It has become Edmonton's one-stop renovation shop.

But the 2005 edition of the city's Renovation Show, expected to draw more than 18,000 people over three days, is also a launching pad, buyer barometer and sales generator for the industry's manufacturers and retailers.

Rick Young, the man behind the 12th annual show at Northlands Agricom Jan. 28-30, says the show is a strategic move that lets both buyers and sellers plan their renovations.

"The Renovation Show is perfectly timed to start the renovation process. As the first major buying and selling show of the year, it allows you to get in front of the contractors and see the new products early, and this provides a tremendous advantage for anyone who wants to change the interior or exterior of their home," says Young, the show's producer.

Dan Riedlhuber, Business Edge
Ray Wills says Edmonton renovation contractors expect 10-15 per cent more spending.

"It also gives the contractor time to plan and schedule the workload for his trades. So you're getting in at the front of the line."

Young adds this year's show, which will host more than 220 exhibitors, will feature more energy-efficient products, as well as "fabulous new flooring products."

This year's edition will also be about six to seven per cent larger than the 2004 version and comes at a time when the renovation sector is moving forward at double-digit growth levels.

"We took a survey (two weeks ago) at the renovator council meeting," says Ray Wills, co-chair of the Edmonton Region Home Builders' Association (ERHBA) renovator council.

"Everybody thought that renovation spending would be up by 10-15 per cent in Edmonton (in 2005)."

Last year's renovation figures were similar, adds Wills, who also owns PC Renovations Inc. and is a past-president of the ERHBA.

He says the contractors involved are talking about work that can easily result in six-figure bills, as opposed to simple repainting or the replacement of a worn-out door.

"People today are definitely willing to spend more money," says Wills, labelling these renovations as lifestyle decisions.

"It's show-and-tell, they're status seekers and they have the budget to do it. They're putting in expensive countertops and very, very expensive appliances.

"Before, when one did a kitchen renovation, they would put in a fridge for $400 ... anybody doing a deluxe kitchen is not doing that (now). They can spend up to $40,000 on the kitchen cabinets and countertops."

It's baby boomers at the end of their working careers and dual-income families who have the money, adds Wills, noting that the boomers are coming into inheritances and have a tendency to spend it rather than to hoard it.

A buoyant economy also helps, he says.

The kind of work being done includes property extensions or additions, such as building a second floor on what once was a single-level home; conversions - transforming a five-bedroom home into two large bedrooms and a den, for example, and turning basements into bright, livable spaces.

It's that type of big spending that has Young excited about this year's show.

In Calgary, where Young just finished with a successful 38th edition of HomExpo, one show visitor purchased $150,000 worth of custom doors for his new home.

"That makes the exhibitor extremely happy, of course, but it is atypical of the walk-in client we get," he says.

"They know what they like and when they see it, they make the decisions. We're getting qualified people into the shows and they're savvy."

In addition to the exhibitors at Edmonton's 2005 Renovation Show, visitors can expect to see lifestyle and home improvement gurus Shell Busey, Cheryll Gillespie and John Sillaots, host of HGTV's In The Workshop.

Further, the ERHBA will have a renovation exhibit designed to give people the lowdown on getting a renovation done properly, Mazda Canada will be displaying its 2005 vehicles - as cars and SUVs are so much a part of the life of people who come to the show, says Young - FoodExpo returns to provide food products that today's healthy lifestyles demand and there will be a children's play area targeted to families, where they can leave their kids in a professionally monitored play area while they browse the show.

Young's last piece of advice is to come early.

"From a business standpoint, this is where business meets the consumer and it is spontaneous, face-to-face and priceless in terms of an arena to promote your product and get the feedback from consumers on how well you're doing."

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)