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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.

Ocean Freight Update: Ocean Carriers’ Action Indicates Weak Demand

Ocean carriers are entering their busiest shipping phase known as peak season to those familiar with the container shipping industry. It is traditional for ocean carriers to impose a “Peak Season Surcharge” (PSS) on containers shipped from Asia to the United States during this peak period. The PSS is a good tool for shippers to gauge how carriers view future demand in the…

Wal-Mart to sell Chinese online business to retailer JD.com

According to the Walmart corporate website, the retailer "announced that they have formed a strategic alliance to better serve consumers across China through a powerful combination of e-commerce and retail." “We’re excited about teaming up with such a strong leader in JD.com, and the potential that this new relationship creates for customers in China, as well as for our…

Coloring Carefully

Henrik Peter Reisby Nielsen on using color on website Henrik is the CEO and Founder of CleverBinder, a productivity service that connects retailers and their customers via truly innovative software solutions. He also owns ReisbyConsult, a consulting company for retailers on design, color palattes, innovation and new technology. “It takes a lot of effort, knowledge and…

Market Overview: Denmark, Norway and Sweden

After hearing about the largest economy in the world, 2016 Global Forum attendees learned about the smaller, differentiated markets of Scandinavia to close the conference. Linus Kolmevik is the owner of Hippie de Luxe, a distributor of high-end kitchen tools and gadgets, kitchen living and small appliances within the Nordic markets of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Hippie de Luxe…

Retail Overview: VIP.com China

On Friday morning at the IBC Global Forum, Tony Shan presented details on selling directly to the 180 million registered users of VIP.com, a Chinese online retailer. Tony is responsible for business development and merchandising for VIP.com within the Americas with offices in New York. In December 2008, VIP.com introduced its B2C online sales model to the Chinese consumer…

Retail Overview: Ace Indonesia

The second day of presentations at the IBC Global Forum continued with an overview of Ace Indonesia. Since 2014, Ms. Nana Puspa Dewi has served as the marketing director for Kawan Lama Group, the parent company of Ace Hardware Indonesia. Ms. Puspa Dewi is responsible for marketing across all business units of the Kawan Lama Group. She also manages advertising, promotions,…

Retail Overview: Corporación Lady Lee, Honduras

Day 2 of the IBC Global Forum immersed attendees into overviews from retailers in varied regions of the world. The morning began with a look at Honduran retailer Corporación Lady Lee. Since 2012, Carlos Zelaya has been the Commercial Manager of Corporación Lady Lee’s department store group, Almacenes Lady Lee. Mr. Zelaya is responsible for commercial strategy, all…

IBC Global Forum: Reaching Africa

After a multi-session deep dive into aspects of entering the mature markets of Europe, IBC Global Forum attendees were introduced to the work of a U.S. government agency charged with assisting companies in entering the emerging markets in Africa. Ambrose Thomas, a commercial assistant with the U.S. Commercial Service in Nigeria, outlined the basic demographics and agency…

IBC Global Forum: Part 4 – Pragmatically Approaching Western Europe

This is Part Four of a four part series. Part One Part Two Part Three Action Plans Building upon the reports from the discussion groups, Mr. Boutet offered check lists for how to approach entering a market, centered on the SWOT analysis described earlier. He closed by presenting a case study of his firm’s work with one company as it planned its entry into a new market…