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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A McKinsey study found that the average life span of companies listed on the S&P 500 was 61 years in 1958; today, it’s less than 18 years. McKinsey believes that by 2027, 75% of S&P 500 companies will have disappeared. New businesses have an 81% chance of surviving their first year; in two years, a little less than 70% of businesses are still standing. Only 25% make it to 15 years or more. There’s a clear long-term trend of declining corporate longevity, with this figure ...
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Explore our exquisite assortment and find the perfect gift that speaks volumes about your connection with your loved ones. Let every present be a reflection of the love, support, and countless moments you've shared together.
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It’s a 40th anniversary for the company founded by Colin Riggs (left) and Ned Voelker’s parents, Abigail and Ed Voelker. Over the last four decades, the entire family has created a curated collection of handmade tableware and giftware for the nation’s independent store retailers.
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Congratulations on a milestone 40th year in business. Are you surprised Abigails has endured? Ned Voelker: We are surprised. It’s a tribute to Ed and Abbie ...
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Photos capture such beautiful moments and memories.
A tarnish-free Beatriz Ball frame of hand-polished metal enhances your favorite photo, and is a brilliant addition to any mantle, desk, or bedside table. Makes a thoughtful present for any occasion, and with a precious personal photo included, it is sure to make a meaningful connection with the recipient.
Pearl borders have long been a popular motif for articles of home décor. Beatriz Ball’s ORGANIC PEARL is a new spin of ...
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By simply enhancing your décor, this handmade beaded placemat gives you an essential connection to nature. The placemat, which is made from exotic vines, gives your table an organic look while also giving an eco-chic finishing touch to your table settings. This allows you to be more in touch with nature in a variety of ways that are both seamless and sustainable. Set of 4. Available in other colors.
What we can learn about a company through its mission statement.
June 30, 2023
This past week, I read a mission statement from The Knot's corporate website (https://www.theknotww.com/). The statement included a paragraph and five principles. The paragraph describes what the parent company does. The statement says:
"We help couples around the world navigate and enjoy life’s biggest moments together. As a global company, our industry-leading websites, top-ranked mobile apps, and trusted resources provide the most sought-after information, connections, 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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How setting goals for our new members can help them be more successful.
January 31, 2023
When growing our network, we consider what it takes to keep existing members and grow into other industries. Andrew Chen in The Cold Start Problem reports that Facebook famously wanted a user to get 10 friends in a week because then the person would likely use the service. Similarly, Slack said users with about 10 connections tend to become active users. My company currently doesn’t have such new user benchmarks and we need to develop them.
Adding New Retail Members to the Product...
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Photos capture such beautiful moments and memories.
A tarnish-free Beatriz Ball frame of hand-polished metal enhances your favorite photo, and is a brilliant addition to any mantle, desk, or bedside table. Makes a thoughtful present for any occasion, and with a precious personal photo included, it is sure to make a meaningful connection with the recipient.
Pearl borders have long been a popular motif for articles of home décor. Beatriz Ball’s ORGANIC PEARL is a new spin of ...
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My friend works at the Swiss running shoemaker ON. She recently texted me and suggested I try their running shoes. Three weeks later, I was handling two boxes of their Swiss engineered shoes. On one ON shoe, there is a little Swiss flag and the words “Swiss Engineering” printed. When I get a pair of Nike’s, they don’t say "Beaverton-engineering" or "US-engineering." Nor do Adidas shoes proclaim “German engineering.” ...
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In the past, we’ve used spin classes and gyms as inspiration for Bridge. We see them as metaphors for helping retail business owners. The founders of SoulCycle, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, must have been eavesdropping on us: they are expanding their spinning approach to another sphere. The Times reports they have started Peoplehood, a business that seeks to help people via self-help (group-help?) sessions. It’s SoulCycle for the soul&...
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In a recent NY Times article about working out, the author Christie Aschwanden gives readers tips on how to make working out more enjoyable. (Read the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/well/move/habits-motivation-exercise.html). In reading this, I saw many parallels between working out and helping our stores get their websites ‘in shape.’ The author encourages readers to not think of working out as exercise and instead think of it as "hanging out with friends...
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When I was 24-years old, a market research company sent me to Philadelphia to survey potential users about a new offering from General Electric Finance. Your first question may be: "Wait, Jason was once 24?" Your second may be: "GE had a consumer finance arm?" Yes, and yes. GE was once a conglomerate with its hands in many industries, from television to nuclear reactors to jet engines. GE, like Toshiba and Johnson & Johnson, has since shrunk. But the era of the ...
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Did you know there is a connection between the NYC marathon and 41 Madison? 41 Madison, home of the New York Tabletop Show, is owned by the Rudin family, and the family helped start the NYC Marathon. The Times shared this history in an article recently. Excerpt:
"...In 1976 when George Spitz, a civil servant and runner, proposed a marathon through all five boroughs, the time seemed almost right — if daunting. “A race like that could cost $15,000,” Mr. Lebow ...
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Photos capture such beautiful moments and memories.
A tarnish-free Beatriz Ball frame of hand-polished metal enhances your favorite photo, and is a brilliant addition to any mantle, desk, or bedside table. Makes a thoughtful present for any occasion, and with a precious personal photo included, it is sure to make a meaningful connection with the recipient.
Pearl borders have long been a popular motif for articles of home décor. Beatriz Ball’s ORGANIC PEARL is a new spin of ...
Read More
Companies with deep pockets and big connections to Wall St. have teamed up to make the Internet a dirtier place. Legislation is pending to make large sellers of new goods have to reveal the true seller of the good. The goal of the federal bill is to curtail the sale of fake and stolen goods through online marketplaces. This sounds logical. But not to: eBay, Poshmark, Mercari, and Etsy.
These businesses have hundreds of millions of dollars at stake from banks, investors, and rich people. They ...
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The health of our communities and even ourselves may depend on whether indie stores like Powell's succeeds.
Powell's Books, one of the nation's largest and best-known book retailers, has stopped selling on Amazon after 20+ years, shares RetailDive. The store cited how bad Amazon is long-term for itself and communities. The store realized it was sharpening its executioner’s sword, as Scott Galloway has said ruefully.
I found this quote from the owner insightful:...
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For the ancient peoples of the New World (New, at least, to Europeans), the pineapple was recognized as a fruit symbolizing friendship and hospitality. Families would hang pineapples outside their homes to perfume the entryway and make it welcoming to guests. It was an edible invitation!
Since the fruit was so perishable, it became a symbol of luxury, nobility, and wealth throughout Europe. A single pineapple could fetch a fortune. Thus, the host who was able to present freshly cut pineapple ...
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