Gifts and Dec Blogs
A Web for Everyone!
Welcome to the New Year and more exciting advances in online technology! I can't wait to see if the 2012 predictions -- including increased mobile marketing, greater use of the cloud, and continued growth of online video will happen even faster than predicted. I hope all the readers of this blog received the latest technology gadget on their wish list! While visiting my parents for the holidays, I... More
About this blog
Hi, I'm Penny Schneck, the Online Sales Manager for Furniture/Today. Over the last eight years I've seen the Internet transform not just the way we advertise, but the way we do business. It is the great disintermediary. I've personally seen it change the travel, financial services and employment advertising businesses. I've no doubts that its impact on the way we buy and sell home furnishings will continue to grow. This growth will be accelerated by the recession as consumers and businesses look for new ways to communicate and transact business. The Web is certainly the Wild West of our time with global implications and new technologies at every turn, but that's what makes it exciting. Join us on this special blog for a lively discussion on the benefits and challenges the Web offers to our industry. I look forward to a lively debate! Email: pschneck@sandowmedia.com
Weekly Wardrobe: Petites Frites Bibs
When my older daughter was born, I received a gift of seven bibs, each one embroidered with a different day of the week. An adorable concept...if only the bibs hadn't been white. Once she grew and moved on to solid foods, it wasn't long before those beautiful bibs were permanently stained with mashed peas and peach puree. The "Friday" bib looked more like "Fdy," while "Sun... More
About this blog
This Mommy blog puts a practical perspective on all types of products -- not just toys and gifts -- for moms and their kids. It will help retailers understand what is important to mothers when it comes to buying for their kids.
January...
Those clever Romans (or Greeks or whoever it was) that devised the modern calendar didn't know that the first month of the year would so much come to symbolize new starts, rebirths and renewals, not just personally but professionally.That is certainly the case in the gift industry where the month of January is the begining of the new business cycle and all the trade shows throughout the country ta... More
About this blog
What gifts, et al, have to do with the shoppers, retailing and the rest of the known world...at least according to editorial director Warren Shoulberg.
Hot Pink, Passion and Lego
The good news and the bad news for Lego is that people care...and care deeply...about what they do. Lego is accused by Peggy Orenstein (author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter) and others of helping create a "Pink Ghetto" in the toy department and people are signing an online petition against the new "Girls" Lego line, Lego Friends.But why do people care so much? It's because Le... More
About this blog
Richard Gottlieb, president of Richard Gottlieb & Associates, a New York-based business development firm specializing in the toy business, offers his sometimes funny and always unique take on developments in the industry.
It's About Time
How much of your time is spent working in your business rather than on your business? Studies show that businesses fail because they don't make the right decision at the right time -- but most of us spend the majority of our day dealing with the myriad of details involved in running the shop. I don't want to downplay the importance of spending at least part of your day assisting customers and wor... More
About this blog
Veteran retailer Carol Schroeder shares her experience and perspective on the ups and downs of being a gift retailer.
Wondering What's Next For Facebook? Timeline!
In the short, it's the new Facebook personal profile layout that gives users the ability to go back to a specific point in someone's personal profile. Yes, I keep saying "personal profile" for a reason. Timeline is projected to release to personal profiles first. Currently, the Timeline view is available on the Developer site. See how my personal Facebook Timeline looks in the photos bel... More
About this blog
Christi Tullis shares her tips and answers your questions about Facebook, Twitter and other social and electronic media used to market your store.
Suburban Hill's Poland/Czech Republic Tour Continues
Editor's Note: Suburban Silk/Suburban Hill's Edward Vanegas and Paul Changsingthong are off on buying adventures once again - this time to Poland and the Czech Republic to scout the popular holiday markets, as well as see the sights. Once again, they share their adventures and observations. Thursday, November 24• Took a city bus for $1.00 to a nearby city/town for a great 3-hour tour of the Salt... More
About this blog
On the Road: Business travel highlights and lowlights as told by the gift industry's road warriors
Happy 15 minutes-off-work-to-have-a-turkey-sandwich day
By Meredith Schwartz Remember when Thanksgiving, America's most universal holiday, was to be celebrated with family and friends and being thankful for what we have? Or in giving back, serving the less fortunate? Well, those days are over. It was bad enough when stores started opening early on Black Friday - first at six, then five, then four and three a.m., so employees had to face the ravening do... More
About this blog
The staff of Gifts & Decorative Accessories share their views and commentary on matters related to the industry.
Banks are Lending!!!
