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IHA’s blog features informative posts written to keep the housewares industry educated and informed about key strategic issues and IHA member services.

Global Retail Intelligence – April

To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world: April 23 – Walmart China Has Competitive Advantage with JD.com Alliance in Highly Competitive Market With 433 retail outlets in China, including 412 Walmart supercenters, Walmart plans to add 23 Sam’s Clubs by 2020. In 2018, Walmart and JD.com jointly invested $500 million in online-to-offline grocery…

Ocean Contract Negotiations Moving Forward

The 2019-20 ocean contract negotiations have officially begun for cargo moving from Asia to the United States. Based on the initial proposals from the ocean carriers, it is clear they are trying to capitalize on last year’s space crisis. Carriers stated earlier this year that shippers should expect to pay higher rates in the 2019-20 ocean contracts. Further, they stated that…

Stats: Experiences Drive Trends

People aren’t buying products, they are buying experiences. At least that’s the opinion of Tom Mirabile, the International Housewares Association’s trend expert, who spoke during the recent 2019 International Home + Housewares Show. Mirabile’s annual keynote, “Top Trend 2019: New Consumer Insights and How to Thrive in the Retail Revolution,” brought up a number of points about…

Housewares Charity Foundation Raises $1.8 Million at Annual Gala

The housewares industry came together to raise $1.8 million during the 2019 Housewares Cares Charity Gala presented by the Housewares Charity Foundation (HCF) on Monday, March 4. Proceeds from the event, held at Chicago’s Navy Pier, benefited the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), the HCF’s legacy charity, and the James Beard Foundation, the gala’s partner. Since the…

Trends: Making Food Safe at Home

It is great to teach cooking classes, hold demos and inspire home cooks to purchase cookware, gadgets and other fun kitchen tools, but as anyone who has worked in a serious restaurant kitchen knows, food safety is the first priority. Professionals in the food service industry learn how to best make food safe for their patrons, but how much of that gets through to consumers…

Global Retail Intelligence – March

To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world: March 19 – India’s Reliance Retail to Open New Stores Reliance Retail plans to expand its low-cost fashion store network Reliance Trends to 2,500 locations within the next five years. From Retail News Asia March 18 – Walmart Japan Announces Seiyu Is Not For Sale Newly appointed CEO of Walmart’s Japanese…

March Currency Outlook

In their March 2019 Currency Outlook report, Tempus, an exchange rate and global payments company, provides a detailed report including the following topics and sections: In Brief The USD recovered about half of its January losses in February, increasing .7% The Brazilian Real and South African Rand sank dramatically The Australian and New Zealand Dollars both…

IH+HS Delivers Top Retail Executives & Vibrant Buzz on Show Floor

The just-concluded 2019 International Home + Housewares Show is garnering rave reviews from the industry with an overall sentiment that the quality of buyer attendees was the strongest in years. The Show was sold-out with 2,205 exhibitors from 43 countries and featured a focus on influencers/bloggers, smart/connected products and the specialty beverage movement. It was also…

Color Expert Lee Eiseman Shares Updates to Consumer Color Preferences at 2019 IH+HS

We must be especially clever when trying to attract consumers’ eyes with color, Leatrice Eiseman – executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and color expert for the International Housewares Association (IHA) – told the audience last week during her second keynote session, “Color/Texture/Finish: Back to the Future,” at the 2019 International Home + Housewares…