National Hardware Show kicks off Tuesday in Las Vegas

The 2011 National Hardware Show opens today in Las Vegas, featuring thousands of products organized across nine categories on the massive Las Vegas Convention Center show floor.

The Show will continue to offer exciting special events, including product demonstrations, roundtables, informative addresses and panels by industry experts, including the Golden Hammer Awards breakfast event, taking place Wednesday morning.

The 2011 National Hardware Show is the first to be held in conjunction with the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) All-Industry Convention.

The categories of buyers attending this year also include BJs (warehouse); Target and HSN (mass merchants/specialty/internet catalog); Price Chopper (major grocers); CVS and Albertson’s (chains); and Arett Sales Corp., Commerce Corp. and Foster's (lawn/garden/outdoor living distributors).

“Personally, I have been attending the National Hardware Show for 20 years and have seen retailers of all sizes, states, countries and diverse business backgrounds,” said Brendan Sullivan, director of merchandising for PRO Group, Inc. “The merchandise team at PRO Group uses the National Hardware Show as an important source for new products and manufacturers. New products and programs are extremely important to PRO Group member distributors and PRO hardware retailers.”

Kris Kahn, president of The Fulham Group, explained that his company’s new line of portable outdoor grills caters to a cross-section of lifestyle segments --  from camping and tailgating to beach and backyard entertaining -- and that the event enables him to reach retailers in multiple segments all under one roof.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to grow our retail partnerships and channels of distribution at the National Hardware Show,” said Kris Kahn, president of the Fulham Group, the exclusive licensee for Cuisinart outdoor grills and grilling tools. “NHS attracts a wide variety of core retailers from traditional hardware segments as well as other target markets for Fulham, such as camping and specialty cooking retailers. This breadth of retail channels is one of the main reasons we chose to exhibit again this year.”