Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
A special pavilion featuring Smart Home, or connected, products will make its debut at the 2017 International Home + Housewares Show.
The new initiative will be located in the Hall of Global Innovation in the Lakeside Center lobby of the show, which takes place in Chicago from March 18 to March 21.
Phil Brandl, president & ceo of the International Housewares Association, the show’s owner and operator, said: “Connectivity is being incorporated into products all around – from light bulbs to coffee brewers to thermostats to ovens – and the IHA Smart Home Pavilion will spotlight these unique products that are changing the way we interact and live.”
The Pavilion will feature up to 12 exhibitors of connected and smart products. It will include suppliers that are new to the exhibition, as well as current exhibitors.
To help identify and recruit suitable companies that offer smart and connected products, IHA is working with two top influencers in the tech industry: Carley Knobloch and Mike Wolf. The pair will also create show educational presentations on smart home developments and promote housewares innovations to consumer media.
Carley Knobloch is a digital lifestyle expert and a regular contributor on the ‘Today Show’: an American news and talk morning television show that airs on NBC. She is also a technology consultant and host for the US cable network show ‘HGTV Smart Home’.
Mike Wolf is the creator and host of a smart home podcast ‘The Smart Home Show’ and founder of the Smart Kitchen Summit in Seattle: an event dedicated to exploring the intersection of tech, food, design and commerce in the connected kitchen.
In addition to the Pavilion, smart products will also be recognised at the show with a category in the annual IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia). The winner will be announced at the invitation-only gia gala dinner on Saturday, March 18.
The 2017 show is expected will feature more than 2,200 exhibitors from around the globe and attract 62,000 attendees. Show badge registration is now available at www.housewares.org
