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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.

Chicago Retail Gem

In a character-filled, old, sunny warehouse in Lincoln Park on the north side of Chicago, there’s a business that is edgy, worldly, and well… positively chic. “ Jayson Home has a warm, sensual, textured feel,” says Creative Director Caroline Scheeler. “It's the kind of store that friends meet up at, and hang out, while they’re shopping. While our store, our brand, is ever…

Keep Cool with Zoku Treatmakers

What does summertime mean to you? Barbeques, corn on the cob and …. cold treats? When you’re chillin’ in the backyard or on the porch—Zoku treatmakers make every occasion a celebration. Zoku’s first product, which started with a seemingly simple idea What if we could make popsicles freeze faster?, propelled the company into the housewares market in 2009. The patented Zoku…

A PICTURE WORTH A FEW HUNDRED WORDS: Ladders & Step Ladders

Ladders in retail displays... Step right up! That is what ladders are for. Not only do they make it possible for you to access something that may be out of reach, they also allow you to go from one level to the next with assurance of new views at each level. Think about it for a moment! How many different types of ladders do you already have in your store? You may have the…

CHESS 2015 Examines Innovative Strategies for Reaching the Consumer

From launching a product via crowd-funding to partnering with Amazon, the innovative strategies available to help housewares suppliers reach their target market will be explored during the 2015 Chief Housewares Executive SuperSession (CHESS), Oct. 6-7 in Rosemont, Ill. Addressing the theme of “Concept to Consumer: Innovative Strategies for Reaching Your Market,” the program’s…

International Home + Housewares Show Featured on “The Big Pitch”

Several exhibitors from the 2015 International Home + Housewares Show are being featured on “The Big Pitch,” a new TV program from Kevin Harrington of “Shark Tank” fame. Harrington and his crew filmed product pitches from 25 exhibitors during the Home + Housewares Show last March in Chicago and then selected 11 that were the best-of-the-best, according to “Big Pitch”…

Out of the Ordinary: Koskela

Michelle Hespe meets the innovative owners of Koskela – one of five inspiring retail stores that became 2015 Global Honorees in the prestigious IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) in Chicago. There’s a great quote by American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker John Rohn that captures the essence of what Australian retail duo Sasha Titchkosky and Russel Koskela set…

Soul Determination: Presentes Rodriguez

Presentes Rodriguez from Brazil was one of five retail stores in the world to become a Global Honoree at the 2015 IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) in Chicago. Michelle Hespe looks into what makes this South American business so exceptional. So what was said about Presentes Rodriguez? The gia jury thought the Brazilian homewares store really stood out from the rest of the…

Power to the People: John Lewis

Michelle Hespe checks out one of five global honorees from the 2015 IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia) and discovers the very clever concept behind the United Kingdom’s John Lewis department store chain. Imagine if there was a department store at which the customers made the business decisions? Where the people from the street created and guided the retail philosophy to…

Culinary Crusader: Jumbo

Michelle Hespe catches up with the manager of Jumbo — a Turkish retail chain specializing in kitchenware and cookware that was chosen as one of five Global Honorees at the 2015 IHA Global Innovation Awards (gia). Function has always been crucial when it comes to cookware and dinnerware, but today, form and function are more tightly entwined than ever, with products designed to…