Archives: News
Eulogy for an Independent Bookstore
LA is a city known more for its light than its landmarks. The Ambassador Hotel, where Bobby Kennedy was shot, is gone, as is the Brown Derby, the legendary restaurant where celebrities dined on Cobb salad, invented by co-owner Bob Cobb. But when the Los Angeles Times (itself in failing health) reported last week that Dutton’s Brentwood would be closing in April, people were aghast.
Company builds success through fair trade
At the gift shop inside the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City, a handful of necklaces — both long and short — are on display by the register. The long necklaces have big, bold-colored beads.
For Sabbath on Saturdays, Fewer Open Shops
For Elizabeth Allen, it started when she needed a box of nails on a recent Saturday and the Great Neck hardware store she had patronized for years was closed. It hit Bruce Kerievsky when he went to his favorite barbershop in the Old Village and found it shuttered.
Small Biz: Passion for decorating leads to new store
Andrew Downs is hoping his new Five Points interior design business, Andrew Downs and Co., can help curb Athens shoppers’ trips to Atlanta to buy material they can’t find locally.
Downs, who lives in Winder, opened his full-service interior design shop and upscale gift shop Feb.
Pompton Lakes store is Celtic treasure-trove
It takes eight yards of material to make a kilt, and there are more than 4,000 registered tartans.
Jewelry with a Celtic claddagh — symbol of two hands holding a crowned heart — can be given as a gift to anyone.
The famed Irish china made in the village of Belleek celebrated its 150th anniversary with an archive collection.
Arran Aromatics, a company on the Isle of Arran off southwest Scotland, creates organic soaps, perfumes and lotions packaged with a decorative thistle, the Scottish national flower.
“We have a holiday home there,” said Laura Rooney, who with her husband, Gerry
Great-grandma’s craft shop
Canandaigua, N.Y. – It’s an unusual shop in downtown Canandaigua, filled with primitive folk art from a bygone era. This craft and gift consignment shop is brimming with wares adorned with stars, moons, crows and hearts — a rougher make-do type of artistry.
“Recycling is not new,” said Suzanne Moulton, owner of Liberty Cottage, as she began to explain the utilitarian origins of primitive folk art. In years past, people recycled everything.
Worthless Gift Cards
Buyer beware!
If you’ve been saving an old gift card for a rainy day, you may have a rude awakening at the register.
Experts say millions of dollars in gift cards may soon be declined.
The National Retail Federation says shoppers spent close to $30 billion on gift cards this past holiday season.
Many who passed them along, may as well have written a bad check.
The amount of worthless prepaid plastic is estimated to be around $75 million.
Leveragecard.com allows you to buy gift cards and manage the balances through their site.
Retailers Welcome Antitrust Legislation Addressing $40 Billion in Hidden Credit Card Fees
Washington – The National Retail Federation today welcomed the introduction of landmark antitrust legislation that would address hidden MasterCard and Visa fees that cost merchants and their customers more than $40 billion a year.
“This legislation would use the nation’s antitrust laws to rein in the greed of the credit card companies,” NRF Senior Vice President Mallory Duncan said. “With the rapidly increasing use of plastic, credit card companies and their banks are seeing a windfall that is costing U.S. consumers tens of billions of dollars each year.
Frackleberrys sells nothing you need, everything you want
What do two downtown gift shops have in common with one in Valley Junction?
Answer: They are sister shops owned by David Starlin.
Starlin opened Frackleberrys, a gift shop and home accessory boutique, in Valley Junction in May 2007. He also opened a gift shop, Etc., at 555 Walnut St., on the skywalk in Des Moines, in early 2006, and just over four years ago, he bought Roc’s, a long-time card and gift shop on the Kaleidoscope skywalk.
We talked to Starlin about the West Des Moines shop.
Q. How would you describe Frackleberrys?
A.
Push on at Century III to attract new retailers
It’s going to take big ideas to fill a very big mall.
Toward that end, said Century III manager Gina Mercorelli, management is going all-out to attract new retailers, both local and national, in addition to courting possible tenants in the medical, insurance or educational fields.
An open house was held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, with about 300 invitations sent out to real estate brokers and leasing agents.
“This is one way of spreading the word that we’re looking for tenants,” Ms. Mercorelli said.
How To Open a Small Town Store
After 25 years as a paralegal, I’m launching a new career as an entrepreneur. I own an old building where I plan to open a gift, art, and antiques store later this year, debt-free. The store is in a small town, so I don’t expect heavy traffic, but I’m hoping my low overhead will help compensate for a smaller customer base. Am I right?
