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IHA Plans Sourcing Mission to Vietnam

To help members investigate alternatives to sourcing from China, the International Housewares Association will hold a sourcing mission to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, next year. The 2020 Vietnam Sourcing Mission will be offered in two sessions: April 20-22 or April 23-25. Each session is limited to just six companies to provide a high level of service and allow for private…

Stats: Sustainability Aware

Sustainability is on the minds of many consumers and they are bringing the topic to both retailers’ attention and product assortments. Sustainability—the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance, according to research firm The NPD Group’s Health Aspirations & Behavioral Tracking Service—also is used in a broader sense to…

Retail Profile: In The Kitchen

Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. Owner: KC Lapiana Founded: 2002 Own or rent: Own After years in the retail business KC Lapiana has moved out of her home base of Pittsburgh and put her store In The Kitchen into the hands of a trusted group of managers. The reason? Her husband retired from a long broadcasting career and the pair decided to move south. “We made the…

UPU Agreement a Win for Housewares Industry

The housewares industry realized a victory when the Universal Postal Union (UPU) agreed in September to revise international shipping rates to not discriminate against U.S. shippers. Founded in 1875, the UPU sets postal rates among its member countries and had a formula where it cost about $20 to mail a small parcel in the U.S., but about $5 from China to the U.S. The…

Global Retail Intelligence – October

October 22 – Alibaba Aims to Break Records with 11.11 Shopping Festival Alibaba plans to top 2018’s $30bn sales by offering over one million new products to their 500 million registered users. This is the eleventh 11.11 Shopping Festival and the online giant is aiming to upgrade its consumers’ lifestyles through new product and brand offerings. From The Drum October 22 –…

CHESS 2019 – Retail’s Seismic Shift: Understanding the Forces Changing Housewares Consumers

Presented by: Michael Dart, Partner, Consumer/Retail Practice, A.T. Kearney Retail specialist and visionary, Michael Dart advises retail and consumer companies on how best to navigate retail’s seismic shifts. He combines his economics and finance training from Oxford University and the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, with more than 25 years of experience…

CHESS 2019 – Housewares Hot Seat: Recruiting the Next Generation of Housewares Leaders

Moderated by: Peter Giannetti, Editor-in-Chief, HomeWorld Business Panelists: Lauren Greenwood, President/Co-Founder, YouCopia,…

Global Retail Intelligence – September

September 30 – France’s Fnac Opens First Nature & Découvertes Shop-in-ShopA few months after the accusation of a leading omnichannel retailer of products in the natural and well-being sector, Fnac opens its first shop-in-shop location. Article written in French From LSA Commerce & Consommation September 30 – Germany’s Kaufland Expands Delivery Service…

Demurrage and Detention

Shippers have been complaining for years that the rules governing demurrage and detention are unfair. Shippers are required to pick up and return ocean containers to the terminal within a specified number of days. Failure to do so will result in fees to the shipper known in the industry as demurrage and detention. Marine terminals and carriers say the potential to be…