Shop Local & Bridge News Search Results for "pandemic": 73 results

73 Results:

February 28, 2025 Sketch It Out 📝

How the shoe company Skechers walked to its own beat and inspires other businesses

Sketch It Out 📝

How the shoe company Skechers walked to its own beat and inspires other businesses

February 28, 2025

The Wall St. Journal recently shared how Skechers has become a major shoe player by marching to its own drumbeat.

Started in 1992, Skechers is the third largest seller of shoes in the world. But the company's history goes back even further: the founder's first company, LA Gear, which flamed out, was started in the 1980s.

Skechers grew by focusing on comfy and affordable shoes and didn't sign expensive promotion deals with active athletes. (It does partner with ex-athletes like Howie Long.)&

October 10, 2024 Let's Lead Together by Jason Solarek

Let's Lead Together by Jason Solarek

October 10, 2024

Money is tight for many indie retail shops. Owners often ask themselves: What brands and products should I invest in to get the best return for my business? We have an answer to this question. Welcome to the Leaderboard. In each issue through this new column, TOP OF THE CHARTS, I’ll be sharing with you the best performing wedding registry brands and products according to my company’s data. There’s something for brands and sales reps as well: we’ll be showing you the best ...
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October 10, 2024 The More Things Change

The More Things Change

October 10, 2024

This issue marks my 40th year chronicling the tableware industry, the last 28 as the founder and editor of Tableware Today. Spend four decades in an industry and you see change: sometimes sweeping (lifestyle shifts/consolidations/e-commerce); sometimes specific (Covid/less entertaining at home/rising costs). On the other hand, four decades is just a blip in the life of many tableware producers. Our industry, really, is a contradiction in so many ways: a heritage category that must remain fresh, ...
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September 24, 2024 Tableware Today Column by Jason Solarek 📝

Tableware Today Column by Jason Solarek 📝

September 24, 2024

I'm happy to share the first column in an on-going series to appear in Tableware Today magazine. This article, which appears in the magazine's current October/November 2024 issue, explains our inspiration for the Leaderboard--a new tool to help retailers, brands, and sales reps.
..............

TOP OF THE CHARTS
LET'S LEAD TOGETHER by JASON SOLAREK

Money is tight for many indie retail shops. Owners often ask themselves: What brands and products
should I invest in to get the best ...
Read More

August 30, 2024 Necessity is the Mother of Reinvention

Necessity is the Mother of Reinvention

August 30, 2024

Ancient Greek philosopher Plato wrote in the Dialogue Republic, “A need or problem encourages creative efforts to meet the need or solve the problem.” This statement led to the phrase “Necessity is the mother of Invention." These words could very well describe Shop Local and how we came to exist. Over time, some have suggested the phrase could be tweaked to read “necessity is the mother of reinvention." This phrase also parallels Shop Local's ethos of supporting...
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August 29, 2024 Tableware Today October / November 2024: 'Let's Lead Together' article and July 2024 Leaderboard

Tableware Today October / November 2024: 'Let's Lead Together' article and July 2024 Leaderboard

August 29, 2024

Great news: Tableware Today, the bi-monthly print magazine dedicated to our industry, will be publishing our Leaderboard results on the last page of each coming issue.

This article below will appear in the October/November 2024 issue of Tableware Today and explains our inspiration for the Leaderboard.

You're invited to see the monthly Leaderboard results here: https://www.shoplocal.org/leaderboard

..............

TOP OF THE CHARTS
LET'S LEAD TOGETHER by JASON SOLAREK

Money

January 30, 2024 Raise the Bar!

Raise the Bar!

January 30, 2024

Upgrade your Home Bar with Top-Shelf Serveware from Beatriz Ball!

With retail sales of alcohol for home consumption skyrocketing, and severe restrictions for pubs and restaurants due to the pandemic, many of us are enjoying upgrading our home bars.

Beatriz Ball’s selection of PEARL David trays are indispensable serving pieces with infinite possibilities for dramatic presentations. Great on the bar to hold bottles, glasses and garnishes.

