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NKBA | KBIS Global President & CEO Bill Darcy gave the address to the association’s membership at KBIS 2024.

By Elisa Fernández-Arias

Bill Darcy, Global President & CEO of NKBA | KBIS, gave an inspiring State of the Association (SOA) address to members yesterday during KBIS 2024 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. He also announced the extension of the Design & Construction Week co-location agreement between NKBA | KBIS and NAHB through 2030. 

Darcy talked about the impact KBIS  has had on the kitchen and bath industry. “This year, we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of KBIS. That’s six decades of a kitchen and bath show that only keeps getting bigger and more successful since the first show debuted in 1964 in Philadelphia where we had 24 exhibitors and 250 attendees,” said Darcy. “I’d say we’ve come a long way, considering we now have nearly 700 exhibitors that span almost 500,000 square feet of exhibit hall space.”

Key takeaways from his speech about the health of the kitchen and bath industry included: 

 Darcy set the tone of SOA, stating, “Despite a tough 2023 with inflation, shaky consumer sentiment and an uncertain economy, our association had one of its most successful years. I’m happy to report that NKBA’s financials are the strongest that they have ever been, giving us the ability to weather any challenges in the coming years and maintain a strong balance sheet. And I’m proud to note  we have no debt and our financial reserves balance of $36 million dollars will enable us to fund the association’s operating expenditures for over two years without securing revenue.”

• Forecasting 2024 kitchen and bath spend to be $173 billion, a modest year-over-year decline of three percent yet still above pre-pandemic levels, suggesting that the industry is fundamentally strong.
• Noting that the number of existing homes for sale is beginning to increase in anticipation of the 2024 buying season, spurring interest by both buyers and sellers to remodel.
• Pointing out that homeowners are still sitting on record levels of home equity that they can tap into once rates stabilize
• Indicating that deferred remodeling projects will fuel demand in the coming years and that the number of homes in prime remodeling years will grow by 2.2 million by 2027, reaching a total of 24 million homes.

Key takeaways from his speech also included the following highlights about the association. 

• Pointing out segments of NKBA | KBIS that saw growth in 2023: 
  • Membership dues revenue increased 9 percent  
  • Member retention remained high at 92 percent
  • New membership revenue growth was nearly 50 percent, with much of that coming from our new online sign up at NKBA.org 
  • Total KBIS revenue grew an additional 26 percent
• Noting that the association continued to achieve its annual goal of investing at least 70 percent of expenses in member programs, averaging above  that for the last 10 years
• Indicating the continued growth in international awareness of NKBA | KBIS has resulted in the expansion of the NKBA | KBIS Global Connect program, with an impressive 100  percent increase in members in 2023
• Showcasing the over 50 in-person across the country as well as the myriad virtual events in 2023, including the Sustainability Summit, Outdoor Kitchen Summit, and Bath Trends Summit

Lastly, he noted several new initiatives for NKBA | KBIS, including:

• The new partnership with Material Bank, which allows members to use their Member IDs to gain easy access to the powerful search and sampling platform  
• The  first-ever NKBA | KBIS Design Council, which features four well known designers and influencers who will help boost awareness of the association in the architectural and design community. 

“Despite a tough 2023 with inflation, shaky consumer sentiment and an uncertain economy, our association had one of its most successful years, “ said Darcy. “ I’m happy to report that NKBA’s financials are the strongest that they have ever been, giving us the ability to weather any challenges in the coming years and maintain a strong balance sheet.”

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