St. Patrick’s Day good to eateries, bars, too
El Paso restaurants, bars and retailers are optimistic that St. Patrick’s Day revelers will add some green to their cash registers.
The National Retail Federation estimated Monday that U.S. consumers will spend $3.64 billion on St. Patrick’s Day, which is March 17, down slightly from the $3.76 billion spent last year.
Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern on the East Side is expecting to attract 8,000 to 10,000 people for its all-day St. Patrick’s Day bash that spills out into the eatery’s parking lot each year, General Manager Danny Carrillo said.
St.
Waterfront gift, houseware shop survives winter flood
When Imagine Great Things owner Marge Pires closed her store on Jan.
Harmony gift shop proves a success by a hair
Harmony — Ada Austin’s Angora Goats and Mohair kind of sticks out — everything is purple. Well, maybe not everything, but close.
The black mailbox sits on a purple support, purple buildings house multi-colored Angora goats and Baby Doll sheep, and purple vases filled with snow mark the entrance to Austin’s gift shop, located just east of Harmony down 331st Street.
Austin began raising goats after quitting her in-town job. She knew nothing about goats, except that they were small enough for her to handle.
“Fourteen years ago I bought a herd of 130 Angoras,” Austin said.
Welcome Home gift shop closing
Welcome Home Friends Gift Shop recently announced it will close its doors.
Owner Lynn Mallicoat opened the store four years ago in April and sent out a letter to some 100 of her most faithful customers that the store will have its last sale March 8 and 9.
After that, depending on business, she may stay open through March 14, she said.
“I’ll play it by ear,” she said.
This was the first business Mallicoat owned and though she does not have any plans to reopen another business in the near future, she would not rule it out, either.
GIFT SHOP Magazine Announces Winner of February Retail Forum Giveaway
Hanover, Mass. – GIFT SHOP magazine is happy to announce that Carol Matheys of The Cedar Home Collection in Two Rivers, WI, is the winner of GIFT SHOP Forum’s February raffle. She wins a video iPod Nano from GIFT SHOP magazine.
The Retail Forum is GIFT SHOP magazine’s newest online venture and is meant to bring gift store retailers, vendors and other industry professionals together.
Participants can initiate and take part in discussions about gift store operations, marketing strategies, staffing practices and other aspects of their business.
New York Gift Cash and Carry Show Offers Expedient Merchandising Opportunity
White Plains, NY – The Best New Product Awards competition at the National Stationery Show (NSS) will expand in 2008, as an eco-friendly Think Green counterpart is added to each of the six defined categories. The Think Green equivalent to the Desk Accessories, Lifestyle/Specialty Gift, Luxury, Paper Craft/Scrapbooking, Party and Social Stationery categories will recognize exhibiting companies that exemplify ingenuity with earth-friendly products. A total of 13 Awards – including the coveted Delegates’ Choice Award – will be presented during NSS, May 18-21, at New York City’s Jacob K.
There’s plenty of Cleveland-area places to buy all things Irish
As Marcel Proust with his madeleine knew, a taste of the past — literally — is a powerful thing. For more than 50 years, tastes and treats from long ago and across the ocean have made Gaelic Imports food and gift shop in Cleveland a top destination with Irish, Scottish, Welsh and British expats.
“About 60 percent of my customers are expats,” says Jim Henderson, who has owned the import store with his wife for the last decade, and who moved to the United States from Scotland with his family when he was 10.
Whether At Gap, Kohl’s Or Nordstrom, Women Cut Back First
The Commerce Department says consumer spending, once tweaked to take out the effect of inflation, was flat in January–just as it was in December.
And, while this probably won’t come as news to the many apparel companies reporting sales declines recently, it appears women are cutting back on their spending before men, reports TNS Retail Forward, a retail consulting company based in Columbus, Ohio.
In its most recent ShopperScape survey, “women are planning to edge back a little bit more than men,” says Mandy Putnam, VP at Retail Forward.
St. Patrick’s Day Spending Dips as Holiday Falls During Holy Week
Washington – The luck of the Irish has not been extended to St. Patrick’s Day this year as a calendar shift is likely to hamper spending. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2008 St. Patrick’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGresearch, consumers will spend an estimated $3.64 billion on St. Patrick’s Day, less than last year’s $3.76 billion.
Though the average person will spend slightly more on the holiday than they did last year ($35.04 vs. $34.89), fewer people will be celebrating this year (46.0% in 2008 vs. 48.3% in 2007).