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Colonial Candles Introduces New Collections, Formats and Fragrances for Spring and Everyday
Cannon Falls, MN – Midwest, leading designer and manufacturer of the Seasons of Cannon Falls brand of holiday and seasonal home accents and premium Colonial Candle brand of candles, introduces a broad collection of new Colonial Candle fragrances and formats for spring and everyday.Colonial Candle’s new Spring and Everyday line features nearly 200 new items, including the nature-inspired Elements of Nature collection, On the Coast collection, new spring decorative container candles, and six brand new, trend-driven fragrances for everyday, as well as 11 new Madison container candle fragrances
Midwest Announces Call for Entries in “Show Us Your Sparkle” Display and Events Contest
Cannon Falls, MN – Midwest, leading designer of the Seasons of Cannon Falls brand of holiday and seasonal home accents and premium Colonial Candle brand of candles, announces a call for entries in its first annual “Show Us Your Sparkle” in-store display and events contest for independent retailers.
Retailers buoyed by strong holiday start
New York – After what appeared to be a strong start to the 2007 holiday shopping season, the nation’s merchants are now hoping that shoppers will continue to keep buying until Dec. 25.
Orleans County: Shop local and save
Why shop at a busy, crowded mall when you can buy gifts right in your own hometown?
As gas prices rise by the day, local residents may be looking for ways to stretch the holiday budget. Area stores and restaurants have adopted a similar motto this season: Save time, save gas, shop local.
To promote their unique wares, many will offer special discounts the next few weekends.
German gift store holds its own
New Ulm — Holiday shoppers are as important to Domeiers German Store as they are to any family-owned niche gift shop dotting the streets of Main Street Minnesota.
Don’t expect Marlene Domeier, the New Ulm store’s second owner since it was first opened by her mother in 1934, to kowtow to the “black Friday” or “bargain buster” crowds, though. She doesn’t have to. Never has.
Domeiers is nine blocks south of Minnesota Street’s downtown retail district and eight blocks north of the businesses surrounding New Ulm’s Target store.
Black Friday Weekend Traffic up 4.8 Percent as Consumers Shop for Smaller Ticket Items
Washington, November 25, 2007 – If there were any doubts that consumers would be shopping in full force over Black Friday, they have finally been put to rest. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2007 Black Friday Weekend Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, more than 147 million shoppers hit the stores on Black Friday weekend, up a solid 4.8 percent from last year.
Consumers spent an average of $347.44*, down 3.5 percent from last year, but still up an incredibly strong 14.8 percent from 2005.
Local sales attract shoppers on Black Friday
While metro malls and big box stores lured people to wait in line during the wee hours of the morning for deals on electronics and other items, most local merchants took a softer approach to selling their wares on “Black Friday” and met with success through traditional advertising and staying open late.
“We’ve had quite a bit of traffic, mostly for our sales,” said Paul Thompson, owner of Susie’s Furniture in North Lewisburg, which advertised “Home for the Holidays” specials.
Recliners were a hot item at Willman Furniture in Urbana, said owner Scott Fannin.
“We’ve had a lot more busin
Black Friday?
La Porte — Jack Koker was shopping, but it wasn’t because of Black Friday.
“We just wanted to get out after being in the house for a couple of days for the holidays,” the Westville resident said.
Koker and his shopping partner, 2-year-old daughter, Margaret, were looking for a toy at Hilbish Drug on Lincoln Way in La Porte Friday morning.
Although it’s possibly the busiest single shopping day of the year, Koker was one of the few La Porte County residents who seemed to avoid the larger stores for some quiet downtown shopping.
“I think it’s unfortunate in today’s fast world you end
Retailers in the Anderson area looking for a few good men and women
For many retailers in the Anderson area, Christmas means more work with less help.
Chuck Berry, owner of the Berry House Gift Shop in Anderson, said his biggest problem during Christmas is finding good help.
“We’ll put up a sign that says we’re taking applications, and we may get a few people who respond, but for some reason the people who could work don’t want to,” he said.
Mall threat a familiar tale for Provo retailers
Provo – Karl Thalman hasn’t forgotten what happened to downtown Provo when University Mall opened in neighboring Orem.
He said the mall – which opened in the early 1970s – almost killed the downtown business district as merchants either relocated to Orem or struggled to find ways to survive the new competition to the north.
