When I open the ballroom door and enter the 2022 DPHA conference, the booths catch my eye but I am looking for familiar industry wide faces and those new personalities that i do not know.  The DPHA conference is all about the decorative plumbing and hardware, period. It presents me with the opportunity to see new products from decorative plumbing and hardware focused vendors, industry relevant education sessions and opportunities to interact with the people that manage and own DPHA businesses.

The programs include the first NKBA International Buyer’s Tour, the NKBA Global Connect Pavilion, and the NKBA Global Connect Delegation Program.  All will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, January 31 - Feb 2, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

As an owner or manager, your laser focus is on each vendor’s profit and, mistakenly, assume that your salespeople share your bottom-line focus. I suggest you are focusing on the deliverables, and they are involved in the process, the sales process. In most cases, you will not be able to move your salespeople to your side of this question by simply showing them the money. The way to move them is to show them how these HVVs will fuel their desire to be a great showroom salesperson.

The survey showed that designers’ client pool continues to be mostly older, mainly Gen X  and Boomers. However, there is a growing Millennial client base that is gaining momentum. In fact, 17 percent of respondents said they are designing more for this group than any other, nearly double what it was in 2020. 

When a product niche reaches this level of performance consistency, most manufacturers gravitate toward the same basic product platform. Is a faucet from vendor A really that much different than one from vendors B, C or D?

I have been back on the road for a while and have just returned from another week-long tour. I would like to report that the decorative plumbing showroom world remains vibrant and as diverse as ever. The question that I am most asked is: How are showrooms and customers reacting to COVID-19 in their business practices in 2022?

Jeff MacDowell, director of Luxury Products Group (LPG) attended the 2022 IMARK Summer Invitational alongside exclusive brands Australian Designer Faucets and Current. IMARK members from across the country were invited to attend and were able to learn more about what the LPG strategic initiatives have to offer. 

While both inflation and mortgage rate increases have impacted the segment, the overall annual forecast still represents a double-digit increase over 2021.

Within the context of talking about the future business climate, one table observed showrooms are “staying busy, but single order values are declining.”

There have been strong collaborative efforts by various industry associations, including ACCA, ASA, ASHRAE, HARDI, PHCC and others.