Tuxton China booth was creative and attractive as expected; Tuxton China has a new look about it and the new location drives that point home;
RAK Porcelain was shown for the first time in the U.S. with the RAK name and an impressive display of its own adjoining the HLC Dinnerware booth; equally impressive were the RAK products, their well-thought out merchandising, and the amount of top-level executives on hand to meet RAK customers
Dudson China had a redesigned booth with Zieher line front and center; lots of customers flowing in and out; well merchandised and displayed reflecting a “new” feeling about Dudson; all the top Dudson personnel were from both U.S. and U.K. were on hand;
Merchandise Connection International had great displays of Lucaris crystal and Studio William flatware, along with their DKE dinnerware, in a brand new booth; the end-aisle display was well-lit and receiving strong traffic from both operators and dealers alike; Studio William owner and chief designmaster William Welch was on hand and making incredibly strong points on flatware, design, and its importance to the overall branding; this will be a great brand for those that want to make points of difference in their guest’s dining experience;
Villeroy & Boch had their normal impressive stand, with top level execs form both U.S. and Europe on hand to meet with customers; this brand simply continues to be the standard bearer of quality and the booth and everything about relects that standard.
Deshouliers/Apilco had a smaller but well done display of both brands and when you see the beauty, design, and overall quality of this line, you have to wonder why there is not a higher level of awareness of what this long-time French producer can do to elevate dining in America’s restaurants.
Royal Doulton had a new look booth – with a cleaner layout of displays and more free-flowing – allowing customers better access to the displays; top execs were preparing customers for the just announced re-launch of the WWRD hospitality division, with the welcoming back of the Wedgwood brand into the portfolio;
A great Day # 1……on to Day # 2!
