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Protecting Yourself From Copycats
Q: In 2004, a toy retailer requested a number of samples and specifications from our company for a craft kit we have been producing and selling. After several months of “evaluation,” the company said they weren’t going to carry our product. But we’ve realized they have been making what we believe is a copy of our product. What are our options?
—Y.O., Princeton Junction, N.J.
Live from the NSS!
New York – The 61st annual National Stationery Show was a flurry of activity on Opening Day, Sunday, May 20, with attendees and exhibitors reporting a renewed energy on the Show floor over previous years. The new look of the Show – bold colors from floor to ceiling – created some positive buzz, as did the 300+ first-time exhibitors launching new products never before seen by the Show’s 14,000 annual attendees.
Unique new products were found across all categories – from desk accessories and frames, to new greeting card lines and partyware.
Feeling the broken bridge blues; Though traffic has improved, local businesses say sales are still lagging
Jane Tarrance sat behind the counter of Collectors Antique Mall on Tuesday perusing “The Pat Conroy Cookbook.”
“I’ve done really good catching up on my reading since the (J.E. McTeer) bridge closed,” said Tarrance, who owns the antiques store in Lady’s Island Center on U.S. 21. “This is the second book I’ve read.”
That’s the silver lining. Here’s the cloud: “I haven’t sold anything all day.”
The McTeer bridge, one of two connectors to Lady’s Island, was damaged April 26 when a crane being carried by a barge struck the bridge. Traffic had to be funneled through the Richard V.
Big plans in Prosser for Princess
Prosser — Sitting in the darkened balcony of Prosser’s Princess Theater, Rich and Deb Wallace paused a minute to take it all in — the nearly 300 emerald green theater chairs below, the trompe l’oeil walls and the stage being set up for an afternoon showing of Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
“It’s just an incredible feeling,” said Deb Wallace. “Every time we think about it — we’re going, ‘Do you believe this?’ “
The couple is still coming to terms with the fact they will soon be the new owners of the renovated theater, which opened its doors in February after a long remodeling.
Minority business at BWI assessed; Tenant complaints prompt Md. audit of concessions firm
State auditors are examining BWI’s concessions manager and the minority-owned shops and restaurants participating in a program designed to help them prosper, after mixed results, lawsuits and tenant complaints.
Some minority business owners say the airport and concessions manager BAA Maryland Inc.
Gift-shop girl
Maureen Duffy is manager of volunteer services at Lakewood Hospital. It’s a job that has her in charge of the hospital’s gift shop — and its two dozen or so volunteer workers and handful of paid employees. All the proceeds from the shop make their way back to the hospital. Between selling get-well cards and baby balloons, Duffy answered a few questions from PDQ’s John Campanelli.
More bling, less blah for shore shoppers
Not that long ago, shoppers at the Jersey Shore could expect to wade through the shallow end of the retail world.
At a typical resort store, customers might find a kitschy collection of cheap T-shirts, salt-water taffy and creeping hermit crabs.
But now observers see a growing appetite for upscale items in an increasingly affluent marketplace.
Boston Gift Show Launches New Buyer Webinar
The Boston Gift Show has announced plans to expand its education component by launching a New Buyer Webinar, to be presented in advance of the Show, on Tuesday, July 17, 2007, at 1:00pm EST. Sponsored by Giftware News magazine, the Webinar is a pre-show planning tool for new registrants. The Boston Gift Show will be held September 15-18, 2007, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
Webinar participants will “dial in and log on” to learn how to shop the Show efficiently and effectively, place orders and follow-up with exhibitors.
New Companies to Highlight Handmade
White Plains, NY – Some 30 first-time exhibitors will join Handmade at the New York International Gift Fair – with most of the newcomers located together at the 1D Hall entrance to the division – Saturday, August 11, through Wednesday, August 16, 2007, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
York Beach shop offers candles and collectibles
YORK — Open on weekends since the first weekend in May, Seashore Candles & Collectibles is much more than a candle or gift shop. For owner Diana Flynn, it is a path toward recovery and spiritual rejuvenation.
“My husband was a firefighter for many years in York Beach, but died last year from a heart attack,” Flynn said. “After my husband passed away, I wanted to do something that I enjoyed. I wanted to be my own boss and I love candles.
