All Posts

IHA’s blog features informative posts written to keep the housewares industry educated and informed about key strategic issues and IHA member services.

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…

Using Online Marketing to Build Branding Part 1: A Strong Website Sets the Foundation for Success

By Larry Stopa, President of E-Power Marketing The International Housewares Association is committed to helping members succeed in the digital marketplace. The Blog posts in the Digital Education Series are designed to help IHA members take advantage of the marketing opportunities that the Internet offers. Larry Stopa, President of E-Power Marketing, opens the series with the…

Staying Relevant

Pauline Herbst speaks to IHA’s lifestyle trend forecaster Tom Mirabile, Senior Vice President of Global Trend & Design, Lifetime Brands, Inc., about top consumer trends for 2013-2014 and what manufacturers and retailers alike must do to stay relevant. Mirabile says, “The big message is that sometimes we lose perspective on who the consumer really is and what is important…

Pantone Style and Substance

2014 Pantone Palettes Introducing the 2014 Pantone color palettes at the International Home + Housewares Show, Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Color Institute’s Executive Director, explained that although there are a lot of new trends in the 2014 Pantone palettes, there are also some familiar themes recurring. For example, consumers have an attachment to the “preppy” type of vintage…