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Downtown Dayz picking up business
Here’s a cure for your economy — hand over $20 and get back $25.
That’s the dazzling rate of exchange at Abilene Downtown Dayz, and, despite the heat, shoppers and sightseers lined up for the deal Saturday.
In the shade by the splashing waterfall at Minter Park in downtown Abilene, Daniel and Ellen Rogers, of Abilene, happily tendered their $20.
“This is great,” Daniel Rogers said, pocketing their 25 Downtown Dollars.
Flower shop thrives in smaller pot
Business is blooming at a Bonita Springs flower shop after it moved into a cozier spot.
Bonita Blooms opened in a 1,000-square-foot spot at Sunshine Plaza on the north side of Bonita Beach Road just east of U.S. 41 in October, leaving behind a 2,000-square-space across the street at Springs Plaza.
“Downsizing the business and downsizing the employees made it so we could still serve the community until things turn around,” said owner Barbie Johnson. “I was thinking about selling this business before those folks contacted me. …
Gourmet Housewares Show® Announces the 2009 Gourmet Golds Winners
San Francisco, CA — With the move back to San Francisco, the Gourmet Housewares Show® continues with strong momentum. Celebrating the show and the Gourmet Golds Awards on Saturday evening was a distinct list of new and returning exhibitors from the gourmet and upscale housewares industry.
All exhibitors of the Gourmet Housewares Show were eligible to enter new products, launched to the trade between March and August of 2009, into the Gourmet Golds competition and display.
Cloud B Wins Big With iParenting Media Awards
Los Angeles – Cloud B®, a children’s toy and accessories company, has announced that several of its products have won iParenting Awards for Outstanding Products of 2009. Twilight Turtle™, Gentle Giraffe™, Gentle Giraffe On The Go™, and Polar Cuddle Cub™ are all winners in the Toy Category.
iParenting Awards, a Disney Interactive Media Group property, is part of the Disney Online Mom and Family Portfolio.
Local shop sparkles with summer treasures
On a gray morning that promised rain, the front door of the noa gift shop was wide open and the interior sparkled with bright summer ambiance.
Shoppers from Harvard and many other surrounding towns visit to view the inventory of jewelry, fine handcrafts and gifts which include the work of over 200 local artists and craftsmen.
Window displays in this Groton shop were inviting teasers. On one side, Betty Boop beckoned.
New owners uncover, preserve past of New Alex store
New Alexandria — Neil and Linda Eaglehouse were searching for a property where Linda could create works in stained glass while operating a retail outlet to serve the needs of others interested in the colorful art form.
When they set up shop last November in the former Dornon Store on New Alexandria’s Main Street, they found what they were looking for, and much more.
The Derry Township couple initially was attracted by the exterior of the three-story, 19th-century building — with its large, old-fashioned display windows and Second Empire styling.
Once inside, Linda was en
Cities buy into ‘shop local’ campaigns
Gift cards for buying cars in Elk Grove.
A promotion for shoppers to spend $30 on Aug. 30 in Davis.
Possible changes to city charters to allow preferential bidding to local suppliers.
“Shop local” campaigns — for both consumer and business-to-business spending — are high priorities these days as local communities and business groups try to prop up revenue and the local tax base.
Some communities, such as Elk Grove, are acting in response to the recession.
Tweens spend billions at stores
Children, parents like to say, are always growing up too fast.
Now, at least, they’re doing it in style.
“Tween” fashions and accessories, those marketed to children, usually girls between ages 7 and 14, are a multibillion-dollar business in America with a healthy and growing component in the Rochester region.
Justice, the latest evolution of the Limited Too brand for girls, has a devoted clientele at Eastview Mall in Victor, as do Claire’s Accessories, Icing and Abercrombie and Gap stores aimed at kids.
One doesn’t have to walk too far along the mall promenades to f
The Chicago Market: Living and Giving Announces August 2009 Retailer of the Month, Michael Blossom of Florodora
Chicago, IL – The Chicago Market: Living and Giving™ is proud to announce the August 2009 Retailer of the Month honoree. The ROTM program is designed to acknowledge exceptional retailers who are making a difference in the gift industry, as well as to provide inspiration to other retailers who can benefit from the winners’ stories.
Congratulations to the August 2009 Retailer of the Month, Michael Blossom of Florodora in Chicago, IL.
Retailer of the Month: August 2009
Store Name: Florodora
Owner: Michael Blossom
Website: www.florodora.com
Retail therapy: Customers asked to spend $50 a month at 3 businesses
Sometimes, it pays to get mad at Oprah.
