Inspiration Magazine

Useful tips and resources prepared by business, industry and design experts to help retailers grow their businesses!

Concept. In the Words of a Successful Concept Retailer

by Terri Winter We asked Terri Winter, co-owner and founder of the world-recognized concept retail store top3 by design in Australia, to share her thoughts on “experiential shopping” and concepts – what she sees is important in retail today and what has made top3 by design so successful. Your customers no longer come to your store just to shop. They go shopping to…

Retail’s New Best Friend

As the heart and soul of retailing further evolves, stores and the essence of shopping will continue to morph in unimaginable ways. However, amidst the storm of change, there is one aspect of shopping that remains pure, constant and motivational – the aspirational moment. For some, an aspirational moment is walking through the ABC Carpet Emporium in New York City, where the…

Discovering Design: Dreamfarm

by Vicki Matranga Design Programs Coordinator, International Housewares Association “Great design must solve problems” believes the crew at Dreamfarm, a problem-solving company that grows ideas for clever, useful kitchen and household products. “The hardest part of our job isn’t coming up with a solution,” says Alex Gransbury, Dreamfarm’s founder, “it’s finding a problem…

Stories to Sell: Global Trends in Retail

We talk to the four gia expert jurors about the new emotionally charged and uber-connected world of retail. by Michelle Hespe Henrik Peter Reisby Nielsen Henrik Peter Reisby Nielsen, an expert at utilizing technology in retail, has noticed a massive trend in retail that is also reflected in everyday life: the pace at which people move and the speed at which they do things,…

Adding History to Your Story

by Martin M. Pegler When you do a display—or merchandise presentation—you tell a “story”. It can be about how the products being featured complement a particular lifestyle or enhance an upcoming holiday dinner, or a new look or trend in home or housewares. Whatever you are trying to promote will benefit if you can illustrate a story in your display, especially if you can…

Increasing Impulse Shopping

by Martin M. Pegler If visual merchandising or display is vital anywhere in the retail space, it must be where impulse items are being offered. The whole concept of “impulse shopping” is based on attracting the shopper to a product that she did not come into the store to buy. It means, “waving a flag” in front of her—making her stop, take notice of, maybe try or touch, and…

Retail: A Mix of Science and Art

Anna Berry is Partner and Head of Buying, Gifts, Cook and Dine, at John Lewis & Partners in the UK. After three decades with the company, she continues to inspire the industry by approaching buying as a mix of science and art. by Michelle Hespe Who doesn’t love a beautiful, immaculate department store filled with exciting things to see and do? Lights showcasing shiny…

Survival and Success in the Retail Renaissance

by Tom Mirabile “It’s no secret the marketplace is experiencing unprecedented and rapid changes in how consumers gather information, shop and buy products. But these changes represent tremendous opportunities for the housewares industry,” said Tom Mirabile, consumer trend forecaster for the International Housewares Association and senior vice president of global trend and…

PANTONE®VIEW home + interiors 2019: Focusing on the Future

by Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director Pantone Color Institute Films, fashion and design are hugely influential in color trends, as are food, consumer products and social movements. On other fronts, the healthy eating trend and the subsequent culinary culture that has evolved in recent years has also brought with it a movement in natural, earthy colors being used in…