Many years ago, as a new assistant at Lord & Taylor, the buyer cautioned me to not get too attached to people or merchandise. His wisdom was not cold-hearted, but a cautionary tale to keep emotional attachments in check. I was there to deliver strong financial results and if something wasn’t selling, I shouldn’t harp on it, but mark it down and move on. And, as far as work relationships were concerned, I should be a good coworker but not get attached to colleagues.
Jim Shreve made Baccarat hip. Now, he and his longtime partner, Mark Brashear, along with Sally Burnside, the former Baccarat sales V.P., intend to do the same for DeVine Corp., the 32-year-old distributor of elite European brands. You're invited to the opening!
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Congrats to you all. This is very exciting. Tim, we’ve known each other since before you started DeVine Corp., 32 years ago. You’ve been looking for the right opportunity to retire. TIM ...
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I recently saw a car with the license plate: WHYWRK. I had a sad feeling for the driver, who perhaps wasn’t as lucky as I to have the best job in the world – getting paid to shop for the most beautiful goods in the world – which I am now retiring from. After 40+ years as a buyer of tabletop and gifts in Buffalo, I have the opportunity to put the dishes away, polish the flatware, and store the stemware. As a small specialty store, we’ve been through our share of ups and ...
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Susan Gravely – alongside her sister, Frances, and mother, Lee – founded VIETRI 40 years ago after a serendipitous vacation where they discovered the charms of Italian ceramics. Gravely’s new book, Italy on a Plate, equal parts travelogue/cookbook/memoir, is a culinary delight celebrating four decades of bringing the best of Italy’s tableware to an adoring fan base.
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You and I go back almost to the start of VIETRI in 1983. [Editor&rsquo...
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Discover the women and men behind Baccarat’s enchanting creations.
« Being a cutter is a demanding job that requires having a real knack for it. In my spare time, I practice by drawing and painting in oil or acrylic. And I, who came here and joined the robotics core, would encourage anyone who wants to delve into cutting, to persevere.
As for me, I have never given up on my convictions or my desires, and I simply cannot see myself working anywhere else but at Baccarat. Even ...
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When I was a kid, my mom instilled in me a lesson to always get paid for my work. When I went to mow a lawn or do my newspaper route, she’d remind me, “Be sure you get paid.” As an adult, these flashbacks are vivid like a scene from Citizen Kane—just swap out the Rosebud sled with my newspaper delivery bike. Today, this lesson still resonates when running Bridge. When calling a store that hasn’t paid its Bridge bill, I’m confident in asking ...
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George Lois, the adverting icon, wrote Damn Good Advice for those in the advertising field. In one section, he encourages us to highlight a truth. This may even include an assumption about a perceived weakness. Following George Lois' advice, I came up with these two pieces of ad copy for Bridge:
We’re smaller than Shopify. And that’s why you get more with us.
Shopify watches its stock price. We watch our customers' needs.
The next book our Bridge team may read is John List’s book The Voltage Effect. List, who is a behavioral economist at the University of Chicago, shares a variety of suggestions to grow a business. He warns us about false positives, such as what the “Just Say No” drug campaign experienced. He suggests we look for businesses with scalable ingredients. (People are not scalable, but good news for Bridge: software is!)
I'd add to List's advice this simple maxim: show ...
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Being a great dad can mean so many things. From offering advice when the going gets tough, to giving the perfect hug or lightening up the mood with a cheesy yet aptly timed joke, fathers are simply the best. That being said, happy Fathers Day!
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George Lois, the famous advertising maven, writes in Damn Good Advice that he doesn’t create an advertising campaign as much as he discovers one. He pulls it out of the air and captures it. He shares that Michelangelo said that a sculpture is imprisoned in a block of marble, and only a great sculpture can free it.
I view Bridge in a similar way. We’re not creating the software—we’re discovering it. Our methods for operating an online store were bound to...
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Last February e-commerce company Shopify Inc. replaced the “Ottawa, Canada” dateline that began its press releases and earnings reports with a strange new one: “Internet, Everywhere.” The geographical shift came at the insistence of Shopify’s founder and chief executive officer, Tobi Lütke, who tends to view such matters through the prism of cold, hard logic. In May 2020, only a few months into the pandemic, he’d made the early, seemingly rash decision to...
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Gartner shared this advice for managing your company's marketing efforts:
Strategy for the partner marketing program, and how it aligns with the overall brand marketing strategy.
Funding and talent resources dedicated to driving and administering partner marketing relationships.
Campaign modes, or the balance of approaches to partner marketing. “To” campaigns provide information about a brand’s product and service for partners to use internally. &ldquo
Market buildings are looking down the barrel of a gun. To find out why, check out my article in this month's Tableware Today.
THE LAST WORD
CHART YOUR FUTURE BEFORE BIG TECH DOES
by JASON SOLAREK
Market buildings are starting to take digital seriously. Why, finally? Because Amazon is nipping at retailers’ heels? No. Because Zola is stealing indie stores’ registry business? No. Sadly, the main thing that’s brought markets up to speed has to do with their own dollars and ...
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July 2, 2019
July 2, 2019
Carol Shroeder, owner of a gift shop, a retail expert, and a Bridge member, shared this advice about inventory:
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Markdowns = Money βDonβt let inventory become familyβ is one of my favorite retail sayings. We all know the feeling of bringing in merchandise because we love it, hoping that just the right customer will come in who loves it too. Itβs sometimes hard to accept the fact that it is costing the shop money to hold onto an item that isnβt selling.
From the engagement ring to the bridal registry to the wedding day, we've got you covered. Our trusted advice and friendly customer service are always just one call away.
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March 8, 2018
March 8, 2018
Every woman is unique and deserves the best. On this day of the woman we would like to celebrate all women related to gien: those who imagine and draw the sets, those involved in the manufacture and decoration of the rooms, those who give wise advice... and all , passionate, who give life to our brand and share our values: Authentic, warm and creative.
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