Housewares veterans like to remind everyone how the category historically has been a dependable business, prone to neither steep gains during economic booms nor steep declines during downturns.
In nominating HomeWorld’s 2017 Retailer of the Year (see the May 22 issue) after a shaky end to 2016 and beginning to this year for many operators, one particularly intriguing example of resilience was hard to ignore: Walmart U.S.
The Licensing Expo sets up shop in Las Vegas May 23-25, promising a bounty of brands, characters and entertainment properties ripe for the picking by vendors and retailers.
This space typically is reserved for my views on the housewares business. But, this time, I’m giving someone else a voice.
The recent International Home + Housewares Show provided an important showcase for the future of the housewares industry.
They might not admit it now, but there were plenty of people in retailing rooting for Ron Johnson after he announced JC Penney’s plan to attract new customers with exclusive brands and experiences that wouldn’t need coupons and one-day sales as the primary bait.
Raise your hand: How many of you were at the first Housewares Charity Foundation gala during the 1998 Housewares Show?
Expect a busy day two at the International Home + Housewares Show.
It’s a topic that stirs great consternation yet great apprehension.
Many in the housewares industry received a welcome break this winter from the virtually back-to-back sequence of Frankfurt’s Ambiente and Chicago’s International Home + Housewares Show during recent years.
It didn’t take long to get a read on how glad many housewares companies and retailers were to put 2016 in the rearview mirror.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the Housewares Design Awards for me is the opportunity to observe the judges in action.
The department store death knell is ringing loudly once again in the wake of weak holiday sales reports and announcements of looming store closings.
The pursuit of 2017 retail inspiration is already in full gear as the annual flurry of winter trade show activity begins.
The years seem to fly by faster than ever. Maybe it has something to do with the constant communication cycle in which HomeWorld operates, where business news can’t wait until the next day or until Monday morning.
The election is finally over. Everybody is trying to digest much more than their turkey dinners this week, notably whether a post-election exhale will breathe life into holiday sales in the near term and whether a Trump presidency will mean headwinds or tailwinds for business in the long term.
The cyber attack that took down large swaths of the Internet in October was a possible double-whammy to the home products industry.
Most would agree “millennials” and “disruption” are among the most influential marketing buzzwords at the moment.
It’s the eve of the recent New York Tabletop Market, and everyone in and around Forty One Madison seems more inclined at the moment, understandably, to discuss the night’s first presidential debate than the latest dining and entertaining trends.
When the fall New York Tabletop Market kicked off earlier-than usual, several companies inside Forty One Madison had new names at the top of their executive ranks.