CHICAGO (WBBM) — The International Home and Housewares Show is open at McCormick Place.
Lisa Casey Weiss, lifestyle consultant for the International Housewares Association, says nearly 2,000 exhibitors are here, including more than 500 new companies.
The Housewares Show is among the top 5 trade shows in Chicago. It’s committed here through 2011, but after that, things are uncertain.
The cost of doing business at McCormick Place has forced show organizers to consider other cities, such as Las Vegas and Orlando, says Phil Brandl, president of the International Housewares Association.
Housewares Show organizers say about 60,000 people are here this year – up slightly from last year – when attendance was down.
The Housewares Show is for retailers and industry representatives, not the general public.
The show has been coming to Chicago since 1939. It will run through Tuesday, March 16.
Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.