Dissecting what Ron Johnson got wrong during his brief, calamitous term at the helm of J.C. Penney is sure to be the focal point of retail strategy and tactics lessons for years to come. But Penney’s future could still hinge to some extent on what he got right.

With all the color that has been unleashed on the housewares business this year, asking what the hot colors are is not enough. It’s more important to understand why they might be hot and how they can be applied to generate sustained revenue.

Building a dominant position in business has its privileges. Mandating more from resources is among them.

If the industry is looking for a hook that best justifies New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's appearance at a trade show for pots and pans— and myriad other household implements— it was his commentary on the urgent fight against obesity in this country.

While a good part of the industry inches us closer to a “Jetsons” kitchen, a very large core of the industry is working diligently to make sure we never completely get there.

This puts the burden on retailers to use the extra time to their advantage by exploring the industry’s biggest and most influential domestic trade event to its fullest.

Getting consumers to trust a brand on a more personal level also starts with retailers trusting the personality of a brand to help drive sell-through.

Few companies in housewares can afford a multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad, or, for that matter, any type of prolonged needle-moving consumer TV advertising campaign.

Let’s see if I can connect some seemingly random thoughts as the housewares industry heads into the busy season for product introductions and back-half planning.

How much more is better design worth? That is a tricky question. The practice of starting with a desired pricepoint, then designing and building a product from that measure isn’t always a formula for optimum return on investment for the manufacturer or the retailer.

The turn of the year remains a time of promise, as difficult as that might be to grasp in the wake of heartbreaking tragedy.

The new double standard that seems to forgive web retailers for humming along uninterrupted by traditional family time is precisely why brick-and-mortar stores might have no choice but to open on Thanksgiving. And it is precisely why Black Friday as we know it might soon become obsolete.

It should be rewarding to each 2013 Housewares Design Awards finalist to know how carefully all of the entries were considered.

Retailing, after a near-term hit, figures to be an instrumental contributor to and benefactor from the post-Sandy recovery as victims restock their lives.

It’s not always easy to identify the heroes among us. Case in point: Little did I suspect during the IHA Chief Housewares Executive Super Session that the young man with the polite Southern drawl and pale leather coat discussing his latest country music recording would turn out to be a former Army Ranger from the 1993 special operations mission in Mogadishu, Somalia, immortalized in book and film as “Blackhawk Down.”

Why shouldn’t all business parties get to declare victory by keeping their collective focus on what’s best for an overwhelming majority of their consuming public?

From one view, the HomeWorld Forecast findings validate the industry mantra that the need-based lineage of housewares helps keep the category buoyant when other retail segments seem more vulnerable to economic undertows. The view that the housewares category at its essence is a composite of basic necessities resistant to economic softness, however, might not capture the whole picture.

The goal shouldn’t be to resist online retailing development that figures to become more essential to all successful brick-and-mortar retailers. Rather, it should be to reinforce store foundations by reinvesting in core practices that engage shoppers.

While it often seems that independent retailers might get swept away by the economic tide and lost in a sea of big-box superstores, their determination to stay afloat and survive another day is a reminder of just how vital they are to the housewares business and to the consumer.

Each HomeWorld Player can’t afford to be bashful when it comes to embracing the accountability of their decisions in today’s less-forgiving marketplace.

We invite the industry to enter the 2013 Housewares Design Awards and partake in a 10th anniversary celebration that figures to direct the spotlight even brighter on the design achievement helping to lift the value of the industry.

Retailers best equipped to navigate the chop of the current marketplace shouldn’t have to scramble for life preservers to save their years.

Is there enough patience in the market to wait until Penney’s forthcoming merchandise reset has had a chance to take root before declaring success or failure?

Housewares retailers looking for ways to reenergize their selling floors might want to infuse a more holistic wellness strategy into the development of healthy-product presentations. That, in turn, could inspire consumers to invest in multiple purchases by exposing them to products they otherwise might not have considered.

To recognize Andy Lucchesi’s achievement in advertising sales and publishing without a nod to the integrity and affability behind his success would be a disservice.

The single-serve category has earned its position as the focal point of today’s home coffee brewing market. It is compelling a fresh wave of collaborative and competitive product and marketing initiatives across the retail small appliance and housewares landscape.

Great plans without great execution are the empty calories of business strategy in today’s less-forgiving marketplace.

