Kitchen & Bath Design News is the industry's leading business, design and product resource for the kitchen and bath trade.
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Editorial { Eliot Sefrin, Publisher Emeritus } ® A CYGNUS BUSINESS MEDIA PUBLICATION Group Publisher Mark Taussig KBIS 2014 a Bellwether On Market, Future Of Industry's Top Show Publisher Emeritus Eliot Sefrin Editor Janice Anne Costa Managing Editor Anita Shaw Senior Editor Kim Berndtson Contributing Writers Elizabeth Richards Denise Vermeulen Next month's Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) could prove a bellwether of the industry's current vitality – and the future of its leading trade show. T he kitchen/bath industry, impacted in recent years by a housing market well of its historic highs, should soon get an important clue about the market's vitality. It should also get an important clue about the vitality of the industry's leading trade show. The 2014 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show, set for next month in Las Vegas, is likely to provide both of those bellwethers. In terms of the industry's vitality, a robust, well-attended KBIS would no doubt reinforce forecasts signaling a continued housing recovery, coupled with renewed spending on home improvements, including kitchens and baths (see Forecast 2014, Page 42). At the same time, next month's show could also prove a litmus test for KBIS itself, which needs to see a discernable uptick in attendance and exhibitor enthusiasm in order to regain even a semblance of its former luster. KBIS 2014, in many ways, reflects a bold experiment aimed at energizing a pair of once-dynamic trade shows that have declined dramatically in the face of the recent steep housing downturn. It was roughly a year ago that the National Kitchen & Bath Association, owner of KBIS, and the National Association of Home Builders, owner of the International Builders' Show (IBS), an- buy, specify and influence home-related products. For attendees, it provides access to two related trade shows and hundreds of additional suppliers. And even more trade-show consolidation is apparently on tap. For example, plans call for KBIS and IBS to remain co-located at the Las Vegas Convention Center through 2016, while "A robust, well-attended KBIS 2014 would reinforce forecasts for a continued market recovery." nounced an agreement to co-locate the separate shows under the banner of "Design & Construction Week." The new format, scheduled to take place Feb. 4-6 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is aimed at allowing exhibitors to reach a full range of design and construction professionals who "Design and Construction Week" will expand further next year with the addition, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, of SURFACES, a major foor-covering event, and StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas, an event aimed at the natural stone industry. KBIS 2014 will also be produced by a new corporate entity. The Toronto-based Onex Corporation last June acquired long-time show producer Nielsen Expositions from its parent company, an afliate of Nielsen Holdings N.V., and Nielsen Expositions was renamed Emerald Expositions. The impact of that transaction, however, while noteworthy, is likely to go unnoticed by all but the most closely attuned observers. What won't go unnoticed, though, is the attendance at KBIS 2014 – and the reaction of exhibitors, who've generally been responsive to the co-location strategy. If attendance is up signifcantly among builders, kitchen and bath dealers, designers, architects and other qualifed attendees – and exhibitors come away happy – it could prove a nice boost for business in 2014, a palpable sign that market conditions are on the upswing, and a bright new future for the show. Let's hope that's what happens on all three fronts. Media Production Rep Cindy Rusch Editor, ForResidentialPros.com Andrea Girolamo Web Site Manager Thamaraj Udomwongyont Audience Development Manager Tammy Steller Reader Service Manager Jeff Heine Administrative Assistant Jenni Ehlke-Heyer Chief Executive Ofcer John French Chief Financial Ofcer Paul Bonaiuto E.V.P., Building & Construction Kris Flitcroft V.P., Content Greg Udelhofen V.P., Marketing Debbie George Director, Digital Sales Norine Conroy V.P., Production Operations Curt Pordes V.P., Technology Eric Kammerzelt V.P., Human Resources Ed Wood Copyright © 2014 by Cygnus Business Media, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine January be produced in any form, including electronically, without written permission from the publisher of Kitchen & Bath Design News. @KitchenBathDesignNews January 2014 Art Director Kirsten Crock V.P., Audience Development Julie Nachtigal Editor's Note: As the kitchen and bath industry continues to grow and evolve, so, too, does Kitchen & Bath Design News. This month, KBDN is excited to introduce several new departments. "What's App" (Page 38) will spotlight some of the hottest apps for kitchen and bath professionals; "Trend Spotting" (Page 36) will focus on new and emerging trends in the kitchen and bath industry, and "Charitable Endeavors" (Page 29) will showcase humanitarian eforts of kitchen and bath industry manufacturers engaged in giving back to the community. Facebook.com/KitchenBathDesignNews Columnists Ellen Cheever, CMKBD, ASID, CAPS Hank Darlington Leslie Hart Bruce Kelleran, CKD, CPA Stephen Nicholls Ken Peterson, CKD Mary Jo Peterson, CKD, CBD, CAPS Sarah Reep, CMKBD, ASID, CMG, CAPS, IIDA Bryan Reiss, CMKBD Eric Schimelpfenig, AKBD ForResidentialPros.com | 7