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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.

Trends: There’s a Trend for That Food

’Tis the season for protracted food trend announcements from just about everyone. From mitochondrial optimization (courtesy of Natural Grocers) to hemp (courtesy of Whole Foods) to cricket flour (it’s out there), few foods are not trending for 2019. And yes, fermentation is still considered trending. The more obscure the food, the better for the trend PR machine, it…

Grounded | Spring Summer 2019

by Rebecca Charlton, Trend Researcher, Trend Bible Trend Bible is a home and interiors-dedicated forecasting agency working with leading international brands to help them understand the future of their market. They forecast future trends in the behavior of consumers in a two-to-five year timeframe and analyze how this will impact the home environment. A longing sense of…

IBC: Closing Out 2018 and Looking Forward to 2019

Another year has come to a close and IHA is looking forward to 2019! We thank our IBC members for your support and participation throughout the year. Healthy retail sales numbers reported during the holiday season have capped off a successful year in the home and housewares industry. In 2018, the International Housewares Association, through the International Business…

Global Retail Intelligence – January

To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world: January 15 – Ahold Delhaize to Open Additional Outlets in Belgium In addition to opening 200 new Fresh Atelier and Shop&Go stores, announced in late October, the group plans to add 100 new supermarkets (SM, AD or Proxy) and 30 to 50 Albert Heijn supermarkets in Flanders, Belgium for a total of 350 new…

Retail Class of 2018

Independent gourmet retailers opening a store or getting through their first full 12 months of business in 2018 benefitted from a relatively upbeat economy (albeit a tight labor market), but still faced the ins and outs of product assortment, merchandising and marketing that vex all new stores. How did they fare? We talked with three retailers about the joys and challenges…

Concept. In the Words of a Successful Concept Retailer

by Terri Winter We asked Terri Winter, co-owner and founder of the world-recognized concept retail store top3 by design in Australia, to share her thoughts on “experiential shopping” and concepts – what she sees is important in retail today and what has made top3 by design so successful. Your customers no longer come to your store just to shop. They go shopping to…

St. Jane Chicago, A New Boutique Hotel that Honors Chicago’s History

Enjoy These Incentives While in Chicago: Recently Reduced Rates Starting at $149.00 Complimentary Wi-Fi Complimentary Bottled Water Complimentary In-Room Nespresso Machine with a Selection of Coffees and Teas Complimentary Access to Fitness Facility LED Smart TV with Streaming Capabilities Private Bar Tastefully Stocked with Locally Sourced Items…

Enjoy Award-Winning Cuisine at Imperial Lamian During the 2019 Show

Imperial Lamian invites diners to dig their chopsticks into fresh, authentic Chinese food and settle in for a high-level dining experience. The acclaimed River North restaurant features traditional, Chinese hand- pulled lamian noodles, creative wok dishes, inventive entrees, as well as award-winning dim sum and xiao long bao (soup dumplings) - all crafted from scratch daily.…

Retail’s New Best Friend

As the heart and soul of retailing further evolves, stores and the essence of shopping will continue to morph in unimaginable ways. However, amidst the storm of change, there is one aspect of shopping that remains pure, constant and motivational – the aspirational moment. For some, an aspirational moment is walking through the ABC Carpet Emporium in New York City, where the…