Archives: News
Employee Becomes Owner of Gift Shop
Morton, IL – After working at downtown Morton’s Pumpkin Patch Gift Shop for a year-and-a-half, Laurie Rummel decided to change roles from employee to owner.
Rummel, a long-time Mortonite, took ownership of Pumpkin Patch Gifts Sept. 9. She said she was excited to take over the gift shop, which is really two stores in one.
“When I started working for (former owner) Marianne (Brubaker) I just really fell in love with the Merle Norman side and the gift shop,” Rummel said. “They’re two totally different stores, but it’s such a nice bonus to have them both.”
Holiday Gift Shops Pop up in Downtown Portland
Portland, OR – Portland, Ore., is well-known as a hip, bike-friendly city with a sizzling street food scene that boasts more than 600 food carts and trucks clustered downtown and scattered throughout the neighborhoods.
The city currently starring in the IFC channel’s cult hit “Portlandia” is also a sales-tax-free urban shopping mecca hosting its third holiday season of art-and-craft-filled “pop-up” shops in the downtown retail core.
Popular nationwide, especially during the holiday season, pop-up shops are temporary stores that allow retailers to test concepts while filling empty
Gifts Galore At the Antique Store
North Reading, MA – North Reading Antiques and Collectibles on Main Street is a great place to buy collectibles and unique holiday gifts. They stock everything from jewelry to housewares to toys.
The multi-dealer shop is 4000 square feet of good finds. They have a large variety of jewelry, housewares, furniture, toys, games, records and more. Some of the items are new, like handmade soap and candles, but most are vintage.
“We’ve been swamped because people want unique gifts,” Manager Phil Martin said, placing 40-year old toy cars in a display case.
Christmasworld the Main Sponsor of the ‘Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs’ Charity Event
Christmas and design go hand-in-hand. From creative Christmas baubles and trendy colors to new andextraordinary materials, Christmas offers a multitude of opportunities to put personal ideas and plans into practice.
Indiana Artisan Marketplace to Showcase Locally Made Art, Food
From mosaics and marshmallows to watercolors and wines, the Indiana Artisan Marketplace features one-of-a-kind handmade work by more than 200 artisans.
The inaugural Marketplace attracted 5,000 people in 2011, and artisans sold more than $400,000 of their handmade food and artwork.
The 2012 Indiana Artisan Marketplace will take place March 31 and April 1, 2012, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Expo Hall.
California Gift Show Announces January 2012 Winter Market Schedule at LA Mart and Los Angeles Convention Center
MMPI’s California Gift Show (CGS) is ready to welcome and entice the international buying community this January as retailers initiate a new year of on-trend purchasing, beginning in Los Angeles at the West Coast’s largest Gift + Home Market. A new mid-week date kicks-off the show.
Holiday & Floral/Home Decor Offers New Exhibitors and Expanded Showroom at January Market
Wholesale buying and selling will be in full swing for eight days in January when the world’s largest collection of holiday, home and floral product takes the spotlight at AmericasMart Atlanta in the first wholesale trade event of 2012: The Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market Jan. 11-18 (Temporaries: Jan. 13-17), with the Atlanta International Area Rug Market featuring the National Oriental Rug Show taking place Jan. 12-15 (Temporaries: Jan.
Leanne Manas Launches own Gift Store
Sandton City, South Africa – The Simply Manas Gift Emporium opened in Sandton City’s new extension, Protea Court, earlier this month. It’s a collaboration between Manas and her sister-in-law, Mandy Manas, who owns a kiddies boutique, Koko Bino.
Says Manas: “The store is the fulfilment of a life-long dream. Gifting is one of the most personal aspects of retail, and in the current economic climate, affordability plays a significant role too.”
The store caters for all pocket sizes, with pricing between R100 to R3000. Different tastes are catered for as well.
Madison Park Group Opens New Atlanta Showroom
The Madison Park Group, a leading stationery and gift manufacturer, will unveil its new showroom at the Atlanta International Gift Market, Building 2, Floor 6, Showroom 660B. The new 520 square foot showroom is scheduled to open its doors in January 2012.
Products lines in the showroom include Madison Park Greetings, I Can Has Cheezburger, iPop, KOCO NY, Linnea Design, Running Rhino, and Party Partners, the most recent company to partner with the Madison Park Group.
