NY Now, the gift and home trade show under new ownership, announced a strategic partnership with sales agency Ivystone Group LLC on the redevelopment of the New York-based show as a primary Northeast B2B marketplace.
Rooted in the Northeast, Ivystone Group, based in Exton, PA, has expanded to offer national sales coverage for hundreds of gift and home brands under the Ivystone and Simblist operations.
NY Now, held twice a year, was recently acquired by Rockview Management Group Inc., a new organization of veteran gift and home trade show executives headed by CEO Dorothy Belshaw. Belshaw, most recently a top executive with Andmore, before that oversaw the New York International Gift Fair, NY Now’s predecessor.
As part of the partnership, NY Now and Ivystone will collaborate to engage key accounts and independent retailers for the New York show, whose summer edition is set for August 2-4 at the Javits Center.
NY Now reported it is working with design firms to create turnkey booth packages to help streamline exhibit design and installation within a defined and predictable cost structure. The show operator said it plans to integrate multi-line agency exhibits, brand-specific exhibits and dedicated order-writing zones. The model will be replicated for additional sales agency partners, soon to be announced, according to NY Now.
Ivystone and Simblist plan to debut the new concept and meet with regional buyers at the August 2026 NY Now show. The full buildout will debut at the Winter 2027 Show, the dates of which have yet to be announced.
“New York was once the undisputed industry platform for brand awareness, product introduction, and media attention,” said Doug Cofiell, CEO, Ivystone Group LLC. “This alliance will reinvigorate our Northeast presence and drive super-regional sales for our family of brands — particularly those represented by Ivystone and Simblist. We’ve worked closely with Dorothy Belshaw for more than 20 years across multiple markets, and we’re confident she and her partners can rapidly reinvent this important Show.”
“This partnership is an essential component of our strategy to rebuild NY Now with intention and urgency,” Belshaw said. “Ivystone has created a robust and relevant ecosystem with the best brands connected to the best buyers. “Leveraging those relationships will accelerate growth and improved performance for NY Now and the whole Northeast market. This model ensures that individual brand identities are featured through independent displays at the same time as sales and customer acquisition are optimized by the agency support system working in tandem with NY Now’s marketing team.”
