Gift Shop Magazine - Feature

Greeting Cards Galore!

admin — Sun, 23 May 2010 16:44:29 -0700

Greeting cards continue to be a vital part of the gift retail market. Find out what's trending up in this important stationery segment. Patti Stracher points out: Greeting cards and gifts go hand-in-hand. "Any time a person buys a gift, they need a card, so there is every rationale for stocking greeting cards," says the manager for the National Stationery Show.

Baby's Big!

admin — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:47:14 -0800

The Recession's Impact Baby means big business for gift store retailers like you. With grandparents and Gen Y-ers ready to spend on the category, find out what products you need to stock to cash in. Amy Chezem points out a simple fact of life that helps keep the baby business on an even keel: People always have babies. "Despite the economic climate, it is still a great time for the baby business because there are so many choices available to fit any budget and any lifestyle," says the communications director for the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association.

GIFT SHOP Magazine's 2009 Ultimate Makeover

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:08:27 -0700

This year's makeover went to Le Papillon, a long-standing gift store in New Jersey. Find out how some tested merchandising techniques executed by OneCoast's visual merchandising team—on a $500 budget—worked wonders for the store. Le Papillon is a wonderful store in Rumson, NJ, with a focus on both apparel and gift items. Storeowner Mary Louise van der Wilden explained that many years ago, in 1984, her husband had a separate high-end decorative brass hardware shop in the area called The Brass Horn.

Cater to the Conscientious Consumer

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:58:18 -0700

The new locavores Ethical consumerism. The phrase might sound intimidating but increasing numbers of your customers are taking it up. Consumer purchases are increasingly reflecting customers' values—whether through the buying of green goods or fair trade coffee. The numbers attest to the fact.

The Great Outdoors!

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:26:46 -0700

Digging in Susan Robbins believes it's no surprise that gardening has branched out to touch so many people. "You'd have to think really hard to find something negative about gardening," says the director of commerce for the National Gardening Association. "It promotes a healthy lifestyle and is an economical way to beautify the environment, and a nice garden says good things about the person inside the house," Robbins says. According to the National Gardening Association's 2009 report The Impact of Home and Community Gardening in America, gardeners are everywhere.

A License to Profit

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:04:03 -0700

Licensed Products: Everything and Anything Imagine walking into a store and everything was white. That's what the world would be like without licensed products, says Ketra Oberlander, founder of Art of Possibility Studios in Santa Clara, CA, an art publishing and licensing brand for physically disabled artists. Licensed products are everything and anything. "I have a book filled with hundreds and hundreds of categories," says Kerry Glasser, founder and president of Concept Marketing Group, Inc., a licensing and marketing agency in New York.

A Glimmer of Hope

admin — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:00:01 -0700

The Store as Refuge Despite a slow start to the year, retailer April McCrumb is happy that sales at her gift shops, Catching Fireflies, seem to be picking up again. Catching Fireflies has two locations in Berkley and Rochester, in Michigan. "One can only live on doom and gloom for so long," she points out, adding that her customers are increasingly picking out inspirational gifts. Scott Testa, a professor of marketing at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, says there is a real market for inspirational products when the economy is bad.

Working Wedding Wonders

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:26:18 -0700

Value Proposition You knew it was only a matter of time: The popular monogramming trend has been making inroads into wedding accessories as well. Carolyn Siderys will attest to this. At Marilyn's Keepsakes, the Indianapolis store where she works as e-business manager, monogrammed cake toppers have been a huge seller. This topper is personalized with the bride and groom's first name initials in smaller letters and their shared surname initial in a larger center letter.

Holiday Gourmet: The Season Never Tasted So Good!

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:19:17 -0700

Affordable Luxuries In this economy, it all comes down to this simple message: customers are looking for simple, affordable luxuries. For retailers like you, read small treats at low price points. Ron Tanner believes that this mantra plays out especially well in the specialty and gourmet food category where luxury can come at reasonable price points. The vice president of communications and education for The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade believes that specialty food gifts will play a big role in the 2009 holiday season.

Profit From Private Label

admin — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:36:38 -0800

Brand reinforcement It would be safe to say that at least in New England, the Black Dog Tavern on Martha's Vineyard has quite the following. What started as a simple eatery decades ago is now a roaring business fueled in large part by sales of "Black Dog" merchandise. There are Black Dog sweatshirts, Black Dog mugs, Black Dog T-shirts and more. The success of the operations can partly be attributed to these private label products.