From September 29-30, the International Housewares Association led a trade mission in Tokyo to introduce members to the Japanese market. This two-day event started with a retail tour to offer a competitive benchmarking review of the following retailers: Isetan, Takashimaya, Tokyu Hands, Loft, and Actus. The group also made cultural stops along the way with brief visits to Tokyo’s new SkyTree tower and to the historic Sensoji Temple. The main event on the second day was a tabletop trade show and reception co-hosted by the IHA and the Japanese Housewares Importers Association (JHI). Key Japanese distributor attendees to this event included Y–Yacht, Entrex and Yuwa.
IHA and HECNA members interested in the Japanese market should consider participating in the Interior Lifestyle Tokyo / Ambiente Japan trade fair taking place June 4 –6, 2014. As the IHA is planning a pavilion at this event, please contact Lori Szudarek at Lszudarek@housewares.org for additional information.
