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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.

U.S. Retail Intelligence – June

June 28 – Albertsons’ Vivek Sankaran sizes up state of grocery post-pandemic FMI Midsummer session spotlights trends that will stick and those that might not. From: Supermarket News June 28 – Inside the Herman Miller x Knoll Merger Things are moving faster than expected. BOH looks at who’s in, who’s out, and the background of a deal that almost didn’t happen. From:…

When Business and Family Reunite

By Peter Giannetti Henry Nading, from Houston, hadn’t seen his parents, Art and Martha Nading, from Greensboro, N.C., (pictured above) in nearly a year and a half until a joyous reunion at this week’s Dallas Total Home & Gift Market. This moving story of a son reuniting with his parents after a stressful pandemic also happens to be a story of a housewares sales and…

Global Retail Intelligence – June

June 23 – Retail Sales Drop in CanadaAmid third COVID-19 wave, retail sales in Canada fell 5.7% to $54.8 billion in April, the largest decline since April 2020 during the pandemic’s first wave. General merchandise sales dropped 8.1%. From Global News June 22 – France’s Luxury Department Store, La Samaritaine ReopensAfter closing for renovation for 16 years, Paris’…

Meet the Press

By Peter Giannetti What a difference a couple of months can make. There was still uncertainty in mid-April about whether the International Housewares Association would be allowed to hold its summer press preview planned for mid-June in New York City. However, with New York State’s slight easing of gathering restrictions at the time, the decision was made to move ahead…

Don’t Let Supply Chain Pressure Delay Progress

By Peter Giannetti Skyrocketing freight rates, container shortages, port backlogs and myriad other supply chain snags are all severe symptoms of a prolonged period of high pandemic-era demand for home and housewares, among other products. Suppliers feel helpless, but this is now an unavoidable extra cost of doing business that shows little sign of easing until…

Levi’s And Gap: A Classic Fit For The Home

By Peter Giannetti In case you weren’t paying attention, classic is cool again. The pandemic provided an unexpected opportunity for long-established, and sometimes sagging, brands to reset their relevance to a broad consumer base seeking basic, stable comforts in a refreshed package and presentation fitted to modern sensibilities. It explains why Target and Walmart,…

Container Space Has Reached Crisis Stage

Experts predicted that finding space on containerships was going to be a challenge for shippers during the 2021-22 contract period. However, no one predicated the severity that the space crisis is currently having on supply chains across the US. To make matters worse, the lack of container space has not peaked yet. The space problem is going to get a lot worse before it gets…

U.S. Retail Intelligence – May

May 30 – What's New About Lidl's New CEOMichal Lagunionek, among other newly arriving U.S. execs, brings a strong track record and new support to a job that’s only still beginning, sources say. From: Winsight Grocery Business May 28 – Burlington Stores Ramps Up Merchandising CapabilitiesThe off-price retail company recently signed a lease to double the square footage of its…

Supply Chain Issues Add to Economic Concerns

As the United States looks to sustain its economic recovery to pre-pandemic levels and beyond, there are potential warning signs that this might not go as smoothly as hoped. For example, though job openings climbed to a record 8.1 million in March, pointing to a surging labor demand as the economy reopens, many companies are struggling to fill those positions. Some…