They don’t grab headlines with celebrity chefs, designer pop-up shops and former Apple executives. Instead, Dollar General and Family Dollar make news where it counts the most: on their balance sheets. It adds up to a blossoming opportunity for housewares companies that can develop programs tailored for this expanding channel and its expanding customer base.

Early indications from the International Housewares Association are that the industry should prepare for the four-day show format to stick.

Despite shifts in product priorities, the housewares business remains a vital core of the retail bridal registry business, and vice versa. Recharging and sustaining this mutually beneficial merchandising marriage requires a fresh outlook on bridal consumers.

Regional supermarkets have cemented trust and loyalty among their core shoppers over the years through a focus on homebred selections and community-centric marketing campaigns. That’s a significant advantage in the battle to capture and hold consumers once again embracing the virtues of supporting local businesses.

The worth of any supplier can be compromised if its identity and sales proposition can’t transcend individual items.

For three hours on a spring-like day in the middle of winter in New York, the industry got a chance to bask in some well-deserved recognition for its hard work during this year's Housewares Design Awards ceremony.

Target’s recent letter to vendors asking them to help prevent online-only retailers from undercutting store selection and pricing didn’t specify Amazon.com. It didn’t have to. Any plans to level the playing field, however, have to go deeper than asking vendors for more help.

The housewares industry deserves not only credit for its game-changing ideas. It also deserves a fair chance to be a long-term stakeholder in the concepts it pioneers.

It didn't take long for incoming JC Penney chief Ron Johnson to fire an explosive first shot in his mission to remake the department store chain. It is now difficult to comprehend any scenario in which JC Penney and Macy's can share the Martha Stewart brand.

A resolution of more cooperation between retailers and vendors is not a quick fix. It’s a long-term strategy. Forecasting more effectively requires looking ahead to the next several moves. And doing it together.

Congratulations to the finalists for the 2012 Housewares Design Awards. Winners in the 12 core awards categories and the Green House category for eco-responsible design will be crowned during the ninth annual luncheon and ceremony, January 31, 2012, at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

The suggestion that stores are totally defenseless against the online sales surge is, of course, extreme. But the clock could be ticking for stores that don’t adapt to a world where electronic shopping options are an ever-present convenience.

Despite pressure to move faster today, betting big on an outcome that is far from certain doesn’t make a lot of sense. Encouraging a business development culture to be more comfortable placing little, affordable bets in pursuit of breakthrough innovation could mean a bigger win in the end.

Word has it the long-rumored plan to move Bed Bath & Beyond’s Long Island buying operation to the retailer’s New Jersey corporate hub could become a reality in 2012. Are they confident the chain’s merchandising playbook can be handed to new recruits without any hiccups in day-to-day execution?

As we head into the heart of the entry period for the 2012 Housewares Design Awards, the industry should take note of the first major revisions to U.S. patent law in more than half a century.

Millennials: You might know them as Generation Y, the Net Generation or Echo Boomers. Whatever you call them, they are a prime group of on-their-own-for-the-first-time shoppers who could determine the winning retailers for a generation to come. Millennials already influence $1 trillion of spending. In other words, you need them in your stores now if you want them in your stores later.

The unpredictable tremors in life and business that rumble under our feet come from all directions and in all magnitudes. We deal with them in our own ways.

Stressed from the roller coaster ride that is the stock market? Wondering if a consumer that seemed on the mend can stomach all of it in time for some soothing holiday spending? If everything is spinning out of control again, try to take your mind off of it by taking control of what you can. Stress-relief hint No. 1: Run your business. Stress-relief hint No. 2: Enter the 2012 Housewares Design Awards.

If you could arrive at an acceptable compromise in six months or less, wouldn’t you prefer that option? That’s the promise of alternative dispute resolution.

Shoppers are releasing pent-up demand on their own terms and at their own pace. Discretionary consumer spending cycles have abandoned their traditional regularity, and that’s in direct conflict with a retail industry averse to the mounting cost these days of flexibility.

The democracy of online forums for consumers to review products is commendable and helpful... as long as e-tailers and other online user review resources do everything possible and reasonable to separate fact from fiction and ensure such reviews are reliable.

As Ron Johnson moves to the helm of JC Penney from his groundbreaking post as architect, builder and caretaker of the Apple Store phenomenon, many might wonder how his hardlines-honed philosophy will translate to an apparel-heavy promotional department store brand.

What have you done for me lately? It’s a question being asked by both office store merchants and their furniture suppliers as the retailers wrestle with how to recharge overall foot traffic and suppliers labor for reliable growth again from a channel core to their business.