“When they built University Mall, I wanted to go out there but didn’t, and I kicked myself in the butt,” recalled Thalman, a former municipal councilman who ran a downtown jewelry store for decades.
Gift cards growing in popularity
Got an idea what will be the most popular holiday gift? Computer? iPod? Elmo doll? Jewels?
Gift shop is fruit of woman
Gift-giving is a way of life for Suzie Couraud, owner of Silverton’s new gift shop, Pomegranate.
On one wall of a small corridor close to the store’s front door hangs three floral oil paintings that are not for sale.
“My mother, Marian Dike, painted them. She passed away less then a year ago. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known,” Couraud said with a deep sense of gratitude. “She’s here with me. This store would not be happening without her.”
Couraud’s dream to open her own store was made possible by the money her mother left her with.
New Sparkling Clean location features gift shop
Coleen James of Sparkling Clean can not only keep your house tidy for the holidays, but she can stuff your stockings and deck your halls as well.
Come into Sparkling Clean and Gifts, located at 3515 Mockingbird Suite C in Orange to schedule a fullservice clean and to shop in her extensive selection of quaint gifts.
Coleen sells a full line of aromatic candles, designed to bring the holiday spirit right into your home.
CPSC delivers the ABC
Washington – As gift-givers shop for that perfect toy this holiday season, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is emphasizing the importance of shopping safely. Knowing your ABC’s of toy safety will make for happy holidays: (A) awareness, and knowing the (B) benefits, for (C) consumers – (Awareness Benefits Consumers).
Awareness is not only knowing there is a CPSC and what the agency does to protect consumers but also being aware of what poses the greatest risks.
”Invisible” Costs of Offline Shopping Spur Increase in Online Holiday Spending
Los Angeles, Nov 20, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) — SSP | charts | news | PowerRating — Although offline retail sales are expected to be soft this holiday season online retailers are anticipating a merry season as consumers shift their holiday spending to the Web. What is driving this shift?
Sustainability: Design for a Better World Returns & Expands for Winter 2008 NYIGF
White Plains, NY – Encouraging sustainability as a business paradigm is the focus of SustainAbility: design for a better world, a special curated exhibit and two-track seminar program to be presented at the 154th semi-annual New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF), February 1-6, 2008, following a resoundingly successful debut in August 2007.
Open to all NYIGF exhibitors, the SustainAbility display will emphasize new materials, as well as old materials used in new and innovative ways.
Celebrity Interior Designer, Alexandra Stoddard, is Featured Speaker During December
Las Vegas – Las Vegas Design Center at World Market Center, a resource in Las Vegas for the interior design community, will welcome internationally celebrated and acclaimed interior designer, Alexandra Stoddard on Friday, December 7, 2007.
Stoddard will present “A Personal Glimpse into Alexandra Stoddard’s Life at Home,” in which she will give attending designers a guided tour through her apartment in New York and 18th Century cottage in Connecticut.
Stoddard, author of more than two dozen books and a sought-after speaker on the art of living, has been called a “house doctor.” She is th
Black Friday is Busiest Day in Key Holiday Gift Categories with More than One-Third of Gift-Buying to Occur Before 10 a.m.
Purchase, NY – Black Friday was the busiest day for holiday shopping last year in the top five traditional gift-buying categories (brick-and-mortar department, discount, clothing, electronics/appliances and sporting goods/toy stores), with more than one- third of MasterCard payment transactions occurring before 10 a.m.*, according to the MasterCard Worldwide Holiday Shopping Insights Report(TM).
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and commonly thought of as the busiest day of the year for shopping and the start of the traditional holiday shopping season in the United States.
Rising Energy Costs Dampen Holiday Spending Plans
Washington – Rising costs of gasoline and home heating are putting pressure on consumers to cut back on their holiday spending plans, according to data from the eighth annual survey on holiday spending conducted by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).
In citing influences over their holiday spending plans, 38 percent of those responding said the cost of gasoline and home heating would cause them to somewhat or greatly decrease their holiday spending.
New location gives Warm Splendors Country Shoppe exposure
Bradenton — There’s lots to look at in Terri Vickers’ shop – cows, pigs, apples, gingerbread and roosters.Amid the menagerie is plenty of style – Americana, Primitive and Retro.
The Warm Splendors Country Shoppe on 301 Boulevard three blocks east of the DeSoto Square Mall reeks of ambiance. Even the structure of the shop – part frame building, part converted semi trailer – adds to the atmosphere.