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IN THE ISSUE 8 KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW n MARCH 2014 n www.kitchenwarenews.com Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ and additional mail- ing office. Kitchenware News & Housewares Review (USPS012-625) is published 12 times per year (Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec.) by Oser Communications Group, 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ, 85715 520.721.1300. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material or prices quoted in newspaper. Contributors are responsible for proper release of proprietary classified information. ©2014 by Oser Communications Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permis- sion of the publisher, is expressly prohibited. Back issues, when available, cost $8 each within the past 12 months. Back issue orders must be paid in advance by check. Kitchenware News & Housewares Review is distributed without charge in North America to qualified professionals in the retail and distribution channels of the upscale kitchenware and tabletop trade. For subscriber services, including subscription information, call 520.721.1300. Printed in the USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Kitchenware News & Housewares Review, 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715. PUBLISHER Lee M. Oser EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lorrie Baumann lorrie_b@oser.com EDITOR Sam Ruddick sam_r@oser.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Donna Boyle Schwartz GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Yasmine Brown Vicky Glover ads@oser.com TRAFFIC MANAGER Jaysun Freightman jaysun_f@oser.com SUBSCRIBER SERVICES 1877 N. Kolb Road Tucson, Arizona 85715 [tel] 520.721.1300 [fax] 520.721.6300 KITCHENWARE/HOUSEWARES ADVERTISING ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jeff Rosano jeff_r@oser.com [tel] 520.721.1300 Kitchenware News & Housewares Review is a publication of ELM Communications, a division of Oser Communications Group, Inc. 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715 www.oser.com PRESIDENT Lee M. Oser As we go to press with this issue of Kitchenware News & Housewares Review, we're filled with great optimism that no matter what the weather in Chicago, the atmosphere at the International Home + Housewares Show is likely to be brighter and sunnier than we've seen it for years. Global housewares market data show an overall retail sales increase of 2.9 percent in 2012, the most recent number available, according to the International Housewares Association's 2013 State of the Industry Report. On top of that, attendance at this year's trade shows related to the industry has been robust and the enthusiasm generated there contagious. When even the vendors acknowledge that booth traffic is more than satisfactory, you know that a show is doing well and business is being written, and that's been the case so far this year at the Specialty Food Association's Winter Fancy Food Show, the Kitchen and Bath Industry's Kitchen and Bath Show, the National Association of Home Builders' International Builders Show and the International Market Center's Las Vegas Market. There's just a lot of enthusiasm in the American marketplace about the signs of recovery we're seeing in both the American and European economies. Folks at the Kitchen and Bath Show were positively giddy, actually, about the improvement in the American housing market and about signs that Americans are increasingly willing to invest in their current homes and can muster the capital to do that. The interest in reinvesting in current homes seems to be taking the form of an eagerness to renovate existing kitchens and bathrooms rather than in adding new space to the homes, and that's good news for the kitchenware industry as well. There were a couple of strong design trends on view this year at the Kitchen and Bath Show, and those are bold and bright colors and a preference for the look, shape and texture of natural materials over the sleekly austere look. Early indications are that we're going to see that again at the International Home + Housewares Show, where the Discover Design juried category includes more than 100 exhibitors from around the world. Discover Design exhibitors are eligible to compete for a Global Innovation Award judged by specialty retailers, influential editors, trend spotters and independent designers. The products competing for the award will be displayed in the Discover Design Gallery that's open to buyers and the news media. There are two things that we can count on seeing there: lots of innovation and lots of color. One silver lining to the recent recession has been that it has produced a lot of great thinking about how to make things that are going to satisfy consumers who demand eco-friendliness, safety, innovation, beauty, fairness to workers in developing nations and low cost all at the same time, with the order of those priorities changing constantly in response to many different variables. So we're going to see items that are beautiful when they're sitting on the counter and function well and with lower energy costs when they're in use. We can hardly wait! Now, if we only had this much optimism about our flight schedules! Lee M. Oser, Publisher publisher from the H o u s e w a r e s R e v i e w KITCHENWARE NEWS S E R V I N G K I T C H E N WA R E, H O M E D E C O R A N D G I F T WA R E M A R K E T S

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