Last week I spent a couple days at the Coverings Show in Las Vegas. Usually, I’m very focused at trade shows on meeting readers or advertisers and talking about their specific interests.
But last week I took a few minutes to walk the show floor with my eyes wide open. And what I saw reminded me why it can be so much fun working in the building, remodeling and maintenance markets. See the photos attached to this blog to share in my perspective.
The Coverings Show offers a spectacular panorama of the world’s most vibrant stone and tile products. Manufacturers come from Spain, Italy, Turkey, Brazil, China, Mexico, and dozens of other countries. They haul their products thousands of miles to show off.
They highlight gorgeous slabs of granite, marble and natural stone. They display ceramic tile, porcelain tile, metallic tile, glass tile, mosaic tile, painted tile, embossed tile, and decorative tile.
They feature stone and tile with finishes that resemble stainless steel, copper, and wood. They use water-jetting to engrave just about any image into stone so the slab becomes a work of art, not just a functional tabletop, countertop, or wall application.
The stone and tile is polished, glazed, buffed, shined and backlit. They are cut and shaped in every dimension imaginable, allowing virtually unlimited use in homes, offices, hotels, institutions and retail settings.
As I was enjoying this wondrous eye candy, it occurred to me that the beauty, craftsmanship and creative design of products like these are going to provide a tremendous boost in bringing back the construction and remodeling markets.
There is simply no way a buyer can look at such incredible products and not want them in their homes and businesses. And I’m not talking about just stone and tile.
Buyers want beauty in virtually every niche. Whether you provide roofs, walls, ceilings, flooring, kitchens, baths, sheet metal, windows, doors, trim, plumbing or HVAC (yes, I have seen incredible craftsmanship applied to mechanical systems), there are buyers biding their time, saving their money, and will one day purchase your products and services.
Are you reminding customers of the beauty and craftsmanship that you provide? Are you showing them images that will stick like super glue to their minds, constantly urging them to replace old and outdated products with engaging and exciting ones?
Demand remains pent up...for now. When it is released, count on buyers wanting your best products. It’s going to happen.
Be encouraged! Watch our just-posted slide show featuring design, construction, service, maintenance and mechanical system pros who are succeeding in spite of the tough market conditions. Visit www.bnpmedia.com/movingon.
