Feb 10, 2011

Winter Edition Features 2,800 Exhibitors and Attracts Nearly 35,000 Attendees

White Plains, NY – Motivated, quality buyers needing immediate inventory characterized attendance at the winter 2011 New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®), with three consecutive days of record-breaking attendance bolstering order-writing and setting a positive tone for overall results, despite the winter weather which arrived mid-market. NYIGF ran January 29-February 3, 2011, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Passenger Ship Terminal’s Piers 92 & 94.

Exhibitor participation was robust for the winter market, with four of NYIGF’s 10 divisions achieving “sold out” status and two divisions recording significant expansions. Divisions at capacity for winter 2011 included At Home at Pier 94, Handmade® (in both its Designer Maker and Global Design categories), Personal Accessories featuring Details, and EX∙TRACTS®. Baby & Child, which debuted last summer, grew by 15%, and New York’s Newest, which was re-established last summer, increased in size by 10%. “NYIGF attendance skyrocketed the first three days of market, resulting in 10+ percent gains over winter 2010,” said Dorothy Belshaw, NYIGF director and GLM senior vice president. “While the mid-week storms in New York impacted NYIGF’s overall attendance figures, there was still brisk buying on the exhibit floor throughout market.” GLM reported that nearly 35,000 attendees, representing all 50 states and 86 countries, attended the market.

Anecdotally, many exhibitors reported record shows, and order writing that was less price-conscious and more driven by quality, trend and aesthetic. “We experienced record-breaking sales on Monday and had the best NYIGF to date,” said Jayson Nusbaum, director of sales for General Gift exhibitor Wild Eye Designs. “We secured many new accounts, and are excited to see where they lead.”

According to Belshaw, buyers who could not travel to the market due to the weather or other circumstances will still have the opportunity to source and shop on NYIGF.com. Emails will be sent to all 63,000 buyers who pre-registered to attend, providing links to search.nyigf.com for exhibitor and product search and to NYIGF’s Online Catalog Gallery for supplier catalogs and order-referral capabilities. Highlights of this winter’s market included an expansion of Baby & Child, a comprehensive collection of well-designed, innovative, sophisticated, functional and fun juvenile products. Suppliers who shifted into the new division, mainly from General Gift, benefitted from the new location. “Baby & Child is focused, and concentrated for buyers of children’s products, and our business is double what we did at NYIGF last January” said Baby & Child exhibitor Kelly Sopp of WryBaby. “Retailers are buying much deeper, and they are buying lots of new product. We saw a higher number of boutique and international customers this winter.”

Another notable change was the relocation of some 25 creators of handcrafted jewelry intoPersonal Accessories, resulting in the creation of a buyer-friendly, easy-to-shop handmade jewelry “neighborhood.” This concentration is expected to continue and to grow for the summer 2011 market.

Additionally, further refinement within the General Gift division resulted in an enhanced “neighborhood” of nearly 70 stationery suppliers and publishers. The consolidation has benefitted exhibiting companies. “I couldn’t imagine not doing this show,” said Josh Rifkin, director of sales for Pomegranate, an exhibitor in NYIGF’s General Gift division. “We’ve written great orders and established many new accounts, with four hours of very heavy traffic daily.”

Market activities also included the debut of the Baby & Child Best New Product Awards, as selected by leading trade and consumer editors. Similar new product award programs included theEXTRACTS Best New Product Awards and the Home Textiles Market Week Best New Product Awards. Progressive product design also was recognized in other categories of the Fair, as the 4th semi-annual Eco Choice Awards rewarded the most innovative and environmentally responsible products within NYIGF’s SustainAbility: design for a better world® exhibit. Representatives of leading design blogs selected their top product picks in the Accent on Design “Bloggers’ Choice Awards.” Winners of these awards, as well as the Accent on Design Awards, are listed online atwww.nyigf.com.

The summer 2011 edition of the New York International Gift Fair will run Saturday, August 13 – Thursday, August 18, 2011. Highlights for the summer market include the co-location of GLM’s Gourmet Housewares Show alongside NYIGF; the continued development of the handmade jewelry “neighborhood” within Personal Accessories; and expansion of international participation in the Fair, with first time participation by the Irish Craft Council and planned expansion of a British Contemporary Craft pavilion.

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. Some 35,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 85 countries worldwide are expected. Information and registration is available online at www.nyigf.com.