KBIS Exhibitor Analysis 1997 - 2010 EXCLUSIVE: UPDATED
Submitted by advisor on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 1:13am.
Over the last 14 years, brands have come and brands have gone. Trends have flourished only to be replaced by some newer shinier trend. How many of you have ridden that sweet wave of growth only to be crushed under the break?
Over those same 14 years our entire industry has risen high only to more recently settle very low. Is there a better way visualize the chaos, than to see the flow of brands and product niches exhibiting at KBIS through the years? Probably not.
Download the analysis. What does it say about the state of our industry?
TAKE NOTE OF FOLLOWING CHANGES AND CONFIRMATIONS WHEN USING ANALYSIS
UPDATE Feb 8: Dacor pulls out of KBIS.
UPDATE Feb 16: Vent-a-Hood pulls out of KBIS
UPDATE Feb 16: U-Line's rumored pull out confirmed
UPDATE Feb 16: Both DCS and Fisher Paykel confirm they WILL be attending KBIS
UPDATE Feb: KBIS is said to claim a 40% increase in attendee registrations over the same period last year. If true, that would be some indication of a turn around for the show. It is still unknown if these are Kitchen OR Bath attendees or if they will actually show up. We have not seen the correspondence referred to, so it is possible that the no such correspondence exists.
DOWNLOAD FULL ANALYSIS
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In Microsoft EXCEL Format
NOTE:
A) Exhibitor lists come from our KBIS Dancecards, and from the Official KBIS Show Directory. We still could'a screwed-up. Let us know.
B) Attendee numbers come from NKBA and KBIS press releases, and press reports from places like Appliance Magazine, Kitchen and Bath Business and others. We must tell you though, we can't understand the multiple attendance numbers given for a single show and the frequency that the show had broken an attendance record. Made no sense to us, but we noted it on the chart.
We wonder if they may have mixed up the higher "registration" numbers with the lower "attendance" numbers for some of those years.
Hey K-Biz, A Lie is a STILL a Lie !!!
In their most recent mailing, K-Biz, in an effort to bolster their upcoming show stated the following:
The latest in cooktops, refrigerators, dishwashers, and hoods will be on display at KBIS 2010. Major manufacturers such as Jenn Air, GE, Fisher & Paykel, Liebherr, TurboChef, and hundreds more, will showcase their latest and signature products, setting an industry standard with incredible design, technology, and operational ease.
I don't know about you, but "... hundreds more ..." ... as proven here up-close-and-personal by Advisor ... is an out-and-out lie !!!
What say ye K-Biz ??? How can you justify such a lie ???
Regarding K-Biz Attendance ...
In that 40%, do they count people who were:
1. Registered automatically by a clerk ??? I've had my FREE "Registration Code" for quite some time but what if there are those who have an underling who just automatically registered "Da Boss" just in case he want to go ??? If it's FREE, there's no harm and no foul, right ??? But alas and allay, it becomes fodder for K-Biz and morphs into an empty statistic !!!
2. Registered but are no longer coming because their company has pulled out of the show ??? There has to be a faire ### of people that fall into this class !!!
Those of us of a certain age will remember the "garbage-in ... garbage-out" conundrum and, I'm sorry to say, it probably is @ work here with K-Biz in earnest !!!
40% of 28,000 is 11,200 ... Really ??? K-Biz expects to draw almost 40,000 people with no major manufacturers and those left dropping out like flies ??? Does that pass YOUR "smell test" ???
KBIS show
After reading a number of recent comments on the up comming KBIS show I have to wonder how your readers are measuring the value of this show.
Yes several key appliance dealers have backed out of the show this year, however, the ones I spoke with did not do it because they did not see value in exhibiting, they did it because they are hurting due to the lack of sales and in at least one case it was because the company is in the middle of forming a new partnership.
Meanwhile KBIS has picked up a large number of new exhibitors which no one has bothered to mention. It should also be taken into account that Appliances are just one of the product catagories that display at this show. Sure they are importantant but they do not make or break the total show.
Last but not least, the real importance of a show to the exhibitor is the return on the investment. This is not determined by who is exhibiting, it is by the quality and number of attendee's. When I recently checked with the NKBA I was told registrations are up 40% from one year ago.
