This year’s KBIS drew designers, builders, dealers and suppliers from across the country and around the world. Along with 531 exhibitors, early estimates put attendance for KBIS 2016 at more than 10 percent ahead of last year, indicating continued positive growth for the kitchen and bath industry.
“The NKBA is proud to support Design and Construction Week as the kitchen and bath industry’s vibrant business forum,” says Bill Darcy, NKBA CEO. “The outstanding programming, top-notch learning opportunities, and the enthusiastic support of all our exhibitors at KBIS contribute to the event’s success and help us to fulfill our association mission to educate, inform, collaborate and inspire.”
KBIS co-located with the International Builders’ Show (IBS) for the third annual mega event, Design & Construction Week®. The International Window Coverings Expo (IWCE), The International Surface Event – SURFACES and The Tile Expo again took part in this year’s event. Early, unverified estimates show the 2016 Design & Construction Week® event drew more than 110,000 attendees and more than 500 members of the media.
“We are proud that this year’s KBIS was one of the largest in the 50 year history of the show, featuring 128 new and additional exhibitors and an additional 30,000 net sq. ft. of exhibit and programming space,” said Brian Pagel, VP, Kitchen & Bath, Emerald Expositions. “The overwhelming crowds provided insight into the renewed confidence in the construction and design industry.”
Scott McGillivray, HGTV personality and host of Income Property, led the first-ever DesignBites on the KBISNeXT Stage. The program allowed 14 chosen brands to to showcase their newest innovations within three minutes, followed by a brief Q&A with the audience. The program was among several that took place on the show floor as part of KBISNeXTTM, a branded area was a destination for discovering the next ideas, trends and innovations in the kitchen and bath industry. In addition to programming on the KBISNeXT Stage, the area also featured the FutureHAUS Bathroom presented by Virginia Tech, and the KBISNeXT Bar, where roundtable discussions, portfolio review sessions and the annual Champagne & Cupcakes kick-off event took place.
Several key kitchen and bath brands also made their return to KBIS after being absent for several years including: American Standard Brands, Fontana Forni USA, AGA Marvel, GROHE and LG Electronics. They joined more than 300 returning exhibitors and loyalty leaders – brands who have supported KBIS by exhibiting continuously over the past eight years – like Cosentino NA, Wellborn Cabinet Inc., ROHL LLC., Blum Inc., and Rev-A-Shelf.
Already more than 580 exhibitors are confirmed to exhibit within 332,000 net sq. footage at KBIS 2017, which debuts at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida on Jan. 10-12, 2017.
