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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Stats: Experiences Drive Trends

People aren’t buying products, they are buying experiences. At least that’s the opinion of Tom Mirabile, the International Housewares Association’s trend expert, who spoke during the recent 2019 International Home + Housewares Show. Mirabile’s annual keynote, “Top Trend 2019: New Consumer Insights and How to Thrive in the Retail Revolution,” brought up a number of points about…

Trends: Making Food Safe at Home

It is great to teach cooking classes, hold demos and inspire home cooks to purchase cookware, gadgets and other fun kitchen tools, but as anyone who has worked in a serious restaurant kitchen knows, food safety is the first priority. Professionals in the food service industry learn how to best make food safe for their patrons, but how much of that gets through to consumers…

International Home + Housewares Show Changes Name

Next year, the International Housewares Association is changing the name of its flagship trade show from the International Home + Housewares Show to The Inspired Home Show, IHA’s Global Home + Housewares Market. The change, which was announced at the recently completed 2019 International Home + Housewares Show, is part of the Association’s expansion of The Inspired Home…

Retail Profile: Artichoke

Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Owners: Karen and Brad Hughes Founded: 2016 Square Footage: 883 sq. ft. Own or Rent: Own If you can’t shop at Artichoke in person, you can visit via a virtual reality version of the Cincinnati store. Available on the Artichoke website, the virtual store allows customers to get acquainted before they come in, something owners Brad and Karen…

Trends: Snacking Still in Favor

Despite eating trends ranging from intermittent fasting to advice to “eat three square meals,” at the end of the day, Americans like to snack. That’s according to research firm The NPD Group, which studies these things and has released its Future of Snacking report. And apparently there is a future in snacking. “Snack foods continue to evolve both as between-meal snacks and…

Retailers Search for Trends

As market season peaks with the upcoming International Home + Housewares Show, buyers are putting on their forecasting glasses and searching for the trends that will let them stock stores with merchandise consumers won’t be able to resist. It is a tall task, from finding the right gadget to deciding whether to add a small electric appliance to the mix to wondering whether…

Retail Profile: The Pot Rack

Location: Leavenworth, Kan. Founded: 2008 Owners: Ollie and Kathryn West Square Footage: 3,500 sq. ft. Own or Rent: Own After careers in the military and then second careers in the corporate world, Ollie and Kathryn West “retired” into a third career in retail. The pair opened The Pot Rack on the main drag of Leavenworth, Kan., a historic town they both call home, in…

Stats: Politics Plays Role in Shopping

When former Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neill coined the phrase “All politics is local,” he didn’t know it at the time, but he could have been talking about retailing. According to a recent survey conducted by the NPD Group, consumers are paying closer attention than ever to politics these days and it is changing the way they shop. In a recent a survey, “The Holiday…

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