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…

Consumer behavior

Designing for Relevance in the Attention Economy

IHA spoke with digital marketing experts Tod Szewczyk and Jeff Mauto hear about the personal and economic impacts of constant connectivity, which they will discuss at the 2019 International Home + Housewares Show. At the Show, the Innovation Theater will feature 21 presentations over four days. Topics will include design innovation, smart home, digital commerce and global…

Omnichannel Impact on Housewares: Havoc or Opportunity?

IHA caught up with Peter Greene, practice director of consumer durables at Numerator, based in Chicago and San Francisco, to learn about research on omnichannel shopping behavior, which he will discuss at the 2019 International Home + Housewares Show. At the Show, the Innovation Theater will feature 21 presentations over four days. Topics discussed will include design…

Stats: Sales of Housewares Products Rise

U.S. online sales of housewares products increased 18 percent in 2017. That’s according the The NPD Group’s Checkout consumer receipt mining service. On average, nearly a quarter of online buyers purchased housewares in 2017. And when they did, they bought nearly four items online during the year. “E-commerce has changed the way consumers shop for home products,” says Joe…

Trends: Consumers Cooking at Home

Dining in is becoming more fashionable than dining out. Both of the 800-pound gorillas of generational groups—Boomers and Millennials—have been opting to stay home and cook (or order delivery) rather than spend money at restaurants, according to a couple of studies from The NPD Group. NPD’s latest “Eating Patterns in America” report finds that consumers are making fewer…

Trends: Looking Inside America’s Kitchen

Consumers, time strapped as they are, still want to make fresh meals at home. In fact, U.S. consumers have a renewed interest in cooking freshly prepared meals, according to a recent survey by the NPD Group, which also found that those same consumers don’t want to spend more time at the stove. It is a conundrum that NPD says influences how people set up their home kitchens…

Merchandising to the Future of Cooking: It Starts Now!

IHA checked in with Steve Katz, creator of Man the Kitchen, about his latest research on the behavior of male cooks in the kitchen and their preferences for products and environments at retail that he will discuss at the at the 2018 International Home + Housewares Show. At the Show, the Innovation Theater will feature 21 presentations over four days. Topics discussed will…

UPS Releases Pulse of the Online Shopper Survey

UPS has released the 2017 UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper survey, the sixth annual study conducted by UPS and fielded by comScore, Inc., revealing a changing retail landscape where online shoppers purchase more from international retailers, shop more on mobile devices and rely more on marketplaces. The survey is presented as a five-volume series covering consumer profiles,…

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