From August 2 to 4, the new summer edition of NY NOW is taking place at the Javits Center, the wholesale trade fair for the gift, home and lifestyle industry held in New York for over a century. Until 4 August the exhibition center is filled with stands, colors and news of season: it is the first edition organized by the new property, the Rockview Management Group, which in April has detected the event from Emerald Holding, the listed company that controlled it for years along with other 140 trade fair events in the United States.
To drive Rockview are three names that know the fair from the inside: Dorothy Belshaw, who for eight years has been director of the same NY NOW before moving to IMC, William Lacey, with thirty years of experience in corporate finance and mergers, and Karen Olson, who has been working for almost thirty years on brand transformation and growth strategies in the gift and home sector. In the opening letter of the guide distributed at the fair, the three say they have entered “with deep respect for what this fair has meant for the sector, and a clear vision of where it can arrive”. They also recall the origins of the event: it was founded in 1924 by George F. Little as the New York Gift Show, to help regional retailers find products from manufacturers and importers around the world. In a century, they write, much has changed, but the needs of retailers remain the same: find products capable of surprise, grow sales and build customer loyalty.
The message insists on the nature of the new property: a small and privately run company, without external partners to respond to if not the same exhibitors and buyers. Several team members, write, had already worked at the fair in roles several fifteen years ago, and therefore know closely the needs of the industry. The three talk about “think with intention” changes, because the best transformations, write, do not happen from day to day.
In this August edition visitors will find a renewed visual identity, the return of historical exhibitors along with new arrivals, and a fair plan reorganized to make the orientation between the stands easier. The most substantial changes, however, will come with the winter edition, from 31 January to 2 February: a new section dedicated to makers and designers selected by jury, more brands and flagship lines in the main categories of gift and lifestyle, and the return of home collections. The fair, they promise, will change every six months.
In the letter the three founders address themselves directly to exhibitors, inviting them to support the suppliers they already work with, tell their news, look for new contacts and confront other retailers on what really works in the store. “Be part of the community that will guide your success,” they write, adding to be open to suggestions on what visitors would like to see in the next editions.
On the level of numbers, this August edition brings to the Javits Center over 90 brands from 19 countries, with three national pavilions curated to direct buyers between handmade jewelry in Brazil, Sicilian handcrafted ceramics and South African beads processing. This year, Italy is represented at the fair only Sicily, with a pavilion of 15 companies between gift, lifestyle, jewellery and accessories: we hope that the next edition, in line with the growth promised by the new property, will also present other Italian regions.
L’articolo The Javits Center hosts the new edition of NY NOW proviene da IlNewyorkese.