Two International Housewares Association educational summits, Chess: Chief Housewares Executive SuperSession and the International Business Council’s Global Forum, will be held in-person this fall along with a new event by the recently formed Housewares Credit Group.
Under the banner “Housewares Homecoming,” the three events will take place together for the first time, uniting industry alumni, veterans and peers for insights and discussions surrounding topics facing home and housewares suppliers.
Chess and the Global Forum will take place Sept. 22-23 at the Westin Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, near O’Hare Airport. The HCG meeting will be held Sept. 21 at IHA’s offices in Rosemont and with a hybrid virtual option.
Chess
Chess is IHA’s strategic and networking event for industry leaders. It is designed for chief officers of all IHA member companies and their top decision-makers and features sessions on critical issues affecting housewares, an economic outlook; e-commerce brand control; consumer valuation; optimizing physical retail; and creating opportunities on Web 3.0.
Other sessions will include the annual Housewares Hot Seat panel featuring housewares supplier chief executives discussing remaining proactive in a reactive marketplace. The panel will include Luke Peters, president and CEO, NewAir, and Jacob Maurer, CEO, The Americas, The Cookware Company.
In addition, The NPD Group will offer a post-COVID playbook for retail and the home industry, and market research and analytics specialists CivicScience will discuss macro consumer trends impacting home goods.
Phillip Neuhart, SVP and director of market and economic research at First Citizen’s Bank Wealth Management, will examine current economic and market conditions and share his outlook. Market-driving topics will include Fed policy, inflation, the labor market, consumer spending, economic growth and the mid-term elections.
Chess is sponsored by Pattern, CIT, Oracle Netsuite and The Lakewood Group.
IBC Global Forum
The Global Forum is the annual meeting of the IBC, a special interest group of IHA members dedicated to global marketing and sales.
Sessions are applicable for both suppliers new to the international arena or veteran sales executives seeking growth in their global business and will feature presentations by global retailers and distributors speaking on their markets and best practices for suppliers selling to their firms.
Among the key presentations, Mexican distributor Tendencias y Conceptos will offer insights on the home and housewares market in Mexico.
IHA’s global offices and representatives will present the top opportunities for sales in their markets based on current economic conditions, top retailers and consumer demand. Networking sessions will allow attendees to leverage their peers’ knowledge to troubleshoot challenges faced by home and housewares suppliers selling into global markets.
Housewares Credit Group
The Housewares Credit Group is a cooperative effort between IHA and Riemer Plus for IHA member financial executives. Members receive an in-depth look at retailer credit standings to help mitigate risk in their sales portfolios.
The Housewares Homecoming event will include a financial analysis led by Reimer Plus of national retailers; group account discussions including best practices and exchange of account information; and a presentation on bankruptcy by Brent Weisenberg, senior counsel at Lowenstein Sandler.
More information on Housewares Homecoming and links to registration for each meeting are available on the event webpage.
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