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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.

Global Retail Intelligence – November

November 18 – UK’s John Lewis and Waitrose Create New Concept Store The retailers will launch a customer-centric concept shop at which services and experiences, led by expert staff, will offer unique opportunities for customer to experience product. If the concept is successful, John Lewis may roll it out throughout the country. From John Lewis Partnership November 18 –…

Stats: Sustainability Aware

Sustainability is on the minds of many consumers and they are bringing the topic to both retailers’ attention and product assortments. Sustainability—the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance, according to research firm The NPD Group’s Health Aspirations & Behavioral Tracking Service—also is used in a broader sense to…

Trends: CBD Mainstreams

We’ve told you this before, but now a new study confirms that Cannabidiol (CBD) continues its mainstream appeal. According to a new NPD Group study, “With cannabis becoming legal in more states, it’s impossible to ignore the potential ramifications for the food and beverage industry.” That’s because CBD isn’t just for a select few people. Nearly 20 percent of adults have…

Fall Promotions Feature Food

Retailers are promoting a wide variety of events and products and recipes via social media this fall as they gear up for the all-important fourth quarter. Food played a big role in those promotions. Here are some that caught our eye. The Rolling Pin Kitchen Emporium in Brandon, Fla., held a private cooking event that featured steakhouse cuisine serving up a menu of…

Retail Profile: In The Kitchen

Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. Owner: KC Lapiana Founded: 2002 Own or rent: Own After years in the retail business KC Lapiana has moved out of her home base of Pittsburgh and put her store In The Kitchen into the hands of a trusted group of managers. The reason? Her husband retired from a long broadcasting career and the pair decided to move south. “We made the…

IMO 2020 Mandate – Delays and Uncertainty

Carriers are still struggling to provide firm information on how they intend to handle the International Maritime Organization (IMO) mandate to reduce marine pollution effective January 1, 2020. In two months, vessels will be required to have sulfur emission levels less than 0.5%. The carriers have publicly stated that this new mandate will cost the container shipping industry…

UPU Agreement a Win for Housewares Industry

The housewares industry realized a victory when the Universal Postal Union (UPU) agreed in September to revise international shipping rates to not discriminate against U.S. shippers. Founded in 1875, the UPU sets postal rates among its member countries and had a formula where it cost about $20 to mail a small parcel in the U.S., but about $5 from China to the U.S. The…

Global Retail Intelligence – October

October 22 – Alibaba Aims to Break Records with 11.11 Shopping Festival Alibaba plans to top 2018’s $30bn sales by offering over one million new products to their 500 million registered users. This is the eleventh 11.11 Shopping Festival and the online giant is aiming to upgrade its consumers’ lifestyles through new product and brand offerings. From The Drum October 22 –…

CHESS 2019 – Retail’s Seismic Shift: Understanding the Forces Changing Housewares Consumers

Presented by: Michael Dart, Partner, Consumer/Retail Practice, A.T. Kearney Retail specialist and visionary, Michael Dart advises retail and consumer companies on how best to navigate retail’s seismic shifts. He combines his economics and finance training from Oxford University and the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, with more than 25 years of experience…