Cinda Baxter did, and the result has been a Buy Local initiative that has spread nationally and found scores of supporters in Wisconsin and Dane County.
The 3/50 Project began this spring, sprouting from a notion Baxter suggested on her blog (www.alwaysupward.com), “Always Upward.” The idea is simple: Consumers pick three locally owned businesses they wouldn’t want to see disappear and try to spend a total of $50 a month among the stores.
“She’s got a good hook,” says Orange Schroeder, who owns Orange Tree Imports on Monroe Street and know
Merchants look forward to tall ships sales
Portsmouth, NH – Tall ships are set to have a sizable economic impact on the city this weekend, organizers and small business leaders say.
“We have never done an economic survey, although by anecdotal evidence, all restaurant and shop owners unanimously agree, it’s the busiest summer weekend in the city in Portsmouth,” said Donald Coker, head of the nonprofit Piscataqua Maritime Commission, which holds the event.
Chamber of Commerce tourism manager Nicki Nobel and city Economic Development Director Nancy Cramer said no statistics were available on the ships’ economic effect, b
Edible Gifts
Food gift-giving is a trend that shows no signs of slowing, and innovative new products are helping retailers boost sales.
When shopping for gifts, many consumers are going for a more tasteful approach — they’re giving food.
Between 2004 and 2006, the latest period for which sales figures are available, edible gift sales increased 47 percent to almost $16 billion, according to “Food Gifting in the U.S.,” a report from Rockville, Md.-based market research publisher Packaged Facts.
Vergas residents’ clothing line goes national
Vergas resident Bette Pitzel and her daughter, Michelle Shaw, unveiled their new clothing line, “Free To Be Me” in March.
TerraSkin: Paper Made From Rock
Used to be bag options at the store were paper or plastic. Now shoppers can choose cloth bags, too. They may have another alternative: rock. Shopping bags and boxes from gift stores at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, bags from personal-care company Erno Laszlo, and packaging of consumer products from Burt’s Bees look, feel, and fold like paper, but they’re made of crushed stone.
The treeless paper, manufactured in Taiwan and sold under the TerraSkin brand, is three parts recycled calcium carbonate—the same mineral in marble and limestone—and one part polyethylene binder.
Pressman Toy Licenses WaveLength Board Game for U.S. Specialty and Mass Market Retailers
New York, NY – Pressman Toy Corporation, known for delighting families for decades with classic games and innovative licensed products, has signed an agreement with Good Marketing, Inc., for WaveLength, the game in which players rank, match and score to determine, “Are you and your partner on the same WaveLength?” Appropriate for adults and teens, the game includes more than one thousand pop culture questions about movies, television, music, sports, history, politics, geography, and even household goods.
Sustainable Tradeshow Exhibit to Be Completely Constructed From Discarded Materials
White Plains, NY — Armed with only a hammer, a Japanese ryoba saw, a carpenter’s ruler, and his sketchbook, design entrepreneur Joey Roth will arrive at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center a few days before the summer edition of the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®) with a singular, sustainable mission. As one of the 2,900 exhibitors in the semi-annual wholesale market, he needs decorated exhibit space to showcase his home accessories products.
Want quirky? They’ve got it
Montreal – How often do you see customers in a retail store laughing out loud at the items on display?
Happens all the time at the eclectic and whimsical gift shop Mortimer Snodgrass, where you can get everything from the Holy Toast (a mould that forms a religious image on a piece of toast) to a ski-pole potato masher called Spudski to a book entitled Farts (A Spotter’s Guide), complete with sound effects.
There are fridge magnets with ’50s-style family photos over captions like “It’s not that I’m old.
Tax holiday big success
Mississippi retailers are reporting big business from the state’s first sales tax holiday, including stores and restaurants not eligible to participate in the two-day event.
Meanwhile, supporters are talking about the possibility of a three-day event next year to include more tax-free items, such as school supplies.
Traffic jammed roads, stores and parking lots statewide Friday and Saturday as shoppers enjoyed a 7 percent break on clothing and footwear priced under $100.
“It was wonderful.
Research Reveals the Impact of In-Store Sampling
A new independent study proves for the first time in-store sampling not only has dramatic sales impact on the day of the sampling event, but also increases sales of established products and line extensions, as well as new products, for many weeks following. The study also found in-store sampling lifts sales of the entire brand franchise in addition to the sampled brand, among other things never thought possible.
TheGiftCardCafe.com Introduces myPOS Service
San Diego, CA – TheGiftCardCafe.com, the leading provider of online gift certificates, today announced the launch of myPOS, a new option that enables retailers utilizing any point-of-sale system to integrate TheGiftCardCafe.com’s online instant gift certificates into their operations.