HIRI cements lineup for spring conference

The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) will tackle the thorny topic of the credit market and its impact on home improvement at its upcoming conference.

The non-profit research organization’s 2008 Spring Conference kicks off April 3 in Washington, D.C., with a full lineup of sessions dedicated to home improvement industry research. One of the late additions to the lineup are Citigroup analysts Steven Wieting, managing director Citi Economic and Market Analysis, and Deborah Weinswig, managing director, retailing/broadlines food & drug and home improvement.

Wieting and Weinswig’s presentation will examine the relationship between the credit, housing and home improvement markets, with a forward-looking perspective.

Also on the agenda are a session called “The Structure of Remodeling Contractors and Coping with Business Cycles,” presented by Kermit Baker of the Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University; and “Beyond Satisfaction: The Return of Loyalty,” by Ed Hass of International Communcations Research.

The full-day conference runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. HIRI members receive a discount on conference registration fees. For information, go to www.hiri.org.