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KidsWorld Debuts Leading Manufacturers During Grand Opening Celebration; Dallas Market Center to Open an Entire Floor of Children’s Products
Dallas, TX – – Dallas Market Center, the world’s largest wholesale resource, today announced its grand opening celebration plans for KidsWorld, a comprehensive 200,000-square-foot marketplace debuting January 16, 2008 on the 8th floor of the World Trade Center. KidsWorld will feature leading manufacturers of gifts, home decor, toys, furniture and related merchandise to complement the children’s apparel and accessories showrooms already in place.
Annaleece Introduces Over 50 New Items to Their Collection!
Dedicated to offering quality products at unparalleled prices; Annaleece offers affordable elegance and style for everyone. This December, Annaleece will once again provide affordable high quality products and superior customer satisfaction for retailers and consumers alike.
- Handmade 100% Thai Silk Scarves
Thai Silk is known worldwide for its quality and unique texture, continuing the company’s commitment to offering high quality fashion accessories. The new silk scarves are handmade in Thai villages exclusively for Annaleece.
Two old friends open Olley Court, a home design and gift store
There are ostrich eggs on Main Street in Ridgefield.
They’re right in front of the twisted, large choker vine from Bali, and large, green moss balls.
These unique items are part of the eye-catching display in the window of Olley Court, 418 Main Street, Ridgefield’s newest home design and gift store. It is owned by Susan Buzaid of Redding and her friend, Robin Curnan of Ridgefield.
“Passersby do a double-take, smile and often stop in for a better look,” said Ms. Buzaid.
Gift-Card Gotchas
I can be a little old-fashioned about certain things, like table manners, thank-you notes, and the idea that gifts should be objects chosen with the recipients in mind rather than cash disguised as a colorful plastic card redeemable at your local grocery store.
But, love them or hate them, there will be nary a stocking in the land without at least one gift card inside this month. More than half of this year’s shoppers plan to buy at least one.
Retailers’ next ‘Doorbuster’ event — Christmas Eve?
SEATTLE (MarketWatch) — This holiday season, anxious retailers are going the extra mile — well, several miles — to boost sales and attract shoppers.
We’ve read about all those “Doorbuster” specials offered on Black Friday, when retailers opened at 12:01 a.m. Some stores even served hot meals — right after Thanksgiving dinner — to warm the bodies freezing in line, shoppers eager to grab hot new toys like Wii’s “Guitar Hero III” or a $24 diamond necklace Wal-Mart dangled in front of early Christmas shoppers.
Out-of-towners flocking to ethnic shopping districts in boroughs
Lucky Sherpa and Brighton Beach shoppers find ethnic neighborhoods are place to go.
Her arms laden with Russian delicacies, Elena Leschenko scoured the shelves of her favorite Brighton Beach food store.
She had snapped up her husband’s much-loved meat sauce, herring, kielbasa, caviar and cans of Russian pickles.
Hestand under new ownership
Hestand Floral and Gifts, a Portales business that’s been around for nearly 60 years, is under new ownership and management.
Rosalie Richards and her husband, J. Mark Richards, are the new owners. They purchased the business in late November from Trish and Richard Lovorn, who owned the florist shop for approximately eight years.
“We’ve always had the dream of owning a business,” Richards said.
Design Legend Vladimir Kagan at Las Vegas Market on January 31
Las Vegas – Vladimir Kagan, the grandfather of modern furniture design, will visit Las Vegas on Thursday, January 31, 2008 for two exciting events in conjunction with the 2008 Winter Las Vegas Market.
First, Kagan will kick off the new “Design Icon” lecture series at Las Vegas Design Center, where design legends share their stories and experiences in order to inspire tomorrow’s designers. He will speak from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the World Forum on the 16th floor of Building B on the World Market Center campus.
Ceaco Launches The Simpsons Pieceless Puzzle A Revolutionary Puzzle That Won’t Cost You a Lot of D’Oh!
Newton, MA – Even Homer Simpson gets this concept: a one piece jigsaw puzzle. An original twist on a traditional classic, the Pieceless Puzzle is harder than it sounds but easy enough for everyone between the ages of four and 104.
“We are so excited to introduce the Simpsons (TM) themed Pieceless Puzzle to our brand new puzzle series,” says Carol J. Glazer, CEO of Ceaco, one of the country’s largest jigsaw puzzle makers.
OKA b. Launches 2008 Spring and Summer Shoe Line
Atlanta, GA – OKA b. expands its popular line of stylish comfort footwear with the introduction of a new 2008 Spring and Summer Collection. Available to retailers beginning January 1, 2008, the collection features new styles as well as fresh additions to existing models.
Taking a page from the runway, OKA b’s Spring and Summer Collection focuses on trend-right embellishments that speak to the fashion-conscious consumer. The Belmont’s onyx-colored stones and Marion’s oversized jewels are a stunning contrast to the Camellia’s flirty flower and the Madison’s enduring charm.
