Porland of Turkey, one of the five gia Global Honorees this year, has a long, rich and colorful history. We look into what makes this manufacturer and retailer of porcelain stand out from the rest. by Michelle Hespe Porland’s logo features a ballerina executing a perfect pirouette. This elegant symbol conveys both beauty and strength, reflecting the grounding philosophy of this manufacturer and retailer of porcelain. The word…

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 consulting with A.T. Kearney and Bain & Co. to provide a unique…

Global Retail Intelligence – April

April 14 – JD.com Creates Offline Catering Supply Chain SolutionJD.com with Juqi, a dinning chain in Beijing, announced a supply chain cooperation, positioning JD.com as the first platform in China capable of providing a one-stop supply chain solution covering both the full category of food and materials supply, and integrated warehousing and distribution services. Through the cooperation, JD will also provide intelligent inventory…

Navigating The Wild West of Ocean Shipping

by Dave Akers, IHSA "Good Judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." — Will Rogers Here is how the modern shipping business mirrors the Wild West: 1. The “Gold Rush” Boom and Bust Cycles The Old West was defined by the gold rush with sudden, explosive wealth that created overnight millionaires, followed by devastating busts that left ghost towns behind. Shipping operates on the exact same…

IHA Plans Sourcing Mission to Vietnam

To help members investigate alternatives to sourcing from China, the International Housewares Association will hold a sourcing mission to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, next year. The 2020 Vietnam Sourcing Mission will be offered in two sessions: April 20-22 or April 23-25. Each session is limited to just six companies to provide a high level of service and allow for private meetings and factory tours. The dates were chosen to allow…

Guide to Effective Retail Store Design

by Martin M. Pegler If RETAILING is your chosen path of livelihood, here are some simple guidelines you might like to consider when planning your retail store. 1. Let There Be Light! Without the proper light the merchandise cannot be seen or judged, colors cannot be appreciated, coordinates cannot be assembled, nor buying decisions made. Let your light be the best you can afford to install and use—or, if necessary, skimp on…

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Staying on Trend – Scott Kohno

Scott Kohno, CEO of The Retail Element, has made a living out of analyzing the latest retail trends, deciding which ones can or should be applied to business and how. Michelle Hespe catches up with him to get some insight into the latest trends and how social media and technology are playing an increasingly larger part in staying “on-trend.” THE RETAIL PYRAMID The Retail…

Top Trends for the New Normal

Housewares manufacturers need to adapt, inspire and motivate in order to have success with today’s ever changing consumer, Tom Mirabile said at the 2014 International Home + Housewares Show focusing on top trends. “Whether you’re a retailer, manufacturer or wholesaler, a single word encapsulates today’s most crucial business imperative: Adapt,” he said. “Today’s consumer…

New Harmonies: Changing Themes in Color/Design Trends

2015 Pantone Color Palettes Introducing the 2015 Pantone color palettes at the International Home + Housewares Show, Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone Color Institute’s Executive Director, demonstrated the strongest trends in color and styling families – where they are coming from, why they are happening and where they are headed in future. For most consumers today, color and style…

Product Design – The Thrill of Owning an Original

As a store owner, it is a joy to see more people seeking out original product design. They want to know more about a product’s designer and where the product was made. Customers now want the story of the product’s origin and want products of higher value, not necessarily at a higher price. This new trend includes scrutinizing a product’s originality, material, manufacturing…

Casa Palacio – A Palatial Approach

Casa Palacio Santa Fe has a seriously impressive lineage, to its seriously great sense of style. The store’s parent company, department store El Palacio de Hierro, opened its doors in 1888 and has expanded to now operate 13 stores. Casa Palacio is the high-end spin-off store, stocking everything from furniture to designer objects, linen, tableware and fashion. They also offer…

A Picture Worth a Few Hundred Words – Retail Displays

Seeing is believing, and seeing what great retail displays a shadowbox can be is almost un-believable. Grange Interiors in the Aberdeen section of Hong Kong uses simple, four-sided boxes designed by Stefano Tordiglione Design Studio. These boxes are backless and the wall can be seen through them. The backless boxes, which allow the wall to be seen through their centers, are…

Going “GREEN” in Stores

There is hardly a single home or business publication that one picks up today that doesn’t have an article or two about “greening and sustainability”. Those two words are ubiquitous: seen, heard and talked about everywhere. More American U.S. consumers are looking for “green” products and green products sold in green environments. For store designers, the goal is to create and…

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