As Hospitals Struggle, Gift Shops Provide Spark by Making Money
Spokane, WA – A shopper recently marched into the gift shop at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and asked: “Where are the clip-on ornaments?”
She was shown to the decorated Christmas tree, where she picked out several ornaments. She clips a $50 bill onto each ornament for everyone on her Christmas list.
The woman is not a hospital patient. She doesn’t visit anyone. She simply shops there, as if it were a “real” gift store.
Which, indeed, it is.
Santa has Gifts for Good Dogs and Cats, Too
Just more than half of American pet owners will buy gifts for their pets this holiday season, and they’ll spend an average of $46 on their animals with toys and treats topping the list, according to a new AP-Petside.com poll.
Sixty-eight percent of pets getting gifts can look forward to a toy, 45 percent to food or another treat, 8 percent new bedding, 6 percent clothing, 3 percent a leash, collar or harness and 3 percent new grooming products, the poll showed.
Lisa Whiteaker of Bishopville plans to spend well over $100 on 3-year-old boxers Morgan and Taylor.
Floral Rhino Brightens Downtown
Casper, WY – Colorfully named, with products to match.
The newly opened Floral Rhino, located at 139 S. Center St.
A Boost for Small Businesses
Buffalo, NY – Shoppers hunting for Christmas presents responded in gratifying numbers to Saturday’s campaign to spend at locally owned shops—from the small intersection at Clarence Center to Williamsville’s Main Street and Buffalo’s Elmwood Village.
“When you go in a small store, you don’t see [merchandise] duplicated other places,” said Carol Pumm, outside Yours Truly stationery and gift shop on Goodrich Road in Clarence.
North Ridgeville Gift Store Braces for Holiday Rush
North Ridgeville, OH – Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year for local card and gift shops, and there is no mistaking the season when walking into LeHoty’s Hallmark store on Center Ridge Road in North Ridgeville.
The store is decorated for the season with a Christmas tree, garland, glass ornaments and holiday displays. In addition, on a recent visit, the staff was dressed in holiday clothing.
Store owner Bob LeHoty, who founded the business 30 years ago, said the store offers a variety of gift ideas with most ranging in price from $5 to $20.
Black Friday Sales Hit Record, Says Report
New York, NY – Preliminary reports for Black Friday indicate that retailers may have seen their strongest sales ever during the all-important kick-off to the holiday shopping season.
Retail sales on Black Friday climbed 6.6% this year to an estimated $11.4 billion, according to ShopperTrak, which tracks foot traffic at malls and stores.
Online Sales Surge 24% on Black Friday
New York, NY – A big push by big-box stores and online retailers to bring Black Friday to the web — and to do so earlier than ever — seems to have paid off this year.
Online sales were up 39.3% on Thanksgiving Day and 24.3% on Black Friday compared to the same days last year, according to IBM’s (IBM, Fortune 500) Coremetrics, which tracks real-time data from 500 retailers in the apparel, department store, health and beauty and home goods categories.
“This year marked Thanksgiving’s emergence as the first big spending day of the 2011 holiday season with a record number of consumer
Small Business Saturday Brings Big Business to Central Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, PA – Harrisburg-area customers who didn’t shop on Black Friday and don’t plan to shop on Cyber Monday came out in full force on “Small Business Saturday” to support locally owned stores.
At Toys on the Square in Hummelstown, customers purchased classic toys ranging from spinning tops to erector sets. Across the street at the Bill Maloney Men’s Wear & Tailor Shop, men’s shirts and ties were popular with shoppers.
Kansans Supporting Small Business Saturday Shopping Day
Wichita, KS – Dozens of small businesses around Wichita participated in “Small Business Saturday” to encourage people to shop at local stores.
“It’s important that the general public really supports small businesses because more and more of the small businesses are disappearing due to mass merchandising,” said J.R. Koontz, owner of J.R. Koontz Flowers.
J.R.
Small Business Saturday Encourages Consumers to Shop Local
Eau Claire, WI – If the holiday super store chaos has got you feeling like a grinch this season, a change of scenery may be in order.
Saturday marked the second annual “Small Business Saturday”. The day encouraged consumers to shop local, independently owned shops in order to support the local economy.
Shopper Rita Weaver says, “It’s a madhouse, it’s too many people, people just trying to get anything and everything that they can get their hands on, fighting over it. I don’t care for that.”
Shopper Jody Skrtic says, “Not everybody likes to go into a big mall.