Well, Let's See ...
Richard, I don't know who your are so that makes it difficult assess your position when it comes to K-Biz ... here my position relative to what you have posted ... it is not my intent to be argumentive, but being very passionate about this I hope you do not think me rude ...
1. Any manufacturer knows that when business is bad you need to double your efforts to get your message out and show your products in earnest ... the people who told you it was $$$ meant it was the old COST vs. VALUE conundrum and they did not think they were getting the value for their expenditure because people are not going to shows because the cost so to do is exorbitant ... especially, as I have demonstrated, in Chicago !!!
2. Formulation of new relationships/partnerships is a perfect reason for doing so @ a relevant show ... A show is relevant if they are attended, but K-Biz is in danger of being attended by less people than Atlanta was !!!
3. So K-Biz sez they are picking up a whole bunch of "new exhibitors" ... so, who are these "new exhibitors" who are taking the place of Sub Zero, Thermador, Viking, and all of the Big 5 except GE & Jenn-Aire ??? Are there new phantom Appliance manufacturers none of us have heard of ??? I dare say, you have had someone blowing in your ear and telling you it's windy ... in the "Windy City"
4. Yes, Richard, Appliances are but a portion of the show which we share with Cabinetry people, Bathroom people, CounterTop people, and all sorts of related people ... but this is a site dedicated to the Appliance Industry, it's promulgation and it's propagation !!! I honestly don't care how many cabinet knob suppliers, bathroom exhaust fan manufacturers, or knock offs of every kind from Third World Countries exhibit @ K-Biz ... I care about the Appliance Industry !!!
5. So NKBA told you there is a 40% increase in registrations from a year ago ... did you expect them to tell you they were anything but "looking up" ??? They are in the business of Trade Shows ... not Appliances, not Kitchens, not CounterTops, not Bathrooms, and so on ... They derive their income from convincing people like yourself that everything is "peachy creamy" because "The Sun Will Come Up Tomorrow" !!!
Does K-Biz care about you ??? Nope ...
Are they getting you affordable hotel rates ??? Nope ...
Are they providing transportation for you ??? Nope ...
Are they getting you discounts on travel ??? Nope ...
So, if K-Biz cares so much about you, what have they done to help get your fanny to Chicago ???
Nothing, Zip, Zilch, NaDa !!!
Sorry Richard, when K-Biz reaches out to include the people that matter the most in the scheme of things, their shows will become relevant again, but not until !!! Don't drink their Kool-Aid, Richard ...
KBIS & Bergstrom
Hey Bob ... Unless I'm mistaken Richard Bergstrom (above) is the Southern California Distributor for AGA/Marvel/Northland, Vent-A-Hood, Scotsman, Capital, Diva, etc.
Distributors LOVE trade shows Bob. First of all, the manufacturer, not the distributor bears most of the cost. Granted, distributors have to pay for transportation & expenses for a good number of their sales staff and I'm sure they spend some $$$ entertaining any of their dealers that show up. But, this is just a fraction of what their manufacturers spend.
Distributors benefit greatly when their manufacturers participate in shows. It's a great opportunity to showcase the various brands they carry, introduce their dealers to manufacturer VIPs, entertain their dealers, give their dealers a (manufacturer) audience to voice their complaints about product, availability, price increases, etc. And, not least of all is the opportunity to secure a few new dealers for their markets.
If you look at the spreadsheet of 2009 manufacturers at KBIS, you'll find most of Bergstrom's manufacturer partners were among the missing. So, I don't blame him for being a little sensitive about folks like us asking questions like "Is KBIS Dead?", "Is KBIS Listening?" And, I have to admire him for using his own name rather than a "user-name" in his post. But I still think his business would be better off if KBIS went to an every other year format in Las Vegas andthe manufacturers he represents actully showed up.
Agreed !!!
Then I'm certainly glad he commented and I hope he comes aboard ... The problem is that K-Biz is in the "show" business and could care less about the show content ... as long as they can get a full convention centre with all exhibitors paying big bucks ... but, as they noted so aptly in the movie "The Right Stuff " ...no bucks, no Buck Rogers ..." You saw that last year, and this year looks like more of the same, maybe worse ...
