perry reynolds is the association's vice president of marketing and trade development. he's been quizzing vendors and buyers at the show, and is encouraged by what he's hearing. >> we had a really good late fall. we had a good january, a good february. we've seen some of the numbers from the larger retailers. they all look very good, and within that, home is even a stronger portion of the growth in their business. >> reporter: one trend that has helped a lot of these companies thrive over the last couple of years has been the desire by consumers to eat in more than out. le creuset sells upscale pots and pans. marketing vice president steve jones says many consumers are watching their budgets, but they're not skimping on quality. >> when times are tough, they are looking for a great value, a sure value. so they'd rather invest a little bit more to make sure the brand is going to stand behind the product, that the product will last a long time and it's guaranteed. >> reporter: about a quarter of the 2,000 vendors at the show are first-timers. others, like the onecare comp