AVB’s Chad Evans, right, checks out the SKS booth with LG’s Michael Pechtel.
Appliance showcase broke attendance and exhibitor records
YSN Staff
Business must be percolating for the appliance industry, if last month’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) was any indication.
According to its producers, the nation’s largest showcase for home appliance products drew the largest crowds ever in its 60-year history. Attendance at the Las Vegas confab topped 41,500 registered visitors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) reported, while more than 670 exhibitors displayed their wares, up 30 percent over last year.
Attendees didn’t just turn out in quantity, exhibitors said, but in class. “Everybody was very engaged and interested,” observed Karen Olle, director of marketing for luxe Italian manufacturer SMEG. “A big takeaway from this year’s show has been the quality of the attendees.”
Related: AVB Visits SMEG @ KBIS
Select vendors were also rewarded with Best of KBIS Awards. Winners included super-premium cooking brand Bertazzoni, which took home the gold in the Kitchen Category for its Professional Series 48-inch induction range in carbonio, while Whirlpool’s JennAir clinched the top award for Game-Changing Innovation with its luxury 30-inch SlimTech-insulated column refrigerator.
See: Chad Evans Talks Innovation with JennAir
Manufacturers weren’t the only honorees at the annual trade event, as BrandSource’s own WDC Kitchen & Bath Center copped an Innovative Showroom Award for its new 38,000-square-foot luxury location in La Quinta, Calif.
KBIS and its co-located sister event, the International Builders’ Show (IBS), will return to the Las Vegas Convention Center Feb. 25-27, 2025.
