Mar 30, 2012

Phase Three of NYIGF Strategic Reorganization Begins at Summer 2012 Market

The third phase of a major, multi-year strategic reorganization of the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®) will begin at the summer 2012 market, with repositioning of three product divisions – Baby & Child, Handmade® Global Design and New York’s Newest – to new locations within the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, the 2nd annual presentation of the Gourmet Housewares Show at NYIGF, and the introduction of Artisan Resource™, a new complementary tradeshow which will run concurrently with NYIGF.

“This series of divisional relocations is strategic and purposeful and will strengthen category adjacencies across NYIGF,” said Christian Falkenberg, NYIGF manager and GLM vice president. “The ultimate goal is creation of four distinct market collections which offer buyers a navigable and efficient shopping experience.”

“Focus Forward 2013,” a blueprint for NYIGF’s evolution to be the defining marketplace for fashion-forward and design-driven home, gift and lifestyle resources, began in summer 2010. At its completion, in summer 2013, NYIGF will be reorganized into four comprehensive market collections – NYIGF Home, NYIGF Lifestyle, NYIGF Handmade and NYIGF New. The overall plan incorporates introduction of new divisions and floor plan changes, several of which are necessitated by ongoing construction and renovation at the Javits Center.

This August, Handmade Global Design, a collection of 135 import resources with a focus on quality design, traditional craftsmanship and community building, moves to the Javits Center’s Level 4 Galleria and River Pavilion from Hall 1D. Handmade Global Design will run Saturday, August 18, through Tuesday, August 21, in the column-free renovated space, which offers generous amounts of natural light, in an expanded footprint.

Craft buyers will experience easier navigation between NYIGF’s two Handmade categories – Handmade Designer Maker in the Javits Center North and Handmade Global Design in the Galleria and River Pavilion. To promote the new location, plans include an opening day reception in the Galleria, enhanced signage and other onsite activities.

Baby & Child, a collection of 125 companies offering sophisticated and purpose-driven products for children 0-10 years, will move from the Javits Center’s Hall 1E into Hall 1D, which is adjacent to NYIGF’s General Gift and maximizes cross-marketing opportunities with relevant product. In line with this change, Baby & Child will run Sunday, August 19, through Wednesday, August 22.

New York’s Newest, a showcase of companies new to NYIGF and the New York Market, will relocate into the Javits Center from its former location at the Passenger Ship Terminal’s Pier 92. This cross-category collection of nearly 200 newcomers will run Saturday, August 18, through Tuesday, August 21, in the Javits Center’s Hall 1E.

An additional highlight of the summer 2012 market is the 2nd annual Gourmet Housewares Show® at NYIGF, with some 175 exhibitors offering high-end resources in cookware, bakeware, kitchen gadgets, kitchen textiles, bar and wine accessories, small electrics, specialty food, cookbooks, storage/containers, and picnic/barbecue accessories. With the positioning of the Gourmet Housewares Show® between NYIGF’s Accent on Design and Tabletop divisions, the New York Market will present an unprecedented number of adjacent design-led housewares to buyers. Since its inception in 1975, the Gourmet Housewares Show has provided a professional marketplace for the gourmet products and upscale housewares industries.

In addition, GLM has announced plans to launch Artisan Resource, a new semi-annual tradeshow, offering U.S.-based volume importers, direct import retailers and wholesalers the opportunity to meet with international artisanal producers, alongside NYIGF in summer 2012. The new event, which will debut Sunday, August 19, through Tuesday, August 21, at the Passenger Ship Terminal’s Pier 92, offers a production-sourcing venue for overseas artisan enterprises to showcase their products and production capabilities – at export terms – from their country of origin. Both participating suppliers and attendees will be carefully vetted to support viable export relationships and maintain appropriate channels of distribution.

Beyond exhibits, a full schedule of educational programming and after-hours special events will be offered for exhibitors and attendees. Seminars will address color, design and commerce trends, sustainability, social media, retail strategies and more. Networking events include the NYIGF-sponsored Retailer Excellence Awards and NYIGF’s Night on Broadway featuring specially-priced tickets to GHOST. Details and registration will be available online, after April 15, at www.nyigf.com/programs.

NYIGF also will highlight product innovation in four special displays – a new “Open House” trend showcase, the popular SustainAbility: design for a better world® display, Baby & Child Sneak Peek and Gourmet Housewares Show Best New Product display – and with presentation of awards in eight different categories.

NYIGF is the nation’s premier gift, home and lifestyle marketplace, with 2,800+ exhibiting companies featuring an extraordinary breadth and depth of design-driven home fashion products and complementary giftware. Its 400+ product categories and more than 100,000 product lines are showcased in ten carefully-categorized divisions.

The summer market runs Saturday, August 18, through Wednesday, August 22, 2012, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 92 and 94. Some 35,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 80 countries worldwide are expected. Information and registration is available online at www.nyigf.com.