Kitchen & Bath Business - November/December 2017 - 8

November/December 2017

s h o w

d i r e c t o r ' s

n o t e

SUPPORTING OUR INDUSTRY

s I was looking over the editorial lineup for this
issue of KBB, I am reminded of the critical role
this publication plays in our industry in terms
of covering the issues that impact how you approach your customers, future projects and your
business at large.
Overall our industry is as strong as it has ever
been, and the future is most certainly bright.
However, there are many things happening in residential design and
construction that likely are impacting your business on some level.
I would venture to say that if we were to poll 100 kitchen and bath
design professionals and ask them what are the biggest opportunities
and threats facing their business over the next 24 months, these themes
would (or should) come up consistently.
"Connected Spaces. Lets face it, we live in an ultra-connected society where
technology is in some cases as important as the design itself. Everything
from appliances to light fixtures to thermostats and residential AV are
Wi-Fi or Bluetooth enabled and can easily connect to your phone or
virtual assistant. If you are not designing with connected spaces, you are
missing an opportunity to add value for your customers and add margin to
your project. Asking simple questions about the technology needs of your
clients and partnering with a technology integrator will add to many new
opportunities in the future.

# Mike Rowe talking about the
Generation NEXT initiative at
KBIS 2017

"Universal Design. Whether you call it universal design or aging in place (I personally think
both terms are too institutional and don't do
the category justice), the reality is there are an
estimated 10,000 baby boomers retiring each
day. Generally speaking, most have little or no
desire to end up in their children's basement or
in an assisted-living facility. Maintaining their
independence is of the highest importance, and
designing safe and accessible spaces gives them
the ability to stay in their homes longer. Many of
the products you will integrate into these projects incorporate modern design elements while
remaining highly functional. With residential
remodeling expected to grow near double digits annually for the foreseeable future, this is a
category you should pay attention to.
"Labor Shortages. Unless you are incredibly fortunate to have access to enough good carpenters,
electricians and plumbers, you are likely finding
that jobs are taking far longer than you or your
customer would like to start and complete.This
issue is, at times, amplified as many residential
contractors are now competing with commercial
contractors for the same pool of tradespeople,
driving up wages and job costs. While this issue
was many years in the making, as an industry, it
is important to stay informed and support initiative like "Generation NEXT," a collaboration
with This Old House Ventures and the Mike
Rowe Works Foundation to inspire more young
people to get into the various trades.
As a part of our ongoing commitment to you
and our industry, we continue to cover all these issues (and many more) on an ongoing basis in the
pages of KBB and at our face-to-face events like
KBIS and CEDIA. I would encourage you to stay
ahead of the curve and hope to see you in January
at KBIS, where these and many other themes
will be well represented in terms of world-class
content, new products and services. You can learn
more and register at KBIS.com.

BRIAN PAGEL
Senior Vice President
Brian.pagel@emeraldexpo.com
Twitter: @bspagel

Kitchen & Bath Business / NOV.-DEC. 2017 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of KBIS (KBIS.com)

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

Kitchen & Bath Business - November/December 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Kitchen & Bath Business - November/December 2017