morphy Richards, Salter, Severin, Swan, Tefal and Vitamix.

All were canvassed at this year's show on the possibility of creating a dedicated SDA area in the venue's Gallery Hall.

"The majority were enthusiastic, as they don't currently have a trade show dedicated entirely to their sector," said Mr Boyd. "We'll prove to our SDA exhibitors that we can find and deliver an audience for their products, which still includes all of our current visitors. Equally, we're confident there will be a welcome crossover of interest from SDA buyers in the show's mainstream housewares offer.

"It's not a decision taken lightly and we look forward to seeing it evolve steadily over the next couple of years."

Brooke House Exhibitions chairman and BHETA housewares sector director William Jones added: "SDAs have always played a key strategic role in the development of the overall market and from a consumers' perspective are a key factor when considering products to facilitate home cooking, baking and cleaning. As consumers look for more colour and material coordination in the kitchen this is a great opportunity for the industry to adopt a more collective and coordinated approach to the market."

This year's show attracted its biggest audience to date, with visitor numbers up on 2012 by just over 6%. The 2014 event will run June 10-11.