The new summer edition of NY NOW is taking place from August 2 to 4 at the Javits Center, the wholesale trade show for the gift, home and lifestyle industry that has been held in New York for over a century. Through August 4 the convention center fills up with booths, color and the season’s new arrivals: it is the first edition organized under the show’s new ownership, Rockview Management Group, which acquired the event in April from Emerald Holding, the publicly traded company that had run it for years alongside another 140 trade shows across the United States.
Rockview is led by three names well known inside the industry: Dorothy Belshaw, who spent eight years as show director of NY NOW before moving to IMC, William Lacey, with thirty years of experience in finance and mergers and acquisitions, and Karen Olson, who brings nearly thirty years of work on brand transformation and growth strategy in the gift and home sector. In the welcome letter printed in the show guide, the three write that they came in “with deep respect for what this Show has meant to the industry, and a clear sense of where it can go.” They also recall the origins of the event: it was founded in 1924 by George F. Little as the New York Gift Show, to help regional retailers source product from manufacturers and importers from around the world. A lot has changed in a century, they write, but the needs of retailers remain the same: find product that will surprise and delight, drive sales, and build customer loyalty.
The letter dwells above all on the nature of the new ownership: a small, privately held company with no external shareholders to answer to besides the exhibitors and buyers themselves. Several members of the team, they write, had already worked on the Show in various capacities fifteen years ago, and so know the industry’s needs firsthand. The three describe the changes ahead as “thoughtful and intentional,” since, as they put it, the best transformations don’t happen overnight.
At this August edition, visitors find refreshed branding, a mix of new and returning exhibitors, and a more energized floor plan. The bigger changes, however, are set for the Winter Show, January 31 to February 2: a new juried division for makers and designers, more brands and best-selling lines across the major gift and lifestyle categories, and the return of home collections. The Show, they write, gets stronger every six months.
In the letter, the three founders speak directly to exhibitors, urging them to support the vendors they already work with, share their new introductions, seek out a new resource or two, and talk to other retailers about what’s working. “Be part of the community that will drive your success,” they write, adding that they are listening and want to know what visitors would like to see next.
In terms of numbers, this August edition brings to the Javits Center more than 90 brands from 19 countries, with three curated national pavilions guiding buyers through handcrafted jewelry from Brazil, artisan ceramics from Sicily, and beadwork from South Africa. This year Italy is represented at the fair only by Sicily, with a pavilion of 15 companies spanning gift, lifestyle, jewelry and accessories: we hope that at the next edition, in line with the growth the new ownership has promised, other Italian regions will take part as well.