Without the show being being viable the big bucks of the manufacturers won't come, so the Industry will not be served ... When K-Biz is willing to include the Industry, then, and only then, will our Industry be represented as it should be and the manufacturers will return !!!
Another One Bites the Dust ...
As I just posted in the FORUM ... Thanks to Advisor's comprehensive list of attendees and those not attending this year, it is easy to check those are still hanging on, and those who, like DACOR & U-LINE have recently withdrawn ...
Today's find is DCS ... who was listed and now is not !!!
If you look @ my post earlier on, when I opined that DCS was in "Never-Never Land, Could it be that DCS is truly on the "chopping block" with a price close to what Fisher & Paykel paid for them ???
I have always thought it most unfortunate that DCS - the brand which ALMO developed and put on the Pro-Style map - was never given the development attention they deserved by Fisher & Paykel ... The most attention they got was the placement of their products on "America's Test Kitchen" where they noticeably had only the puny-by-comparison Fisher & Paykel refrigerator in the TV suite ...
How long could it be before it comes true ???
So, there you go folks ... "Another one bites the dust ..." !!!
Advisor-wise
As long as Fisher &Paykel is listed, it would be mistake to reach any conclusion about DCS coming or not coming unless and until it is confirmed with F&P. It would be perfectly reasonable for F&P to be the only listed brand, yet still show off DCS on their floor.
Say What ???
So, Whirlpool Corporation, the "parent" company IS NOT listed, but Jenn-Aire is ...
BUT ...
Fisher & Paykel, the "parent company" IS listed but DCS is not ...
Sounds like perfectly sound K-Biz Logic to me !!!
So, in the words of the wonderful Italian philosopher, "Pops" Castorini: "I'm Confused ..."
Well, it WOULD Makes Sense, but ...
... this is Fisher & Paykel, the company which has done absolutely, positively, nothing to promote the brand, nor enhance it to advance the product line ...
The only enhancement to the brand came when they disposed of that old ridiculous DCS DishWasher, they simply took their Dish Drawers and put a ProStyle front on it ...
Their web site shows some DCS refrigeration but I've never seen one featured in the kitchen of "America's Test Kitchen" ...
I kinda feel the strings being pulled by someone else not @ K-Biz this year ... the "20%" owner of F & P !!!
Ya just can't make this stuff up !!!
Is 1/5th of Whirlpool Better Than No Whirlpool ???
I did a search for Whirlpool and it's "components" on the K-Biz site and discovered that neither Whirlpool, nor Maytag, nor Kitchen-Aide, nor Amana were listed as Exhibitors @ the 2010 K-Biz ... leaving only Jenn-Aire as the sole representative of Whirlpool Corporation ...
I guess they REALLY need to exhibit that new Jenn-Aire line which, rumour has it, was only offered to "certain" private dealers ... I wonder if that includes any of the Big Box Boys ???
So, is 1/5th of Whirlpool better than no Whirlpool at all ??? Only K-Biz knows for sure !!!
Got a Question for You ...
Why do we call them the "Big 5" when there's seven (7) "players" ... is it like the Big 10 having eleven (11) schools ???
... and if you include LG, then why not Samsung ??? I like Samsung's products much better than LG, especially since LG's service in our area is atrocious !!!
>Thanks, in advance, for the clarification !!!
Oops
Well, (editor hesitates, clears throat)......Maytag became Whirlpool (editer stalls for time)......and we voted Maytag off the island, and invited BSH in.
But that's the end of our good excuses, since LG somehow slipped into the Big 5, before they had been invited (or bought GE).
Our Bad.
What if They Gave a Show and Nobody Came ???
Well, Cohiba, I printed it out and ran quad-wide, but it was certainly worth it ... what a tremendous plethora of date ... all in one easily read place !!!
Here are some my impressions:
1. LG & Viking are strategically aligned in not going this year ... maybe because neither Sub/Wolf, nor Thermador are either !!!
2. The lack of Frigidaire/Electrolux, Bosch, LG, and only parts of the Whirlpool family (Maytag & Jenn-Aire missing) means they assume even less participation than last year !!!
3. I assume Kenmore is hoping the manufacturers they have on their floors will pick-up the slack ... They would be wrong !!!
