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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.

Discovering Design: Stelton

Forming a Design Brand More than 50 years ago, two friends, Stellan and Carton, merged their first names to form Stelton, which became one of Denmark’s best-known design brands. Niels Stellan Høm and Carton Madelaire partnered to start a trading company in 1960. After marketing sports shoes and furniture, they learned about a small factory in Fårevejle, Denmark, Danish…

The Smart Home of the Not-Too-Distant Future

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a movement that is already part of our everyday lives and is growing rapidly. And, the future is exciting for the Smart Home with several trends emerging including: Cooking Technology – Products are being embedded with smart sensors that control exact time, temperatures and even the humidity needed to properly cook a meal based on precise…

Yuwa Group: Japan Market Overview

As a preview to their presentation during the upcoming IBC Global Forum, the following is a brief on Yuwa Group, a Japanese distributor of consumer and household products. Yuwa Group was established in 1965 as an importer of consumer goods mainly from Europe, and over the last 20 years has begun working with U.S. suppliers as well. Yuwa is presently the sole agent for…

Executive Education: International Negotiation Strategies

As a preview to his Executive Education session during the upcoming IBC Global Forum, the following is a brief on Dr. Denis Leclerc, Professor of Cross-Cultural Communication at Thunderbird School of Global Management. Dr. Leclerc’s work has been published in multiple journals with a focus on communication and negotiation, including the written research of the impact of…

May Currency Outlook

In their May 2017 Currency Outlook report, Tempus, an exchange rate and global payments company, provides a detailed report including the following topics and sections: In Brief U.S. GDP growth was at its worst level since 2014 European Central Bank showed economic optimism, but remains hesitant on tightening UK Prime Minister calls for early primary election…

Export 101: Understanding Product Selection

When initiating an export plan, conducting a product selection exercise is a key element. In reviewing market selection, suppliers may have considered product suitability as one aspect, understanding on a basic level what markets were best suited for the supplier’s current product lines. Before deciding to ship products overseas, however, a more in depth product review should…

Recycling and Display Props

By Martin M. Pegler Props, I would imagine, is short for “properties” and “properties” can be anything that adds something to a scene, a setting, a display. If we were to look around us, we would see we are standing in the center of a field of display props: from the furniture in the room, the plants, the unused rolls of wallpaper, the tableware, the collection of pots and…

2017 gia Global Honoree – Green with Envy

Michelle Hespe speaks to Nicole Ward, Founder and Owner of the New Zealand gia Global Honoree award winning retailer, Green with Envy. When people visit New Zealand, or meet New Zealanders, many comment that the country and the people are so warm and welcoming. That the place and its people are down-to-earth. There’s a true sense of caring and connectedness in this small…

EuroDev – Outsourced Sales Solutions in Europe

EuroDev is a business development company with headquarters in the Netherlands and a secondary office in France. EuroDev’s business model is built around being the outsourced sales force for U.S. companies which are looking for boots on the ground. With a team of dedicated, experienced and multilingual business developers and subject-matter experts, EuroDev have successfully…