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.
Required Reading
Some big housewares developments— including the sale of Lasko Products, the introduction of new senior management at Lenox and the announcement of the 2017 Housewares Design Awards finalists— slipped in under the wire of our deadline to be included in this special 2016 Year-In-Review edition of HomeWorld (December 12 issue). With three weeks still left in the year, there’s still time for important housewares news to strike before the ball drops in Times Square. It won’t make this annual recap of housewares newsmakers, but that’s why we have websites, e-newsletters and social media.
Such digital outlets are required reading in today’s instant news culture, and it’s why you will continue to see HomeWorld invest in optimized digital platforms and innovative digital content. That won’t diminish the effort we place on creating and delivering a provocative physical magazine worth wrapping your hands, eyes and minds around every couple of weeks.
Like the experiences of handling cookware, tinkering with an espresso machine or examining a dinner plate that can’t be fully replicated in a 3D web view no matter what online sales progress might indicate, we are as committed as ever to make receiving and thumbing through the oversized pages of HomeWorld a uniquely satisfying experience. We hope to deliver that satisfaction through the depth of our words, the experience of insights, the exclusivity of our coverage, the detail of our data, the vividness of our images and the comfort of our overall layout.
Complimentary Access
I should note here a new service connecting HomeWorld’s print and digital services: All print subscribers now are eligible to begin accessing a complimentary digital edition of HomeWorld magazine (click on “Subscriptions” at homeworldbusiness.com to learn more).
We understand more people crave the on-demand convenience of a digital magazine, and there is a real benefit to enabling subscribers to access the latest edition of HomeWorld wherever, whenever and however. But we don’t want that convenience to come at the expense of the immersive experience promoted by full-color paper and ink.
Physical and digital practices— in publishing, retailing and many other endeavors— can benefit less from pure convergence and more from the extra effort required to keep each facet distinguishably essential to a unified strategy.
Quality Time
With that, we are grateful at this reflective time of year for faithful readership and support by a housewares trade that shares our vision for an integrated presentation balancing the material foundation of our magazines with the rapid delivery of our digital bytes.
We invite you to spend some quality time with this special Year-In-Review issue of HomeWorld recapping a busy 2016 in housewares. News happens fast and time really flies in this digital age. Sometimes you need to sit back and thumb through the pages to fully appreciate it all.
Happy Holidays!