Introducing Climate Change Chocolate: New Bloomsberry & Co. Premium Dark & Milk Chocolate Bars Help Chocolate Lovers Learn how to Fight Global Warming
Salem, MA – It just got easier for consumers to help the environment and eat their chocolate too. Bloomsberry & Co., best known for its premium chocolate and award-winning packaging and Terrapass, Inc., the leading consumer retailer and marketer of greenhouse gas reduction offsets, have partnered on a chocolate bar that helps educate consumers on how to reduce their carbon footprint.
GHTA Hosts Successful Conference, UnConference in La Jolla
More than 300 industry attendees turned out for the fifth annual Gift and Home Trade Association Conference, which was held Nov. 16-17, 2007, in La Jolla, Calif., at the Hilton Torrey Pines Hotel.
Peacock Shag Adds Five New Glittering Colors in 2008
Among the most exciting new products to be introduced in 2007 by Home Comfort, creators of the popular Jellybean accent rug, was the Peacock Shag. In 2008, Home Comfort will add 5 new sparkling colors to this outstanding collection of accent rugs.
Peacock Shag rugs are made from a combination of beautiful polyester yarns in various shapes and sizes creating an extraordinary shimmer and shine. The look is so glamorous that Home Comfort has tagged this rug as “Jewelry for the floor.”
Peacock Shag rugs will be available in 10 colors and two sizes in 2008.
Port Aransas boutiques provide offbeat gifts for Christmas
Port Aransas — There are plenty of reasons to head to the beach during the winter months.
The hotel rates are cheaper. The restaurants are less crowded.
And then, of course, there’s the shopping.
Never thought of doing your holiday shopping in Port Aransas? Well, why not?
Prinz Opens Corporate Showroom in Atlanta’s AmericasMart
Northbrook, IL – Prinz Ltd., a leading producer of decorative photo frames and albums and a wide assortment of social expression products, has announced the opening of its new corporate showroom in Atlanta.
The 1,000 square-foot showroom, located in AmericasMart, Building 2 – Suite 1305, is contiguous with Southeast Marketing, the company’s new sales representative organization for the Southeastern United States.
Featuring attention-getting displays that retailers can emulate in their own stores, it is a “showroom within a showroom,” with entry from both Southeast Marketing and from the
Manual Woodworkers & Weavers Inc. Features the First Isabella Journey’s Luncheon
Hendersonville, NC – – Manual Woodworkers & Weavers, Inc. invites show attendees to the first annual Isabella’s Journey Luncheon at the Atlanta Gift Market, Sunday, January 13.
Manual continues to benefit from the success of the reputable Isabella’s Journey brand and would like to celebrate by initiating the first Isabella’s Journey luncheon. Manual wants to provide show attendees the opportunity to repose and grab a bite to eat. Participants can enjoy themselves and delight in the unique and enticing atmosphere embraced by Isabella and all of her endeavors.
Jumping Jack Press Introduces Everyday Pop-Up Book; Splish, Splash, Dog Bash! To Hit Retail in May
Mason, OH – Jumping Jack Press, the pop-up book imprint from Up With Paper, announced that it will be releasing its first everyday book, Splish, Splash, Dog Bash!, in 2008.
The book will be available to retail in May, and will have a suggested retail price of $16.99. The 6.25″ square book features eight incredible pop-up spreads, including fun and fanciful designs, highlighted with glitter and spot-UV.
Splish, Splash, Dog Bash!
Holiday shopping season off to good start for retailers
Store owners and managers across the Mid-Columbia reported a positive start to the holiday shopping season during the post-Thanksgiving kickoff weekend.
National retailers in the Tri-Cities saw encouraging numbers while many smaller local stores also experienced increases in sales and traffic from last year.
“Numbers have been good and up” from last year, said Linda Pasco, owner of Lemon Grass at Marineland Village in Kennewick.
The store underwent an expansion earlier this year, which means shoppers have more merchandise to choose from and more space to pore over potential purchases.
Meow: Hilarious new Coo Clock from HeadsUp!
Kids and kids at heart will love HeadsUp’s whimsical and cheerful Coo Clocks. Combining Old World charm and 21st century style, these colourful clocks come with a wacky twist that breathes new life into Cuckoo Clocks of old. Inventor Dan Koval jokes, “after 150 years of hard work, it’s time for the cuckoo to retire”. In their place, he came up with a fabulous range of classic farmyard animal and jungle themed characters each with their own individual name and sound.
OneCoast Southeast Expands Home Focus; Size of Sales Team and Atlanta Showroom Increased by 40%
OneCoast, the largest and only national provider of sales and marketing services to vendors and retailers of home decor, gift and collegiate products, is expanding its product offering to Southeastern retailers with a stronger focus on home decor. As part of this expansion, OneCoast has created a new Home sales division with a total of 14 focused territory managers.