Show length reduced and expos moved
Changes have been made to 2024’s Inspired Home Show. Organisers have announced that the show is to be reduced by a day and some show expos will move location. The International Housewares Association say that after carefully considering feedback received from two industry-wide surveys and four special committees made up of both exhibitors and retailers, the IHA Board of Directors has decided to reduce the overall length and to optimise the show layout.
The show will now open on Sunday, March 17 and close on Tuesday, March 19. The majority of exhibitors and retailers indicated on recent surveys and in discussions that three full days is sufficient with business being more concentrated over that timeframe, said Derek Miller, IHA president and CEO.
“Making the move from four days to three full days will not only make the show more productive and dynamic but will also reduce costs for both the exhibitor and retail audiences, something frequently cited throughout discussions,” Miller explained.
Changes to the Show layout include:
- The Wired + Well Expo will move from the Lakeside Center to the North Hall co-locating with the Clean + Contain Expo. Housing all three of the Show’s primary Expos, which includes Dine + Décor, together in the North and South Halls will bring the industry’s core categories together into a central location that is much easier and more efficient to navigate with quick trips between two halls now being possible.
- The North Hall will be divided into two halves with Wired + Well occupying the right-hand side and Clean + Contain continuing to occupy the left-hand side. Both Expos will be reconfigured with exhibitors being placed in each based-on seniority number.
- The Discover Design Expo will be disbursed with current exhibitors being placed within their appropriate categories. Discover Design was created in 2011 in order to concentrate and highlight design-driven companies that wanted to exhibit in a central loca4on. With design-forward products now being widespread and found throughout the Show, Miller said there is simply no longer a need for this specific area. As with the changes to Wired + Well and Clean + Contain, current exhibitors from Discover Design will be contacted directly regarding the space assignment process.
- The Travel Gear + Luggage category will move into the South Hall.
- The International Sourcing Expo will return to the Lower North Hall, a location previously occupied by that group of exhibitors in 2019. Exhibitors without branded products and U.S. distribution will be grouped in this area together to create product sourcing opportunities for the industry.
- While the overall size of the show will not decrease, with these re-location plans the Show will no longer occupy the Lakeside Center. Exhibits and displays located in the Lakeside Center Lobby, such as the Smart Home Pavilion and the Inventors Corner, will be relocated later in the year into the North and South Halls.
Coming out of COVID, the 2022 show was very successful but certainly smaller than the 2019 event, Miller said. “As the 2023 Show built upon the previous year’s success with large increases in the number of exhibitors and retail attendees, there is no doubt that the trajectory for the Show is extremely positive,” he added. “The changes being made will be a further propellent to create a trade show that is more productive, highly efficient and tremendously successful for the en0re industry.”
The Inspired Home Show 2024 will take place March 17-19 at McCormick Place in Chicago.