Seven months ago my client was presented with their bank's plan of forced liquidation. That's when they called me. Even while charging 10% interest on a fully collateralized loan, the bank had lost patience and was ready to force change. Options from alternative lenders were all in the range of 16% - 18%.Today my client has offers to lend $10million at 3% interest from four strong regional a... More
About this blog
Turning Points is dedicated to helping industry leaders survive the current recession and to prepare for success in the inevitable economic recovery.
NPD Survey Says …
The NPD Group's Kids Industry Data Service (KIDS) recently asked: "Where do you plan to do most of the back to school shopping for your child(ren)"?Compiled from 1,785 mentions of back-to-school shopping destinations for kids ages 0-14, findings revealed that 61 percent of responses were for mass merchants; 12 percent, department stores; 6 percent, office stores; 6 percent, major chains;... More
About this blog
With her veteran's-eye view, editor-in-chief Caroline Kennedy comments on the highlights and sidelights of our gift industry and the everyday world around us.
What Free Shipping is Really Worth
It's no surprise that free shipping is the most popular promotion an online retailer can offer, especially in a climate of continuing tight budgets, and retailers are taking note. It's all over the news that Wal-Mart launched free shipping today on almost 60,000 gift items. The third annual Free Shipping Day (Friday, Dec. 17th) has already signed up 550 merchants, and anticipates passing 1,000. Bu... More
About this blog
News, views and how-tos on selling smarter online
5 Things I Loved About the Type-A Mom Conference
Just got back from the Type-A Mom Conference in Asheville, North Carolina, where I and my colleague, Team Mom Director Marie Baker, had the best of times. Following are five things I loved about the conference: Seeing so many members of our Team Mom network of review bloggers and of our Parkbench Panel, including Debbie from Mamanista and Bloganthropy, Connie from Brain Foggles, Beth from P... More
About this blog
Mom Market Trends is an ongoing look at the social and marketing developments that affect today’s moms, with frequent emphasis on the power of the online mom community. Stephanie Azzarone, author of the blog and president of Child’s Play Communications, specialists in publicity and marketing communications for products and services targeted to moms, shares studies, trends, relevant articles, feedback from the Child’s Play Communications network of moms, and more, to keep marketers informed of the latest news and concerns impacting this $2.1 trillion dollar demographic.
Interpretation of Children's Products
With their Proposed Interpretative Rule, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is attempting to better define what constitutes a children’s product and how to differentiate a children’s product from a general use item. With some products, such as toys, there is no question that the item is a children’s product. But there are many other products that are less clearly identifiable. The di... More
About this blog
Play It Safe provides regular updates on key quality, safety and regulatory developments affecting the toy industry. Author Susan DeRagon is associate director of the Toy and Premium Division at Specialized Technology Resources (STR), the Enfield, Conn.-based CPSC-accredited testing laboratory.
Cooking Toys are all the rave
I just got back from the Housewares Show in Chicago. You may wonder what does that trade show have to do with toys? Well, cooking toys have been around for a long time and proven to hold kids interest year after year. Starting from the moment toddlers bang wooden spoons and pots and pans, they recognize tools used in the kitchen that create yummy things they taste all day long. Manufacturers have... More
About this blog
Marianne M. Szymanski is founder and president of Toy Tips Inc., an independent research group that conducts academic studies and publishes toy report cards based on child development. She is also the author of A Parent's Essential Guide to Smart Toy Choices (Wiley/Jossey Bass), an entrepreneur, speaker, lecturer and media personality.
Small Business Management Skills
Learning on the job? Protecting Profits in Any Economy is for you. Small business consultant Don Crist directs his lessons at entrepreneurs without formal business training. Says Crist, "I have been in many businesses where basic financial and organizational concepts are replaced by seat-of-the-pants management styles. The owners are skilled at the tasks but not at managing the business." A Mana... More
About this blog
A complete gift bookshelf, offering capsule summaries and reviews of business books to better your store, plus gift titles and cookbooks to stock.
Is your store participating in any "buy local" programs or the 3/50 project?
Steven Lora, MOTIF Modern Living, Austin & San Antonio, TX MOTIF Modern Living participates in the 3/50 Project, and we love the concept, although I’m not sure that we fit the mold. My partner and I never wanted MOTIF to be seen as a "mom-and-pop shop." We consciously cultivate an image of slick sophistication through merchandising, marketing and technology, but that does backfire on us when it co... More
About this blog
Every month in the magazine Gifts & Decorative Accessories asks three of our retailer advisors a topical question regarding store operations, customer service, employee management, rep relations, merchandise management or some other such matter of relevance to the success of their — and your — business. It’s our way of helping retailers help other retailers. By posting the monthly “We Ask” question online you too can participate and contribute answers that might be of help to other retailers.