Gift and Home Resources Expand for August 2007 New York International Gift Fair
White Plains, NY – Expansion of gift and home resources – across several key divisions – will make the 153rd semi-annual New York International Gift Fair a “must attend” market, Saturday, August 11, through Thursday, August 16, 2007, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Passenger Ship Terminal Piers, and the Metropolitan Pavilion.
donovandesigns Unveils New Creations
New York, NY – Gifts that get “oohs” and “aahs,” notes that get noticed, gift wrap that gets saved—donovandesigns’ newest creations will grab your attention and get your customers talking. Donovandesigns’ new line-up of personalized notes, invitations, notepads and bag tags include eye catching colors and classic patterns like plaid, polka dots and stripes that are just waiting to be noticed. donovandesigns will exhibit at the National Stationery Show from May 19 to 23 at the Jacob K.
GHTA’s Retailer Advisory Board Announces Chicago Seminar Details
The Gift and Home Trade Association, the industry’s non-profit professional trade association, announces that it has scheduled a special event during The Chicago Market: Living and Giving(tm) on July 20, featuring its Retailer Advisory Board. This unique presentation will begin with a discussion forum at 4 p.m. in the Merchandise Mart Conference Center, followed by a trolley tour of local retailers where participants will see and experience the topics discussed.
The trolley tour will run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and boxed dinners will be provided for each participating retailer.
Dicksons introduces new gift product for summer and fall
The Dicksons sales team gathered in Seymour, IN April 24th – 26th to preview more than 650 new items the company is introducing to the market May through July. This new product offering included items for Pastor Appreciation, Breast Cancer Awareness and baby.
The Dicksons brand offering included more than 50 framed art skus, more than 20 plocks, 30 plus wall crosses, almost 40 photo frames with a similar number of bookmarks. This offering contained 6 new Premiere Wall Art skus, Dicksons upscale wall art with wholesale prices from $130 to $160.
Consumer Spending Could Be Out of Gas; Rising gas prices finally are prompting some to cut spending
Wal-Mart worker Jean Sartore sees the effect of rising gas prices on the sales floor at work and when she gets in her 1996 Buick Park Avenue. With local gas prices at $3.27 on May 16, filling her car costs about $75—a day’s pay at Sartore’s Wal-Mart Supercenter (WMT) in Henderson, Ky. At work, Sartore says the gift and toy departments she oversees now get fewer shoppers.
Sartore used to take unpaid days off occasionally but can no longer afford to do that. “I can cut back on the little things, but I still have to fill up each week,” she says. “That means no days off.
Beyond the basket; Marketing, creativity keys to success of Lakewood gift business
Kay Ehalt’s creations go beyond the traditional wicker basket full of fruit and chocolates.
Instead, Ehalt fills gallon paint cans, time capsules, picnic baskets and boxes with gourmet coffee, snack mixes and gifts selected with the recipient in mind.
The owner of Dream Baskets By Kay, Ehalt has been building gift baskets for nine years, first in an office at Garrison Street and Jewell Avenue, and since August at a storefront at 1000 S. Wadsworth in Lakewood.
Gift shops can ring up $$$
When Scotty Heuck was helping to organize a children’s shop at the then-new Cincinnati Museum Center in the early 1990s, her allotted space was three floors down, and “you had to pay to get in” because it was in the natural science museum, she recalls.
The gift shop at the Cincinnati Art Museum had even humbler beginnings. It was formed in 1969 by a few volunteers with a borrowed budget of $3,000 and an empty museum closet for a storefront.
Over the next decade, the children’s store at the Museum Center moved its way up to the main floor as it became more profitable.
Sugar Shak Serves Succulent Sweets
Princeton — The Sugar Shak’s mother and son team of Carolyn Neal and Cole Thomas combines culinary training from Le Cordon Bleu with family recipes for sweet treats that have boomed in popularity.
“The week before Christmas, we had only been open since Nov. 1, and we had 380 orders,” Thomas said. “Then the Wednesday before Christmas, at 5 we had to cut off the orders because they were up to 2,706, and they weren’t just a pie.
The little big box: Planners prefer trend toward smaller chain stores
Just as town planners have lobbied to help prevent a 75,000-plus-square-foot store from coming to Andover, two of the biggest names in big-box retail have decided to change their game plan.
A zoning bylaw amendment passed at last month’s Town Meeting will limit businesses in the town’s 70-acre mixed-use district to 65,000 square feet in size. But this year, both Wal-Mart and Home Depot have moved forward with plans to build more stores as small as 40,000 square feet.
Up With Paper Introduces Collegiate Boxed Notes & Snow Globe Greetings
Mason, OH – Up With Paper, the original pop-up greeting card company, announced that it will be shipping a new line of university-themed and – licensed pop-up boxed notes and snow globe greetings in August.