Lancaster helps paint the town

The Lancaster Paint Las Vegas Buying Show opened its doors, marking a collaboration with the National Hardware Show to allow buyers to browse and buy the paint and sundries category in one place.

The two-day Lancaster event at the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, next door to the Las Vegas Convention Center, opened Wednesday with some 100 exhibits.

"Being in one location will help drive more paint customers to both shows," said Mike Dube, category manager at Lancaster. "Our vendors have been very supportive of us being here, and we've also been able to bring some big-brand paint vendors to the table that might not normally come to the National Hardware Show. That's good news for attendees of both shows, as there will be a lot more vendors for everyone to see."

One of Lancaster's newest retail customers said he saw the value in the co-location of the shows. "We really appreciate the Lancaster Buying Show as it allows us to see a wide range of products all under one roof," said retailer Juan Masip Diaz of Dijtham Curacao in Curacao, Antilles. "We've already been to the National Hardware Show and were impressed with how we were able to see so much more than hardware products there, such as the home and garden products."

John Plocic, director of sales at Techtronic Industries North America, was one of the new exhibitors to Lancaster's show. "We're excited to be here and we've had a lot of traffic already,” he said. “A lot of the retailers have already been looking at paint vendors in the National Hardware Show, and now they're excited to come here and see even more options here.”