Market Insight

WGSN, the world’s largest trend forecaster and globally recognised fashion authority, is the new headline sponsor for Spring Fair International. The style gurus will use this year’s show to launch WGSN-homebuildlife.com (HBL), a new trend forecasting entity and product development tool focused on the ever-evolving needs of the global home and interiors in¬dustries.

Home-related purchases total $250bn worldwide, and the motivations behind these purchases evolve and change every day. WGSN-homebuildlife.com will help businesses understand these motivations and will provide inspirational imagery, colour direction, and downloadable product designs they can reference to prepare for future seasons.

Susanna Kempe, CEO of WGSN, and chief marketing officer of Emap says WGSN’s approach to fashion forecasting and product development has changed the industry. “We provide the right tools to enable retailers, designers, and manufacturers across all disciplines to develop successful collections season after season, year after year. And now it’s time to turn our attention seriously to the home world with visionary intelligence to the global interiors industry.”

This attention also comes with serious investment from WGSN in the form of an outstanding leadership team. Catriona Macnab, creative director of WGSN-homebuildlife.com and Creative Director of Trends at WGSN.com brings with her an indispensable knowledge of the interplay between trends in fashion and at home. She is joined by Stephen Morgan, commercial director of WGSN-homebuildlife.com, who has extensive experience in the US market having launched the WGSN Americas office.

Keith Recker, editor for North America, also joins the team and brings with him over twenty years of experience as a home furnishings executive at Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bloomingdale’s. He also has as a deep knowledge of product sourcing and colour. “I understand the burden home retailers and manufacturers face as they balance creativity and risk with sales and profit. WGSN-homebuildlife.com will shoulder some of that weight with consistent and in-depth coverage of what’s happening globally in the industry, as well as explorations of the challenges and opportunities we will face in the future.”

A key part of HBL is the homebuildlife Advisory Forum, a circle of prominent, creative, accomplished individuals whose common goal is to influence the home and interiors industry towards visionary decision-making. They examine the pressing social issues of our day in¬cluding environmental and human concerns, the state of home-related design and commerce, as well as their intuitions on future changes. Out of the Forum’s explorations, a roadmap for meeting future consumer needs will emerge.

Members of the HBL Advisory Forum include leaders from the worlds of academia and architecture, alongside senior industry professionals who include:

* Doug Rozenboom, VP Creative & Design, Home and Seasonal Hardlines, Walmart
* Vera Vandenbosch, Director of Marketing, ABC Carpet and Home
* Fionnuala Johnston, Design Manager, B&Q
* Paul Finch, Program Director, the World Architecture Festival and Editorial Director of the Architects’ Journal and Architectural Review
* Gregory Dunlop, International Director - Global Projects, GROHE
* Anna Pretty, Consultant Director, Zara Home, Inditex
* Sherri Donghia, renowned leader in the American home furnishings world, and former Cre¬ative Director, Donghia Textiles
* Kate Loudoun-Shand and Jerry Sacher, co-founders of Ny-Lon, a diverse design practice that provides design and product development services for the worlds leading retailers

For more details on HBL, visit www.wgsn.com or www.wgsn-homebuildlife.com