NYC & COMPANY WELCOMES BACK THE SUMMER 2010 NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL GIFT FAIR TO NEW YORK CITY —One of City’s Largest Trade Shows Returns to Pre-Recession Exhibitor Numbers; First to Use Entire Javits Center, Including New Javits Center North— —Gift Fair Expects 52,000 Market-Goers Generating More Than 20,000 Room-Nights and Delivering $37 Million in Economic Impact— —Designers from Brooklyn and Manhattan Highlighted; Show Launches New Baby & Child Division and Features Trends in Sustainable Products, International Handmade Items and One-of-a-Kind Gifts—
NYC & Company, the City’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organization, and GLM welcome back the 2010 Summer New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) to New York City this Saturday, August 14, through Thursday, August 19. The semiannual wholesale market for gift, home and lifestyle merchandise is expected to generate more than 20,000 room-nights and $37 million in economic impact in New York City. The expanded NYIGF has hit pre-recession numbers, hosting more than 2,800 exhibitors this year and using the entire Jacob K. Javits Convention Center complex, marking the first time a trade show will use all of the available 800,000 square feet of the center, including the recently constructed Javits Center North. In addition to the Javits Center, the NYIGF will have exhibitors at Piers 92 and 94. The NYIGF is New York City's largest trade show and is expected to bring more than 52,000 visitors from 50 states and 85 countries.
“The New York International Gift Fair has become one of the City’s most iconic trade shows,” said George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company. “We warmly welcome attendees from near and far. For more than half a century, the NYIGF has been enticing thousands of visitors and business owners to New York City to dine in our restaurants, stay at our hotels and experience our vibrant and diverse culture. We look forward to collaborating with the NYIGF for many years to come.”
Three highlights of this year’s NYIGF: the introduction of a new Baby & Child division, a jury-selected collection of well-designed, sophisticated and purpose-driven products for newborns to 10-year-olds; the return of New York’s Newest, featuring more than 200 companies, from established to fledgling, participating at NYIGF for the first time; and the reorganization of Handmade® into two distinct categories. Handmade will be divided into Handmade Designer Maker, which will showcase 360 limited-production makers across all categories from around the world, and Handmade Global Design, which will feature 200 international resources combining sophisticated design with traditional artisanal techniques. The Handmade division, a juried selection of cross-category handcrafted items, also will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year. (NOTE: To preview summer 2010 trends in eight key categories, visithttp://www.wgsn.com/en/micro/
“The NYIGF has seen tremendous growth over the past year. We are pleased to be back at pre-recession exhibitor levels and are anticipating a huge number of market-goers this year,“ said Dorothy Belshaw, NYIGF director and GLM senior vice president. “New York City allows us the spirit and the space as the show evolves, and it is home to savvy consumers and world-class talent that help us define the marketplace and be a leader in style and innovation.”
Beyond exhibits, the NYIGF’s comprehensive schedule of educational seminars and industry events will add value to the summer market experience. The program includes nearly 20 instructive sessions, addressing topics as varied as social media; trends in gift, home and color; and sustainability and retail strategies.
On-site and after-hours networking functions include the Handmade 25th Anniversary Celebration, the 59th Annual Retailer Excellence Awards and “A Night on Broadway,” featuring specially priced tickets to the new Broadway musical The Addams Family. Additionally, through the cooperation of NYIGF and New York City’s permanent showrooms, participants can visit the Brooklyn Museum for free from Friday, August 13, through Thursday, August 19. For complete information and registration, visit nyigf.com/programs.
NYIGF will shine a spotlight on product innovation through several awards presentations, with top honors bestowed by trade and consumer editors, bloggers and industry experts, as well as by open voting by all NYIGF participants.For the first time this summer, NYIGF also will bestow a “People’s Choice” and “Designer Distinction Award” to participants in the Gift For Life Product Design Competition benefiting DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS.
The summer 2010 NYIGF runs Saturday, August 14, through Thursday, August 19, at the Javits Center and Piers 92 and 94. Pier exhibits (New York’s Newest at Pier 92 and At Home at Pier 94) as well as select divisions at the Javits Center (Baby & Child, Handmade Designer Maker and Handmade Global Design) run Saturday, August 14, through Wednesday, August 18. All other divisions (Accent on Design featuring A+: The Young Designers’ Platform; At Home featuring Home Textiles and EX•TRACTS; General Gift featuring Floral & Garden Accessories and The Museum Source®; Personal Accessories featuring Details®; Studio; and Tabletop & Housewares featuring Accent on Tabletop) run Sunday, August 15, through Thursday, August 19, at the Javits Center.
NYIGF is the nation’s premier gift, home and lifestyle marketplace, with more than 2,800 exhibiting companies featuring an extraordinary breadth and depth of design-driven home fashion products and complementary giftware. Some 35,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 85 countries worldwide are expected. Information and registration is available online at nyigf.com.
