New look and new locations planned for special displays at Chicago show

When the housewares industry meets in Chicago next March for The Inspired Home Show, exhibitors and attendees will find not just a new name but new displays and new locations for many show destinations.

Formerly known as the International Home + Housewares Show, The Inspired Home Show, IHA’s Global Home + Housewares Market, will be held from March 14 to March 17 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Complex.

Several displays long located in the Hall of Global Innovation in the Lakeside Center lobby will be moving to new areas in the Grand Concourse and the North Building:

-The Pantone ColorWatch exhibit will be located on Level 2.5 of the Grand Concourse, allowing attendees to view the display on their way to the exhibit halls. ColorWatch will feature vignettes in eight palettes representing the strongest home furnishing trends for 2021.

-The IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) for Product Design display will move to the Grand Concourse Lobby in the North Building near the Discover Design Gallery. The display will feature the five finalists in each of the 14 award categories. New this year, Sustainability has been added to the categories.

-The IHA Global Innovations Awards (gia) for Retail Excellence display will move to the Grand Concourse Bridge. The national winners will be featured on banners hanging across the bridge and in individual displays throughout the walkway. The displays will also designate the Global Honorees when they are announced at the gia gala dinner on March 14.

-The IHA Student Design Competition display will also move to the Grand Concourse Lobby. And, new for 2020, it will become part of the gia program. The winning students also will be recognized at the gia dinner along with the product, retail and booth excellence honorees.

-The Hall of Global Innovation in the Lakeside Center Lobby will remain home to the IHA Smart Home Pavilion but will include the Inventors Corner Pavilion and Inventors Revue, formerly located in the Clean + Contain Expo in the North Building.

The Smart Home Pavilion will include more than 30 exhibitors of smart and connected products, the b8ta ‘Retail-as-a-Service’ concept display, the Smart Talks stage and a new Smart Retail Experience exhibit providing a live, interactive display showing retailers what the store of the future could look like.

The Inventors Corner Pavilion will feature 60 exhibitors showcasing new housewares innovations and just-ready-for-market introductions.

Adjacent to the Inventors Corner, the Inventors Revue will provide sessions addressing product development and marketing topics, as well as expert review panels for inventor product feedback.

-Another new destination in the Hall of Global Innovation will be Social Central, offering show attendees and exhibitors opportunities to meet social media consultants specialising in influencer and digital marketing. Embello, an agency representing home and lifestyle influencers, will be available for one-on-one discussions about how companies can make the most of influencer marketing, and epower at home, IHA’s social media vendor, will provide free consultations to help improve a brand’s presence online.

The Inspired Home Show 2020 will feature more than 2,200 exhibitors from around the world, including 400 new companies exhibiting for the first time. A total of more than 52,000 attendees, including buyers from 130 countries, are expected to visit the exhibition.

Additional information on show events, exhibitors and attendee registration is available at https://www.theinspiredhomeshow.com/

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