Fun Fact: In 1838, Antoine Améd&...
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January 29, 2024 AN ANNUS POSSIBILIS

AN ANNUS POSSIBILIS

January 29, 2024

As the new year is underway, there’s reason to be bullish (or, at least, not bearish) about what 2024 may have in store. Holiday retail sales increased 3.1% despite lingering inflation, thanks to robust job growth and strong wage gains, which came as a big relief for retailers. Price-conscious consumers are still spending, suggesting the economy is strong. “What we’re seeing this holiday season is very consistent with how we’re thinking about the economy, which is that it...
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December 17, 2023 The new threat: Chinese apps backed with Chinese factories

The new threat: Chinese apps backed with Chinese factories

December 17, 2023

The Atlantic shares how Chinese factories have found a new way around U.S. retailers and into our homes: Chinese apps. SHEIN and other Chinese apps are bypassing Amazon to be a new leader in Chinese goods. In addition to Amazon, Target, Walmart, and indie shops now have a new group of digital competitors embedded in customers’ pockets.

Except from The Atlantic article:

MATERIAL WORLD
IS THIS HOW AMAZON ENDS?
An open embrace of cheap foreign products has helped ...
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December 16, 2023 Ask your staff to use Instagram to promote recent purchases

Ask your staff to use Instagram to promote recent purchases

December 16, 2023

Staff at manor department stores like Saks are finding success with Instagram and social media. The Information shares this:

……….

Tyler Bell was encouraging all her clients to “tag your bag.” Every time Bell, a Saks Fifth Avenue stylist in Troy, Mich., closed a sale, she asked the buyer to show off their purchase on Instagram and tag her account, @tyler.saks. Bell posts Saks inventory multiple times a day on Instagram Stories. Her 27,000 followers will...
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December 7, 2023 THE BLUES OF THE GRAYS

THE BLUES OF THE GRAYS

December 7, 2023

I have a friend who recently took a job with a respected women’s clothing retailer after 13 years of retirement. My friend, Leslie, a former school teacher, wanted to be of use and knew that retail was a great opportunity for seniors. She was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed her first week. She loved that the manager asked her to try on clothes she liked and then suggested outfits that would look good on her. Leslie even purchased a few of those suggestions, couture she never would have ...
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September 27, 2023 Tableware Today: Babcock Gifts Shares Inspiration

Tableware Today: Babcock Gifts Shares Inspiration

September 27, 2023

Marion Samuel, who manages Babcock Gifts, a Tennessee-based gift shop, pens Tableware Today’s Last Word column in this month’s issue. She shares how they have grown over the last 50 years and run their store.

I was pleased to see her tout the store’s Bridge software. Babcock Gifts, which has been a client for 10 years, uses Bridge’s Shop Local gift registry service and Brand Syncing service. Using our service, they showcase 400+ couples’ gift registries online ...
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September 26, 2023 WE WILL SURVIVE by MARION SAMUEL

WE WILL SURVIVE by MARION SAMUEL

September 26, 2023

Babcock Gifts celebrates its 50th birthday in 2024. The bridal registry and gift shop opened in 1972 as a partnership that included interior design. In 1974, with the exit of one partner, the store focused on antiques, gifts, and bridal registry. Over the next 42 years, there would be growth into two stores before downsizing to one. In 2016, ownership changed and the store moved one block down, where it continues to be a destination for bridal registry and gift-giving. With the constant doom and...
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August 10, 2023 New 2023 Bridge Company T-shirt

New 2023 Bridge Company T-shirt

August 10, 2023

We give company t-shirts to our team.

We place the year on the back of the shirt in the style of a sports jersey. The sports reference is a nod to us playing on the same team together to help indie stores.

(We didn’t do a 2020 t-shirt. Oops. Not many businesses wanted to commemorate the year of the pandemic.)

