Technology top attraction at Housewares Show 2000

Discount Store News, Feb 7, 2000 by Mike Duff

CHICAGO -- At the year 2000 edition of the American Housewares Manufacturers Association's International Housewares Show, attention was clearly on the future, with new products and prototypes unveiled that linked with the Internet, with each other, even with satellites, all to make the consumer's life easier.

Ease of use, ease of cleaning, color and design were clearly the elements driving trends. Manufacturers trying to read the consumer pulse have determined that time and style are critical in enticing the public to embrace a product. Busy consumer want housewares that save them time, either in operation or clean up. But design is important, too. Consumers have been investing in their homes and want products that compliment the interior design packages they've developed.

Design also touches on ease of use. Brands like Oxo, a World Kitchen division, and Ergo, under Household Product Inc.'s Black & Decker banner, are establishing new standards for ergonomics in the marketplace, so other housewares manufacturers have been compelled to develop products that work better with the body and not just for older consumers. Good ergonomics aren't a goal any longer. Increasingly, they are the price of admittance to any level of the marketplace beyond the opening price point.

Yet, sometimes a simple innovation is the one that will catch a retailer's eye. Carlo Colessa, senior buyer Club Z and Hudson's Bay Loyalty Management, noted that among the new products he found most interesting was "a Krupps coffee maker that uses capsules."

The Krupps line includes three products using a hermetically sealed capsule that takes the measuring and mess out of a cup of cappuccino or espresso. The capsules come in a range of flavors and are available by phone from Nestle--under its Nespresso label--with 48-hour home delivery at $4.50 for a sleeve of 10. At the high end, at a $449 and a $349 price point, Krupps considers the line out of mass merchants' range, but the company believes the basic model, retailing for $249, is compatible with at least some mid-market retailers, especially on the specialist end of the business. Elements of the line are already placed in Bloomingdales, Williams-Sonoma and some Bed, Bath & Beyond locations.

Still, products that boasted electronic links seemed to garner the most discussion at the show among retailers and attending media. Among the previews that compelled the most attention was that of Sunbeam's Thalia product line. Each product in the line communicated with the others without requiring complicated translation software. Rather, the various appliances and a home organization station used radio and links via the existing home power system to communicate.

Under the Thalia system, a home organizations station organizes schedules, setting the clock sets the coffee maker, a result from the bathroom scale or an available blood pressure monitor may be linked to a doctor's office and a mixing machine can get detailed instructions on how to handle a given recipe electronically. The Thalia line is scheduled to go into production by years end at "affordable" price points and is designed to meet consumer need for time saving and simplicity: The line automates every day tasks to ensure days go smoother and more time is available for leisure and family activities.

It's worth noting that representatives of many channels of trade attend the show, frequently to explore product lines that might have once been considered out of their sphere. Eric Bliefort, a buyer of candles, among other housewares products, represented widely admired Canadian supermarket chain Loblaws. His interest in candles particularly arises from a new Loblaws initiative. The company has added boutiquestyle candle shops displaying 90 linear feet of merchandise to 40 of its stores and plans to boost the total to 100 in the initial roll out. As it elevates its presence in the candle market, Loblaws is interested in staying on top of trends and presenting them in the best light possible. "The category is always changing," Bliefort told DSN. "Loblaws always goes for the fixturing."

The Housewares Show's updated layout generally got good marks from retailers. "I like the organization of the show, "J.J. Dowling, a Garden Ridge dmm, said. "It's simpler. It's better. It's easier to find things."

As usual, some significant vendor news emanated from the show. Rubbermaid announced an $80 million marketing campaign built around customer stories that point up the ruggedness of the brand's products. The campaign not only includes national brand advertising, including television and priny, but an update of the Rubbermaid web site, which has been retooled around the effort. Rubbermaid expects the campaign to generate 1.4 billion print impressions and nine million click throughs on the Internet. "It's going to grow the business phenomenally," said William Denton, president of Rubbermaid Home Products.

In addition, Housewares Show attendees got a first look at the unified product line that Home Products International has developed under its new brand and corporate name Homz. The new moniker now covers what were well known trade names including Selfix, Seymour and Epic.