Kitchen & Bath Business - February/March 2016 - 8

February-March / 2016

d i r e c t o r ' s

WHAT I EXPERIENCED AT KBIS

o often when I ask attendees about their KBIS
experience, they tend to tell me about the people
they met, products they saw or the wonderful time
they had at various events around the show.This is
why we go to trade shows.
My experience was probably a little different
than yours, however. During the three show days
alone, I logged more than 60,000 steps and walked
just over 28 miles - add another 20 miles for move-in days! Even between
my multiple meetings and other commitments throughout the week, I had
the pleasure of seeing nearly every booth at the 2016 event. I personally
noticed some of the most innovative products and booth designs I have seen
in years. The energy and traffic in the aisles was some of the best and busiest
I have ever seen.
So, I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you some of what caught
my attention at KBIS 2016.

n o t e
KBIS BlogTour kicked off KBIS with the biggest and best tour to date. Our friends at Modenus
really outdid themselves by bringing 24 bloggers
to report on the amazing designs and trends at
KBIS. Stay tuned to hear more from BlogTour in
the coming weeks.
Virginia Tech was back in 2016 with the FutureHaus, Future Bath.This concept, created by
students at the School of Architecture + Design,
literally stole the show, highlighting incredibly
unique and innovative design concepts.
The second-annual Innovative Showroom
Awards honored five showrooms from around the
country. All have not just succeeded but excelled
at creating a world-class consumer experience at
the point of sale. You can learn more about our
winners at KBIS.com
Design Bites, which was new in 2016, was
a huge hit. Fourteen companies were given the
unique opportunity to present their latest product
with a three-minute presentation, immediately
followed by a two-minute Q&A from invited
members of the press and audience. All of the
presentations will appear on the KBIS YouTube
channel in the coming weeks.
The National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) had a particularly busy week. Not
only did they unveil the new logos for NKBA
and KBIS, they rolled out an incredible group of
trend spotters for the association.The NKBA also
partnered with Shelly Palmer, one of the foremost
authorities on technology trends, to give the keynote address at the annual State of the Industry.
This is just a small sampling of what I experienced at the 2016 event, however, what really
caught my attention was not a product, session
or event.The energy in the aisles and throughout
the Las Vegas Convention Center was literally
infectious and most certainly a wonderful sign
of what's to come as we move to Orlando next
January 10-12, 2017. I hope to see you there.
Be sure join the conversation on all of our social
platforms. You can reach me directly @bspagel on
Twitter or at the email address below.

Kitchen & Bath Business / FEB.-MARCH 2016 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official sponsor of KBIS (KBIS.com)

BRIAN PAGEL
Vice President, Kitchen & Bath Group
Brian.pagel@emeraldexpo.com
Twitter: @bspagel

Illustration by Arthur Mount

s h o w

http://www.KBIS.com http://www.KBBONLINE.COM http://www.KBIS.com

Kitchen & Bath Business - February/March 2016

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