» Newsletter Archive
» Sign Up






	Here's the news for the week of September 29, 2008.

	1. Holiday Retail to be Worst in Six Years, NRF Forecasts 2. Burns to Head 41 3. American Greetings says Q2 On Track 4. International Markets Runup 5. Licensing Roundup: September 25 6. GHTA to Give Conference Attendees Trial Membership 7. Your 2 Cents Worth



	Holiday Retail to be Worst in Six Years, NRF Forecasts New York — The National Retail Federation predicts that holiday season retail sales will rise 2.2 percent this year to $470.4 billion. While not an outright drop, that anemic gain comes to only half the 10-year average of 4.4 percent growth, and marks the slowest growth since 2002, when holiday sales rose only 1.3 percent. <<Click to Continue>>

	Burns to Head 41 New York – Laurie Burns was appointed director of Forty One Madison The New York Merchandise Mart and senior vice president of Rudin Management Co. Inc., effective September 29. She succeeds Carole Dixon who announced her retirement in June. Burns, no stranger to the industry, is the former executive director of the Atlanta Gift Mart. <<Click to Continue>>

	American Greetings says Q2 On Track Cleveland — American Greetings reported total revenue of $385.8 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2009, compared to $377.5 million for the prior year period. The company reaffirmed its previous fiscal 2009 estimate of earnings. <<Click to Continue>>

	International Markets Runup Details on the upcoming China Sourcing Fair: Gifts & Home Products, Interior Lifestyle China, Bangkok International Gift Fair and Bangkok International Houseware Fair 2008 and APLF Fashion Access. <<Click to Continue>>


	Licensing Roundup: September 2 Licensees of Dena Designs Inc., Lafayette, CA, launched a variety of new Dena-designed collections, including Sunrise Greetings, Crazy Mountain Imports, Peking Handicraft, Antioch Publishing/Trends Intl. and Westminster Fibers. Copyright Licensing Agency, Dubai, signed up to represent all celebrity properties handled by Legends Licensing LLC, including photos of Marilyn Monroe. <<Click to Continue>>

	GHTA to Give Conference Attendees Trial Membership Grand Rapids, MI — The Gift and Home Trade Association (GHTA) is offering a free trial membership to vendors, sales agencies and industry affiliates who attend its 6th Annual Conference on November 20–22 in Sanibel Island, FL. <<Click to Continue>>

	Your 2 Cents Worth It depends on who your core customer is, but overall the Made in America label is nice, but not crucial: that's the conclusion of this week's Your Two Cents Worth poll. Some 42 percent of respondents say their customers care a little about whether products are made in America. Another 31 percent say their customers don't care at all. On the other hand, 27 percent say their shoppers care a lot. Knowing which category your own customers come under? That's where the art comes in. Are there issues you care a lot about? Email your poll question suggestions to mschwartz@reedbusiness.com, and visit www.giftsanddec.com to vote in this week's poll. To comment on polls, poll results or to suggest a poll question contact mschwartz@reedbusiness.com.


	For daily news updates visit www.GiftsandDec.com. That's all for now. We'll be with you again next week - Meredith Schwartz, Business Editor
	Your Email Address: [#EmailAddr#] is in our mailing list. To ensure our emails reach your inbox, add GDA_Direct@email.giftsanddec.com to your address book. You are receiving this email because you have requested a newsletter or magazine from Reed Business Information. To unsubscribe from this enewsletter: Click Here UPDATE SETTINGS To change delivery options, update an email address or register for other publications: Click Here QUESTIONS If you have questions or need further assistance, contact our Online Support Team at mailto:eservice@reedbusiness.com?Subject=GDD&body=Gifts_Dec_Direct--#Emailaddr# or by fax at 630-288-8394. PRIVACY POLICY: Click hereNEW SUBSCRIPTIONS To activate a new FREE email newsletter subscription: www.giftsanddec.com To order a PRINT MAGAZINE subscription to Gifts & Decorative Accessories: https://w1.buysub.com/servlet/OrdersGateway?cds_mag_code=GDA&cds_page_id=50846&cds_response_key=I87GDABN4 Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. All rights reserved.

Advertisement