Organizers seek national audience with Coverings move - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Home Channel News, May 1, 2001

Exposition expects to draw more geographically-diverse attendees at New Orleans venue

NEW ORLEANS -- Coming off their largest show ever, organizers of the 13th annual Coverings ceramic tile and natural stone exposition hope that a new venue will broaden the appeal of the four-day event when it opens May 20 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

For the past four years, Coverings has been held in Orlando, Fla., with the not-so-surprising result that a large share of attendees came from the Sunshine State. Some 45 percent of the 19,766 retailers, distributors, importers, installers and other industry professionals who attended the 2000 show came from Florida, according to a survey conducted at the event, and 59 percent of those said they were annual attendees. By moving the show to New Orleans, organizers hope to attract visitors from a wider geographic area, while still tapping that strong Florida base.

Distributors accounted for the largest share -- 45 percent -- of last year's show visitors, with retailers next at 16 percent. Among those in attendance last year were buyers from Home Depot, Menard, Sears and Scotty's. Indeed, according to estimates published by the trade journal Floor Covering Weekly, some 24 percent of the ceramic tile sold in the United States is sold through home centers.

In addition to the exposition, which is expected to draw nearly 1,100 exhibitors from 40 countries, Coverings features Vision 2001, four days of seminars ranging from marketing and management topics such as "Color Trends: What's in Store for the Future," and "The Ultimate in Tile Retailing," to technology issues like "Automated Warehousing and Bar Coding for the Tile Distributor." Since Coverings is also open to tile contractors, installers and architects, one of the four seminar tracks at Vision 2001 covers specification and installation issues.

Show attendance is free.