GLM cited a strong retail turnout at NYIGF

Strong retailer attendance at the New York International Gift Fair– the largest since 2009– resulted in solid traffic and sales activity at the summer show, according to George Little Management. NYIGF was held August 18-22 at New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and the city's Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 92 & 94.

“Expectations for the summer market not only have been met, but also have been exceeded,” said Christian Falkenberg, NYIGF director and GLM vp. “Exhibitors are reporting solid and consistent order writing through the entire show.”

The most recent NYIGF was the largest since August 2009, GLM noted, with a total of 545,000 net square feet of exhibit space across the three New York City venues. Total overall NYIGF attendance was calculated at 33,000 and represented retailers from all across the United States as well as 85 other countries. The largest numbers of international visitors hailed from Canada, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Columbia, Australia and the United Kingdom, GLM said.

Many exhibitors expressed optimism about what NYIGF’s turnout could signal for fourth-quarter retail.

“This was a great show for us on many levels. Traffic was up and it’s apparent the market is coming back. The quality of buyers was also great. They come, they look, they order... they know what they’re doing,” said General Gift exhibitor Sion Benchimol of Prestige Identity.

General Gift exhibitor Randy Erlandson of Knock Knock added, “This show has had a great mix of buyers, with both large and small retailers and domestic and international attendees. Orders are up over last year. There is optimism out there for the holiday season. The days of gloom and doom are definitely behind us.”

Highlights of this summer’s market included the second annual return of the Gourmet Housewares Show at NYIGF. The sold-out division featured 175 companies representing both housewares and tabletop suppliers.

According to Jesse Tawil of Lifetime Brands, “This was our NYIGF debut and it exceeded our expectations by far. We discovered some great new customers from stores not typical for us, including museum stores and design shops. In addition to this new type of customer, we had a great response from our core kitchen customer.”