Gourmet Business April 2016

This month we turn our attention to the tabletop world, which will be dis- playing the latest in table fashion at the New York Tabletop Show that takes place from April 12-15 at the 41 Madison showrooms. 

As we all know fashion is constantly changing and staying on top of the current trends is always important to the success of your business. The tabletop styles and color palates are always evolving and the best way to find out what’s hot is to take an afternoon to walk through the halls of this show and recognize the recurring themes. Even if you don’t consider your store a tableware destination, you will find value in understanding the current style and you just may find some glassware or casual tabletop that fits in your assortment. 

Don’t lose sight of the fact that we now feature a lot of color in the housewares industry that is found in silicones and plastics adorning our gad- gets, bowls and even non-stick cookware coatings. If your seeing a prevailing color in tabletop, you better bet that it’s likely the same color will be sought after in housewares products, too. 

What I love about the tabletop business is that it allows consumers to bring unique style to their own homes, without major expense. Have you ever noticed how many home redecorating or renovation shows there are on cable? It’s big business. We all need change every now and again and sometimes the right decorative accessory or serving platter can give the table a little pizzazz and brighten our day. 

In my home, whenever I hear grumblings about changing the paint color in a room, or attaching something new to the wall—which sounds easy to the person playing decorator and a nightmare for me, the resident handy man—I cringe. I know I must quickly mitigate this decorative itch by offering up a simpler styling change. Thankfully we have wonderful stores like Crate & Barrel where one can easily nd products that can insert some style without breaking the bank. I noticed our table was featuring a new table runner this week in a color that complemented the wood, and our fruit was beautifully arranged, complements of a new wooden tray with decorative metal handles. It looks fantastic! (Translation: I dodged another decorating bullet). 

I hope your store appeals to your customer’s visual senses, too. You never know when the mood is going to strike, sparking a need that wasn’t realized before. The tabletop business is a great place to look to bring this element to your merchandising. 

David Spencer
Publisher, Gourmet Business

President, HousewaresDirect, Inc. 

dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com