4. I don't understand Fisher & Paykel going while Haier is not, then there's the presence of DCS, the bastard child currently wallowing Never-Never-Land ... maybe they are hoping someone will take them home with them !!!
5. Cohiba correctly points out GE's apparent "due diligence" each year, but when I went in 2008 GE only had Monogram (& Martin Chan), Cafe, and their new "Smart" appliances ... gone was Alton Brown demonstrating products which went along with Tri-Vection, just a lonely display with no one who knew what it was !!!
6. Chicago is a great venue, physically, but, as I have said before, it is very highly prices, both for accommodations and dining ... in April it is still cold and rainy and did I mention, expensive ???
Las Vegas is the best of all venues, cheap to get to, cheap to stay, all levels of dining available, and easy to get to and from the show via the Monorail ... and if manufacturers were smart, they'd make the show in Vegas an "atta-boy" !!! There's a reason why CES, MAGIC, and others use Vegas as their permanent show home !!!
I like Cohiba's idea of merging shows, K-Biz is going to have to do something, like get their head screwed back on straight and lose the prima-donna elitist attitude they exude ... maybe that could happen with the influence of another co-show presenter !!!
Unfortunately, I can't go this year, but it looks like I won't be missing much !!!
KBIS
Wow AA, I'm impressed! This is the mother of all spreadsheets. I had to view it at 200% magnification to read the detail. A couple of issues kind of jumped out at me:
1. If the Big 5 don't consistently support the show, attendance will continue to drop. GE seems to be the only one that has maintained their commitment, while the others drop in and out. If attendance drops any further, even GE will pull out and then the party is over.
2. I have seen many postings on this site that bash Atlanta at a show venue and several folks have suggested hat he show needs to stick with Chicago and Las Vegas. Attendance seems to back this up.
3. On previous postings to your site, I have suggested that KBIS and IBS consolidate into one Supershow. Consolidating the two shows into one annual event would save the exhibitors a ton of money and perhaps strengthen their resolve to participate. (Maybe if the shows were consoliated, some of the Big 5 might even kick up the entertainment expense again and give dealers, builders and distributors an even greater incentive to attend.
4. Domotechnica has one BIG show every two years. If KBIS an IBS can't find a way to come together, why don't they at least alternate years, with KBIS one year and IBS the next (they could even alternate the venues, between Las Vegas and Chicago).
That's Show Business!
Cohiba's suggestion of KBIS as an every other year show, would make a lot of sense for the appliance crowd, but probably not so much sense for many of other trades, whose product innovation and production cycles are a lot faster than our industry, let alone the show's producers whose livelihoods are built upon an annual affair (for them a smaller annual KBIS is probably better than a bigger every two year affair) . An every two year format also opens the door for an upstart competitor show to start playing around during the off year. I don't believe there is any direct relationship between the trade organizations and producers of KBIS and the International Builders Show, and I doubt very much that IBS would ever go to an every other year format, as they have plenty of big time exhibitors beyond appliance manufacturers to keep their revenue up. Either KBIS has to come up with some creative way of making the show relevant for appliance makers who can no longer justify the huge annual investment required, or just wait and hope the day of the huge budget will return (pretty unlikely). I think it was telling that Sub-Zero pulled out of both shows well before the economy collapsed. That took some chutzpah, but they look pretty smart in retrospect. It obviously didn't kill them.
What I found interesting was
What I found interesting was the hollowing out of the independent Pro-style appliance companies. What's difficult to see is that GE Monogram and Jennair, and Electrolux ICON were entering the market at the same time that the independents were retreating. Refrigeration as well. European brands have been wiped out on these shores both in times of feast and famine. Not many Euro cooking brands figured out how to make it happen, so I'm not sure their failure says anything. (other than Miele, Bosch...maybe Bertazzoni).
Last year, we got calls from several smaller exhibitors waiting to hear if Viking was going to show. Viking, Wolf, are magnets that bring in the dealers, designers, and press that feeds the up-and-coming brands. If those magnets stop exhibiting, the show will go on, but it will be the 1980 KBIS not the 2010.
More than one manufacturer has suggested a change to the 2 year cycle.