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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.

CHESS 2016 Highlights – Keynote Day 1: Where Is Our Country Headed?

Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator In this tumultuous election year, many people in the U.S. and abroad and asking that very same question. Political analyst and commentator Charlie Cook provided some answers to the CHESS audience. He also offered his perspective on the national political scene, for the coming month is sure to bring surprises and upsets with changes…

2016 CHESS: Global, Economic and Political Outlook

After lunch and information about the services offered by CHESS sponsor companies, Bernard Baumohl presented a thought-provoking analysis of current domestic and international economic and political conditions. Baumohl, chief global economist at The Economic Outlook Group, based in Princeton, NJ, specializes in economic analysis, forecasting and geopolitical risk assessment.…

2016 CHESS: Housewares Executives Gather in Chicago

Navigating Transitional Times… Through Political, Economic and Cultural Shifts Chief housewares executives eager to hear the latest from the front lines of the industry learned from experts who addressed IHA’s 2016 CHESS conference on October 6 and 7. The two-day conference, held at the Westin O’Hare hotel, attracts top executives at IHA-member companies who look forward to…

Hanjin Bankruptcy is a Game Changer

It was only a matter of time before the unthinkable happened in the shipping industry. On August 31, 2016, Hanjin Shipping filed for bankruptcy protection sending shockwaves through the shipping industry. Bankruptcies are not new to the shipping industry. There have been numerous bankruptcies over the last 15 years with the most notables being Cho Yang in 2001 and Hainan POS in…

Global Retail Intelligence – September 2016

To follow is a brief review of retail news from around the world: August 26 – Walmart & ASDA, UK Bloomberg offered a review of the state of supermarket retailing in the UK including a suggestion that “Walmart should cut Asda loose. The U.S. retail giant has struggled with the U.K. supermarket it bought for 6.7 billion pounds ($8.9 billion) in 1999. A sale to a private…

Trends: Food Gifting On the Rise

It probably doesn’t come as a huge surprise that people like to eat chocolate. Or that people enjoy food. And everyone likes to receive gifts. Put that all together and it also isn’t surprising that food gifts are increasingly popular across all occasions and food gift types. And that is good news for retailers who sell specialty food products and gift baskets. U.S. consumer…

New Pavilion to Spotlight the Smart Home, Connected Products at 2017 International Home + Housewares Show

The future of housewares is quickly moving toward the smart home. With innovations from established and start-up companies, connected and smart products, once only a dream, are fast becoming a reality. The 2017 International Home + Housewares Show will spotlight these innovative housewares products in the IHA Smart Home Pavilion. The 2017 Show will be held March 18 to 21 at…

Stats: Cooking for Generations

What’s for dinner? That depends on whom you ask. According to a generational study published by The NPD Group, the evening meal is the dining event of the day that is most sharply divided by age. Knowing what people want for dinner is a key issue for both retailers and manufacturers trying to figure out what consumers want to buy to cook that meal. Or whether they want to cook…

Retail Profile: The Kitchen Shoppe & Cooking School

Retailer: The Kitchen Shoppe & Cooking School Location: Carlisle, Pa. Founded: 1974 Owners: Sue and Dan Hoffman Square footage: 7,000 sq. feet When Sue Hoffman first opened her store, The Kitchen Shoppe, she focused on selling manual kitchen gadgets. But then engineer Carl Sontheimer introduced an appliance that became known as the Cuisinart food processor. The impact on…