It’s a formidable task, overseeing product development for all of Lenox’s flatware brands, which includes Lenox, Kate Spade, Oneida, Cambridge, Hampton Forge, Reed & Barton, and Gorham. Your tenures at Oneida and Bed Bath & Beyond, as the tabletop buyer, provide a solid foundation for this position.
Prior to Oneida, where I was senior product marketing manager when Lenox acquired us, I was at Bed Bath & Beyond for 12 years, most recently as the tabletop buyer. My whole ...
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An East Village Artist’s Death Prompts a Reflection on the State of Indie Retailers Today
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While thumbing through the Times, I noticed a smiling young woman’s picture in the obituaries. In the black and white photograph, she's standing on a fire escape with a historic building and a bridge in the distance. I was initially attracted to Ronni Solbert’s 1959 picture, yet I was even more drawn in by what I noticed next to her photo: a children&...
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This weekend’s WSJ shares how Bed Bath & Beyond customers preferred Mikasa over BBB’s private label brands. When BBB couldn’t give customers what they wanted, sales tanked—and the CEO, Mark Tritton, was shown the door.
BBB is not the only major retailer questioning the recent mania to offer private labels. Amazon is walking back its private label brands, but is doing to for another reason: the Department of Justice may be investigating it for anti-competitive...
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The EU has passed a law that will affect Amazon and other big tech companies. The law will likely make it harder for Amazon to promote its own private label products on its website at the expense of others.
While this is welcome news to many, this is a small victory as Amazon’s ambitions are grand as well as its ability to outpace laws. For the first 25 years of the Internet, Amazon, founded in 1994, rode on the rails of the government being too slow to enforce online tax ...
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A new trend in retail is vacant shops in urban neighborhoods being converted to small warehouses. In the East Village on 10th Street, we see on the left the new warehouse model; on the right we see a traditional retailer. For the ‘store’ on the left, the customer orders via their mobile phone and then does a pickup or gets a delivery.
I’m seeing more of these ‘zombie stores’ around the city. Just in the East Village, I’ve seen four: ...
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During this holiday season, does one want to tell their family and friends that they sell knock offs--or that they help Main Street? I'd vote for the latter. Yet, a new service is trying to sell knock offs and eat in to retailers' lunches.
For the last few years, retailers have been having a hard time of it: they are increasingly circumvented by the brands. With the advent of the e-commerce websites and social media, brands are pitching their wares directly to consumers and ...
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Retailers have had a difficult time in recent years, as brands have increasingly circumvented them. With the advent of e-commerce websites and social media, brands are pitching their wares directly to consumers and cutting out retailers.
I’ve sometimes wondered: What if the factory decides to do the same and cut out the brands? If the retailers don’t like it, how will the brands? Some businesses are now trying this. Services like Italic allow a consumer to bypass...
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After many years blowing private label glass for well-known brands, you can now feature IVV brand in your store. We are honored to be featured on Neiman Marcus' site and, other luxury and fashion home decor retailers are placing fall orders now - thank you! Contact Bill Follett for more information and a local sales representative - [email protected]
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Amazon may be misleading shoppers about who is selling item on Amazon, shares RetailDive. RetailDive covers a lawsuit settlement between Williams-Sonoma and Amazon. In the lawsuit, it appears that Amazon was suggesting that Williams-Sonoma was selling on Amazon when it's wasn't.. Excerpt:
"In its complaint, Williams-Sonoma said that "at the top of product pages for purported Williams-Sonoma products for sale on the platform and 'Fulfilled by Amazon,' the phrase 'by Williams-...
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November 7, 2019
November 7, 2019
Why is retail changing?
Retail Dive gives us six reasons via six statistics:
1. 100 stores The number of Macy's locations closed since August 2016, as well as the number of stores that off-price retailer Ross opened in 2019 alone
2. $19 billion Projected off-price sales by 2021
3. $20.4 billion The amount department store sales have dropped over the past five years
4. $14 billion The amount in sales that Costco's Kirkland Signature private label outpaced all of Macy's nationwide sales last year
Kroger is spending millions on its digital operations yet keeping prices the same.
Kroger is buying startups and building private labels. Both expensive investments.
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March 6, 2019
March 6, 2019
There are some notable statistics and developments in this article including: + More than 10% of Target’s sales came via digital channels. + Stores are promoting in-store pick up. + Stores are shrinking their sizes. Kohl’s is subleasing space to Planet Fitness. + Stores continue to create new private labels—a strategy that is very popular with Amazon. + Stores are benefitting from other stores failing. For example, Toys R Us closing helped Target and Kohl’s.
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March 5, 2019
March 5, 2019
Private label keeps growing for the big box stores: Walmart is launching a new one that includes dinnerware. This will put pressure on indie brands because it shrinks their market and margins. Walmart will likely promote its own brand in gift registries over the indie brand.
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February 7, 2019
February 7, 2019
Wanna see the future of retail? First, look back. Look back at the newspaper industry and its hard, swift fall over the last 15 years. Facebook (and other tech platforms) replaced newspapers across the country as the world’s information and advertising platforms. General lesson: platforms replace individual players. Next up: Amazon’s platform is going to substitute national brand (and retail) names with its private label business. Don’t like it? Amazon doesn’t care. It owns the world’s largest ...
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September 13, 2018
September 13, 2018
How does Crate & Barrel lure in brides? Here are six benefits that it promotes in its recent catalog: 1. Private label items. 2. 10% off items. 3. Free shipping on items over $99. 4. Events. 5. Two free wine glasses. 6. Nice software.
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June 24, 2018
June 24, 2018
Today’s Times shares how Amazon is taking away business from brands—including brands that once thought Amazon was a partner rather than a competitor.
Today’s WSJ interviews Crate & Barrel CEO Neela Montgomery. Interesting points: - 50% of media budget spent on digital. - 47% of its furniture sales are online. - 95% of products it sells are private label. - It doesn’t plan to sell on amazon.com. - It’s working to speed up shipping times.
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March 1, 2018
March 1, 2018
Brands: What is Amazon’s plan for you? To replace you—like a lightbulb. They’re gonna swap you out for their private label items. Today’s WSJ shares what Scott Galloway (author of The Four) predicted.
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February 4, 2018
February 4, 2018
Bigger retailers will continue to make more private-label brands. This helps them make more money on a sale—and ensure customers have to come to them vs amazon. Crate & Barrel is the king of this in home goods. Today, Target shares its new private-label clothing line Universal Thread.
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December 26, 2017
December 26, 2017
PRESS RELEASE / For Immediate Release
Indie Stores Report Double-Digit Growth in 2017 by Sharing Products
Forty-two brick and mortar Main Street retailers that participated in Bridge’s annual survey said their sales grew up to 50% for a brand by using Bridge’s product-syncing service.
"I do about 20% more business a year by being a part of the Bridge network,” said Mary Beth Wood, owner of the Crystal Plate in Gainesville, Georgia, and a user of the Bridge software. "It gives me more time to sell ...
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