SPECIAL REVIEW
IH+HS 2018 a veritable expo
for sourcing Smart products
10-13 March 2018
Chicago, USA
www.housewares.org
THE show, from March 10-13, was
a veritable marketplace for everything
you need to turn your house into a
Smart Home.
The buzz word at the 2018
show was ‘Connectivity’. And a
good number of manufacturers
exhibiting their housewares had
indeed incorporated connectivity into
their products, from digital locks to
light bulbs, security systems, air-
conditioners, kettles, coffee brewers,
ovens and other home appliances.
Many customers today, especially millennials, wax lyrical
on all things online and connected but the truth is that the
majority of consumers still prefer to physically touch, feel
and experience products before making the final decision to
purchase. And this was so for the thousands of retailers and
distributors from 125 countries pacing the halls at McCormick
Place, Chicago, USA, to view, touch and test the exhibits at this
year’s International Home + Housewares Show. Andrew Yeo
reports.
They can all be remotely activated
and controlled via apps on mobile
devices.
While the ‘Smart Home’ concept
may appeal to well-to-do millennials,
the reality is that many countries in
Asia are not yet fully into the digital
domain. Moreover, shopping in
physical stores is still very much a way
of life in Asia.
However, ‘clicks-and-bricks’ will
eventually prevail in Asian nations
as it offers shoppers a certain level
“AnySharp has been highly
rated by
professional
chefs and it
is a unique
product that
can sell well in
your region.”
— Zia Rehman,
Business Development,
AnySharp
36
Retail Asia May 2018
of engagement while allowing them
to have a physical touch, feel and
experience of the product before
making a purchase.
Thus, buyers from Asia could be
seen at McCormick Place touching
and testing products, asking about
minimum orders before placing bulk
orders.
One of the problems that seemed
to hold buyers back was that the
products they liked were already
available online on Amazon.com,
Alibaba, Lazada and many others.
There were scores of lovely design-
driven housewares that the buyers and
distributors were interested to bring to
Asia — but at what price points could
they sell in order to make transactions
viable if consumers could purchase
them online?
With rentals going down and costs
of online deliveries going up — and
in Asia it may take more than a week
before online orders are fulfilled —
online retailing may slow down in the
months ahead.
In any case, manufacturers spoken
to at the show were keen to sell in bulk
to stores in Asia, directly or through
distributors.
A case in point is Aydya Limited of
Scotland, UK, whose AnySharp knife
sharpener with its powerful Power Grip
suction cup that can adhere firmly
to any flat surfaces in the kitchen to
enable hands-free sharpening of knives,
including serrated blades, is easily
available online