Thank you, Bridge team, for a successful 2023 ;) View Post

July 25, 2023 Orrefors @ 125

Orrefors @ 125

July 25, 2023

EMON MAASHO, CEO AND PRESIDENT OF ORREFORS, NORTH AMERICA, is representative of the exciting trajectory in this 125-year operation. The über-exec joined the New Wave Group in 2013, a time when Orrefors and Kosta Boda (OKB) were underperforming assets in the portfolio. "Our crystal brands are national treasures and a part of Swedish history," Maasho affirms. And he wanted a front row seat in their revitalization. Maasho was placed in charge of the new hotel and restaurant division ...
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July 25, 2023 This and That

This and That

July 25, 2023

I have a stack of virtual news clippings that either struck my fancy, taught me something new, or just made me shake my head in bemusement. On their own, they may not be enough for me to make a point, but together they have a thought-provoking synergy (and I'm sure I'll figure out what that is by the end of this column).

Our industry has been negatively affected by the loss of American manufacturing after we entered a long stretch of automation and outsourcing in the late 1970s; every ...
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May 29, 2023 STAY ON TREND by JULIE SMITH VINCENTI

STAY ON TREND by JULIE SMITH VINCENTI

May 29, 2023

It was October 2021, and I had just finished my first in-person trends seminar since the pandemic impacted all industry shows. At the end of the image-packed program, an audience member raised her hand and challenged, “Do trends even matter anymore?”

It was a valid question. The pandemic had disrupted business, upended supply chains, transformed education, revealed vulnerabilities, altered priorities, and unexpectedly claimed many lives. The question was tinged with cynicism. Pent...
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May 26, 2023 BOSS MAN ❌ BOSS WOMAN

BOSS MAN ❌ BOSS WOMAN

May 26, 2023

Owning a business is no small feat, but in recent years, women have taken on starting their own businesses, leaving the nine-to-five to become entrepreneurs. In 2022, they were more likely to start a business than men. Last year, women-owned businesses had higher earnings growth (27% increase) than male-owned firms (22%). Still, male-owned businesses received $93,000 in funding, while women-owned businesses received $56,000. There are nearly 13 million women-owned businesses in the U.S., and the...
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May 15, 2023 We Got Sole 🩴

What Crocs can teach us about gaining new customers and keeping them happy.

We Got Sole 🩴

What Crocs can teach us about gaining new customers and keeping them happy.

May 15, 2023

About 15 years ago, I bought a pair of Crocs sandals in Myrtle Beach, SC. Not only were they hot pink, but the insole was traffic cone orange. My buddies hated them, but oddly others loved them. The sandals were affordable (maybe $20), comfortable, and a conversation starter.

According to last week’s The New York Times' profile on Crocs, I’m one of tens of millions of happy Crocs owners. This happiness is profitable:

Crocs’ sales have almost doubled since 2019.

March 14, 2023 THIN and SIMPLE

THIN and SIMPLE

March 14, 2023

THIN AND SIMPLE says it all, a perfect moniker for Pampa Bay’s latest juggernaut, a throwback to the shapes and looks the company achieved in stainless steel, its one-time material of choice, a decade ago. Then, in 2016, Carlos Barbagallo, president and owner, decided to segue into the dishwasher-safe, tarnish-free porcelain that looks like metal, using a proprietary, state-of-the-art technology that’s neither painted nor glazed. “Thin and Simple is our homage to the looks we ...
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Press: Shop Local & Bridge in the News

Tableware Today June/July 2025 & Leaderboard
April 2025

Tableware Today April / May 2025 Issue: 'Build Your Robot 🦾' and January 2025 Leaderboard
February 2025

Tableware Today February/March 2025 Issue: Catch the Registry Wave Column 🏄‍♀️ and November Leaderboard Rankings
January 2025

Shop Local Helps Indie Stores Rank on Page 1 of Google in 62% of States
December 2024

Tableware Today December / January 2025: 'Saying I Do To The Registry' and September 2024 Leaderboard
November 2024

Tableware Today October / November 2024: 'Let's Lead Together' article and July 2024 Leaderboard
August 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Florida Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Tennessee Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Louisiana Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Delaware Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Pennsylvania Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
March 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants Get Sales Leads in Mississippi
March 2024

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