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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.

Ships From Asia to U.S. Are Full

Shippers have become accustomed to seeing space on container ships in the Transpacific trade fill up during the traditional peak shipping season, but the current Asia to U.S. market is experiencing something much more than a traditional peak season. The majority of the space on ships is already sold out for the entire month of August. No one could have predicted the severity…

Stats: Parents Fear Higher Back-to-School Costs

Many gourmet retailers look to back-to-school sales as a nice little bump for the bottom line before the fourth quarter. Think fancy lunch boxes and water bottles for the younger crowd and starter sets of tabletop and kitchenware for those setting off to college for the first time. Back-to-School is also a good time to get Mom into the store--maybe to have a little fun in…

Lakeland: Key UK Retailer Update

As a preview to the upcoming IBC Global Forum, to follow is additional information on the Key UK Retailer session presented by Samm Swain, Buying & Merchandising Director for Lakeland: With more than 50 years of operating a successful business, Lakeland is a renowned home and housewares retailer in the UK. In addition to their online business, Lakeland runs 68 stores…

Trends: Frozen Foods Get Hot

Despite the much-vaunted farm-to-table movement among the foodie crowd, frozen foods are gaining in popularity with home cooks. This comes as frozen food manufacturers branch out into different cuisines and have improved flash-freezing technology, and as food bloggers (especially those appealing to millennials) have added recipes geared to frozen foods on their websites.…

Works Like Teen Spirit

Even as many small retailers struggle to fill staff positions in a tight labor market, one demographic group store owners tend to shy away from is teenagers. They shy away from teens despite the fact that retail was the traditional way for teenagers to earn money during the summer, with teens often continuing to hold down those part-time jobs throughout the school year. But…

IHA Opposes Latest Round of Proposed Tariffs

The latest round of tariffs on products coming from China announced by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) affects $200 billion of goods imported and if enacted would have an impact on the housewares industry. The International Housewares Association announced today it will activate its resources at the Association and member levels to provide comment on the…

KoolaWorld: South Africa Market Overview

As a preview to the upcoming IBC Global Forum, to follow is additional information on the South Africa Market Overview session presented by David Nourse, General Manager of KoolaWorld: KoolaWorld is an importer and distributor of home and housewares products in South Africa. The company relies on their established relationships with department stores, independent retailers,…

July Currency Outlook

In their July 2018 Currency Outlook report, Tempus, an exchange rate and global payments company, provides a detailed report including the following topics and sections: In Brief Mexico elected Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as the new president, bringing a new era of leftism to the country, but the Mexican Peso recovered steadily The USD saw its third month of gains…

Global Retail Intelligence – July

To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world: July 31 – Sodimac’s First Store Opens in Mexico This first store in Mexico is located in the Municipality of Cuautitlán Izcalli, in the Metropolitan Zone of Mexico City. The 10,700 m2 store is part of an agreement formed by Falabella and Soriana in 2016 for the development of the home improvement chain and…