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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 – Inspiration by Architecture

Anyone who has been to Chicago will tell you that the Chicago architecture is the thing that grabs your attention. Take a stroll by foot or an architectural tour by boat along the Chicago River through downtown Chicago, and you’ll start to understand why architects and designers have chosen to make their mark in this city. Take the Aqua  skyscraper in the  Lakeshore East…

2012-2013 gia Winner Contact Information

In 2012-2013, there were 23 gia (Global Innovation Award) winners - representing the very best in housewares and homegoods retailing - from 22 countries on five continents. Contact information for all 23 companies, including key retailers such as Cooking.com, Kookpunt, Matchbox, Coqueluche, Bahne, and ToTT Store can be found on the HECNA Members Only website. Find even more…

Tips to Make your Blog Perform Better on Search Engines

By Larry Stopa and Molly Guendert Blogs are an important tool for improving branding and search visibility. According to a Search Engine Journal study, companies that Blog have 434% more indexed pages than companies who don’t, which means better visibility and more leads. If your brand isn’t seeing the results it would like from its Blogging efforts, you may want to use…

gia Global Honorees: New Zealand’s Taylor Road Homewares

By Piritta Törrö, International Marketing & Business Development Michelle Hespe caught up with Anne and John Heng, after their New Zealand-based store, Taylor Road Homewares, became a Global Honoree at the Global Innovation Awards (gia) in Chicago. Organized by the International Housewares Association (IHA) during the International Home + Housewares Show, the awards have…

Global Forum Presents Opportunities to Learn from non-US Retail Buyers

Save the date for the 2013 HECNA Global Forum, taking place September 15-18 in Panama City, Panama at the Trump Ocean Club. Registration and hotel booking details will be available by mid-June. With the focus of providing opportunities for attendees to increase exports through networking and education, the 2013 HECNA Global Forum will include: Executive…

The Color Game

Michelle Hespe chats with Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Color Institute’s Executive Director, about her view on the cycles of color and how to decide on what is best for your business. It was once commonly said that fashion, and thus trends and colors, had a 10-year cycle, but in today’s world, that’s really no longer the case. As a global consciousness of the environment and…

gia Global Honorees: Italy’s Quality Living

By Piritta Törrö, International Marketing & Business Development Combining housewares and homes doesn’t sound like anything groundbreaking at first. But two Italian men from the world of property development are redefining the essence of home buying and its link to housewares retail. And doing this, they won one of the five gia Global Honoree awards this year. Michelle…

Inspiring the Industry

Michelle Hespe chats with Wolfgang Gruschwitz about how and where he finds inspiration in the world around us. Wolfgang Gruschwitz is the owner and managing director of the Gruschwitz Corporation, which offers full-service retail store design and visual merchandising expertise to retailers. His company has high profile clients such as ZARA and Burberry, and he also lectures…

Using Online Marketing to Build Branding, Part 2: Display Your Brand’s Personality on Social Media

By Larry Stopa, President of E-Power Marketing Social Media provides a powerful means to interact with your target audience. Listen to what is being said about your brand in social chatter. Is that the perception you want? If not, Social Media offer channels to change audience perception. When posting on Social Media sites, don’t limit your communications to your brand. Expand…