Global Forum 2020

Key Market Update: Canada

Brigitte Roy, president, DANESCO Canadian Market Demographics Brigitte Roy, president of the Canadian distributor Danesco, began her presentation on the Canadian market by outlining key differences between U.S. and Canadian culture. Canada is composed of 10 provinces and three territories. The metric system is used for measurements. It is a bilingual country—both…

Market Opportunities: Top Five Trends in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, India

IHA Offices and Representatives IHA brought insights from around the world to Global Forum attendees with short presentations by its offices in varied regions. At the close of the final presentation, all joined in a group discussion to respond audience questions. Tom Johnston & Lourdes Ramirez – IHA Office for Mexico, Central America, Caribbean In-store department…

Key Market Update: Costa Rica and Central America

Vanessa Sadi, general manager, La Cocina Ideal Market Review Speaking from San Jose, Costa Rica, Vanessa Sadi, general manager of housewares distributor La Cocina Ideal, summarized market demographics in Costa Rica, a Central American country with more than five million residents. Minimum wages begin at US$450/month, with middle class incomes starting at US$750. Because…

Key Retailer Update

Shifting Consumer Behavior and Trends in Housewares Categories and Ecommerce in India Santanu Debroy, senior manager, BD and AM, Other Hardlines, Amazon India Marketplace and Sidram Kaudaki, international brand partnerships /business development manager, International Sourcing, Amazon India Marketplace Speaking from Bangalore, Santaru Debroy and Sidram Kaudaki addressed…

Key Retailer Update: Canadian Tire Corporation

Douglas Young, vice president, Merchandising—Living Division, Canadian Tire Retail Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC), founded in 1922, has grown to more than 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets with tens of thousands of employees across Canada. CTC aims to grow its business to provide Canadians with everything they need for life. Recent acquisitions include the 2018 purchase of…

Spain Market Update

Gabriel Solar, Founder, Yestis Speaking from Barcelona, Gabriel Solar, whose company represents major international brands in Spain, prefaced his remarks on the Spanish market by addressing current conditions. Before Covid-19, Spanish consumers purchased mid-range products, but the pandemic conditions caused households to reduce purchasing and shift toward lower-priced…

Market Opportunities in Europe: Top Five Trends in UK, Spain, France, Italy, Germany IHA Offices and Representatives

IHA brought insights from around the world to Global Forum attendees with short presentations by its offices in varied regions to close each morning and afternoon session. Mark Chapman, IHA UK Office Online Retail: The online retail space in the UK continues to diversify, even in the shadow of Amazon. There are many new, independent online retailers finding their niche in…

2020 Global Forum

IHA’s first live-streamed Global Forum presented three days of informative sessions by experts in Canada, Europe, Asia and Latin America. The series of virtual education programs took place September 22 - 24. As the housewares industry has learned new ways to conduct business remotely this year, suppliers eager to grow their global business and learn about current market…

Putting Coronavirus in Perspective: What Does it Mean for the Future of Globalization?

By Professor Joshua Ault As COVID-19, or Coronavirus, continues to spread across the country and the world, the most important conversations we are having now are how to stay safe and how to protect the economy from a sudden drop in activity. However, a secondary theme that we are tackling at Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management is how COVID-19…