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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.

Building Your Talent Bench for the Future

How is your team performing today? How are you grooming them to lead your company’s growth in the future? Jacquie Fazekas believes that developing future talent today is one of the most critical strategic initiatives a housewares company should have. In this session, she will offer leadership “Watch-outs,” tips to avoid the effects of poorly groomed and motivated talent, and…

It Starts With the Customer: How Amazon is Responding to Changes in Customer Behavior

Shopping behaviors and expectations continue to evolve. Amazon has made a variety of changes to the customer experience in response. Mike Popchuk will talk about Amazon’s approach to addressing customer needs and highlight a few of the changes they have made in response. 1:15 pm Wednesday, October 3, 2018 Presenter: Mike Popchuk Director / Category Leader Home,…

CHESS 2018 Focuses on Adapting in the Face of Change

The U.S. economy is doing well but traditional retail is challenged against the dramatic changes brought on by the ever-growing options consumers have for purchasing products. Driving this change is the world of e-commerce, which has expanded from what is now considered traditional digital retailing, such as Amazon, Wayfair and brick & mortar retailer websites, to…

Why is the USPS Charging You 5x What They Charge Chinese Shippers?

By Jayme Smaldone Below is an elongated version of an OpEd I wrote for The Wall Street Journal, published on February 6, 2018. Please share with anyone that warehouses goods in the US. President Trump recently tweeted about mounting problems with the U.S. Postal Service. Specifically, he noted that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is not charging Amazon enough to deliver…

Trends: Consumer Daily Coffee Drinking on the Rise

There is a reason coffee bean sales are solid for many specialty retailers in the U.S.: the number of consumers getting in at least one cup of Joe has reached the highest level in the past six years. And home brewing remained the method of choice for most Americans, over even gourmet coffee shops and the office coffee pot. That’s the latest from the U.S. National Coffee…

2018 gia Global Honoree – The Chopping Block

by Michelle Hespe We catch up with Shelley Young, Founder and CEO of one of the five 2018 gia Global Honorees, The Chopping Block of the USA. There are three major components to The Chopping Block, and although they sit under the same umbrella, they are like three separate businesses. There’s the cooking classes, private events and the retail sector. However, make no…

Truck Capacity Creating Challenges for Importers

The shipping industry has been anything but normal the last five years. During this time period, U.S. importers have dealt with gridlock at the ports, bankrupt carriers, ransomware attacks, customer service failures and severe space shortages. The newest problem looming over the shipping industry is the lack of truck capacity. U.S. importers moving cargo from the ports to…

Retail Profile: Kitchen Kneads

Location: Ogden, Utah Owners: Bruce and Carla Crane Founded: 1973 Square footage (current location): 7,600 sq. ft. The store’s motto is “Shaped by Hands, Powered by Heart” with a company mission to “inspire connections and community by spreading the joy of cooking.” Another motto could well be “All in the Family.” Kitchen Kneads is celebrating its 45th year in…