While there were undertones of Haiti and the Massachusetts election on the IBS show floor, the overwhelming attitude was one of renewed optimism — something we haven’t seen at IBS for several years.
We interviewed leading manufacturers in a range of categories serving all aspects of the home to hear first-hand whether the outlook for 2010 should be categorized as positive, negative or neutral. Cautious optimism is the best way to summarize the tone from marketing command centers across the show floor.
The majority pointed to improvements in consumer attitudes and a lift in residential, while commercial will continue to lag. Others predict the positive trend for residential will come, but not until the back half of the year. Several manufacturers cited diversified customer bases as the key to navigating down markets and prevailing in 2010.
When asked about new customer demands, we confirmed our belief that homeowners are, on one hand, actively seeking value and are, on the other hand, acutely interested in energy efficiency and other proof points of sustainability that directly benefit them.
For images from the show, check out the below slideshow. Next up….KBIS!
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Tags: Energy Efficiency, IBS, international builders show, sustainability
Optism is my friend. Without it, I would have changed professions a long time ago. Sometimes things look bad, but they always improve if you are persistent in your trade.