Over the past three decades, LAFCO has honored a commitment to quality and honesty.
Each home fragrance and personal care creation is not merely a product, but a testament to the artisanal excellence derived from the earth’s most generous offerings. These ingredients, curated from every corner of the globe, come with stories as rich and complex as their scents.
NEW YORK, NY, Feb. 15, 2024 – Shop Local, an e-commerce platform, reported that it's helping indie stores rank on page one of Google in 60% of states for wedding gift purchases. The findings are based on a recent study that Shop Local conducted regarding wedding registry purchasing.
Study Findings:
For 30 state searches, Shop Local Stores appeared on page one of Google. This represents 63% of all states. When just calculating the states in which Shop Local has clients (48
NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 06, 2023 – Shop Local, an e-commerce platform, reported that it's helping indie stores rank on page one of Google in 64% of states for wedding gift purchases. The findings are based on a recent study that Shop Local conducted regarding wedding registry purchasing.
Study Findings:
For 32 state searches, Shop Local Stores appeared on page one of Google. This represents 64% of all states. When just calculating the states in which Shop Local has
If you're like many homeowners, finding that shift from one season to the next can be daunting, especially when it comes to your living room.
After all, this is the space where you and your family spend the majority of your time at home, so making sure it's comfortable and stylish is essential.
Luckily, there are a few easy ways to transition your living room from spring to summer. All it takes is a bit of design know-how, some practical steps, and a bit of creativity to get the job done.
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I have been writing a blog for my fellow independent retailers for many years now (there are over 750 entries so far). Jason has suggested that I add these Specialty Shop Retailing posts to my shop's Bridge feed every Monday, so I'm going to try to do that. In the meantime, I invite you to take a look at some of the past entries - and to watch for "Savvy Store Solutions," my bimonthly column in Gifts and Decorative Accessories magazine. I want us all to be successful!
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"A 2021 Harris Poll Consumer Shopping Study showed that 71% of Americans would prefer to buy from an independent retailer over a national chain, as long as they were equally convenient and reliable."
~ SpotOn
I believe these survey results. Shoppers want to shop local, but they don't want to sacrifice selection, price, or speed. Consumers will shop with your indie store if you can offer the same selection, price, and delivery speed as, say, Amazon. Is ...
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Critics and bloggers score or rate wines along with their tasting notes. It is common in Europe to use a 20 point rating scale and in America, it is common to use a 100 point scale. Regardless of the method, a wine rating is just that. A rating that you’ve given a particular wine. The reasons for rating wine are quite simple. The note-taker or taster is scoring the wine based on their personal impressions. With professionals, there are some criteria they may be looking for when doing this ...
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In the book The Cold Start Problem, Andrew Chen says that the 'network effect’ is really three effects:
The acquisition effect
The engagement effect
The monetization effect
In the beginning, a business seeking to build a network has to concentrate on acquiring users, even if they are non-paying. Companies often give away the service, especially software companies, and we can see that with Facebook, Slack, TikTok, and many others. Bridge didn’t do ...
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NEW YORK, NY, Oct. 24, 2022 – Bridge, an e-commerce community, reported that it's helping indie stores rank on page one of Google in 76% of states for wedding gift purchases. The findings are based on a recent study that Bridge conducted regarding wedding registry purchasing.
Study Findings:
For 38 state searches, Bridge Stores appeared on page one of Google. This represents 76% of all states. When just calculating the states in which Bridge has clients (48),
In 35 states, Bridge Stores appeared on page one of Google when doing a wedding registry related search. In many states, Bridge Stores dominated the results. For example, for Georgia and South Carolina searches Bridge Stores claimed six spots on Google's first page.
Study Details:
We Googled "gift registry" and the state’s name.
We researched results for 48 states. (Bridge has clients in 48 states; the only states that don
In her new book ‘Quit,' Annie Duke shares that the best poker players only play 25% of the hands they are dealt, whereas others play 50%. Ms. Duke talks with Stewart Butterfield, the founder of a few startups, most recently Slack (which is an acronym, which I didn’t know). Slack wouldn’t have been born if Mr. Butterfield didn’t drop a video game company to start Slack. Likewise for Twitter which was born out of the failed blogging company Odeo. Ms. Duke's lesson: winners ...
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In the early 2000s, the board game Cranium became a hit. The game combined elements of Scrabble and Pictionary with the goal of helping more people enjoy playing a game. Richard Tait, who created Cranium and sold it to Hasbro in 2008 for $77.5m, passed away in July. Like Mr. Tait, I had been a paperboy, but he went beyond what I ever offered: he came up with a new service that sold breakfast sandwiches along his newspaper route. He increased profits and made customers happier. ...
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When I flew home yesterday from Charleston, while most people were seeking relief from their sunburns and reminiscing about their vacations, I was delving into The Wall St. Journal’s profile on Tracy Britt Cool, an ex- Berkshire Hathaway star. Mrs. Cool’s new company Kanbrick invests in businesses with $10m - $50m in revenue. What does Mrs. Cool look for when investing in a company? People and moats.
At Bridge, we’re reading Jim Collins’ Beyond ...
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I recently saw an advertisement for Windows 11 in Wired magazine. I thought: “Wow, finally something from Microsoft that someone can understand: a logical name for their software offering.” I recall a time when Microsoft had a confusing litany of software names including: NT, 98, 2000, Millennium (ME), Windows XP, and Vista--before finally relegating those clumsy names to the desktop recycle bin and adopting a simple, progressive number system. Apple has been naming its ...
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I recently bought a pair of jeans from the bike-lifestyle company Rapha. I find Rapha's stores, emails, and mission to be inspiring to Bridge, and I'll explain why.
First, you may ask, "What is Rapha?" Rapha is a product company that sells goods for biking, including shirts, shorts, helmets, and accessories. What is unique is the lengths it goes to foster a community (and sales!) by having a coffee shop in it, organizing riding events, offering members-only clothing...
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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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