How Amazon privatizes public spaces for its own profit
February 14, 2024
This is a daily sight on 8th St. in the East Village of New York City, a spot historically chockablock with indie, brick-and-mortar shops. This is an Amazon truck and freelancers who have taken over the street (it’s a no standing zone) and sidewalk as their own. This is one way Amazon sells things for less: it turns public streets and sidewalks into its “warehouses” and “stores.” Imagine you’re a local business with a roof and rent. You can’t compete ...
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We’re happy to share that we've updated our website.
FOR RETAILERS, SALES REPS, AND THOSE WITH WHOLESALE ACCESS
Good news: If you had a login and password on the previous site, you can use this same login information on this new website. (Your login and password have not changed. )
If you forgot your login, please use the “Forgot login...” link. Thank you.
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How a local shop quickly opened an online store with a gift registry and saved $955 in costs, all from a flyer in their Casafina shipment.
February 6, 2024
We are pleased to announce The Square Gift Co. has joined the Shop Local community of retailers. The Square Gift Co. is a retail store in Fulton, Mississippi. The store owners, Jessica Howell and Keely McMillen recently placed an order with Casafina. When their shipment arrived, it contained a flyer promoting Shop Local. The flyer helped them more easily market and sell what was in the box online. The Square Gift Co. currently has a Shopify online store but was looking for a Gift Registry ...
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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.
I often describe flatware as jewelry for the table, the accent that gives table settings a special flair.
Of course, unlike jewelry, flatware is essential. Used everyday, whether to savor a quick snack or enjoy a thoughtfully prepared meal, you put a spoon or fork in your mouth more often throughout the day than your toothbrush. For nearly two decades, I have worked in the metals division at Lifetime Brands, so I fully understand that choosing flatware relies on many factors. Our team has done ...
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It’s hard to believe that MEPRA’s sophisticated technicolor collection FANTASIA is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year because its incandescent chromatic complexion is as fresh today as its 1989 debut.
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The brilliantly-hued fantasia comes from the Italian silversmiths Mepra, post-war business founded in 1947 by the Prandelli family, four generations fashioning flatware in the industrial Lumezzane Valley, about 90 minutes east of Milan. ...
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Designer Don Estabrooks just may have the most compelling flatware portfolio ever. The longtime Towle Silversmiths designer joined the company in the mid-’60s and has created hundreds of flatware patterns in an almost six-decade (and counting) tenure.
Perhaps his greatest achievement is Wave, which debuted in 2004 to rousing fanfare and has been at the top of the charts ever since. Chris Wile, another longstanding staffer (33 years), is president of Lifetime Brands/Metals (which owns ...
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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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Thanks to Casafina, a leading maker of table and giftware, for including a Shop Local flyer in its packages sent to retailers. The flyer helps the recipient more easily market and sell what is in the box online π¦ —> π±—> π
The recipient can open the box and in minutes do what otherwise may take hours. The store can scan a QR code on the flyer, sign up for a free Shop Local Store, Sync with Casafina products, and instantly show and sell the products online...
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You can use a free PDF flyer to help your retailers more quickly sell what they just bought from you.
January 18, 2024
FOR BRANDS AND SALES REPS
Were you at the Dallas or Atlanta shows? If so, you want to help your stores sell what they just bought from you.
We have a solution to increase your post show re-orders:
As you know, your customers bought from you at the show.
They will return to their shop and be adrift about getting these products on to their website. That hurts your future re-orders.
Let's help them sell what they just bought. Why? This will help them re-order from you more quickly.
Stay warm this Winter with 2 great sales at Feathers. Scandia Home items are 20% off through January 14th. Concurrently, Sferra products are 20% off through January 15th. All Scandia Home and Sferra products; bed & bath, robes & accessories, comforters & pillows, table linens, and more, are included except for custom/bespoke items. Stop in at 5408 Walnut St. in Shadyside to see the selection or place an order. Click here to shop the Feathers section on this website. (More products ...
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Greetings from Dallas. Good to see our brand partners promoting their Shop Local Syncing service in their showrooms. Here we see Neil Peters, national sales director for Carmel Ceramica, holding a Shop Local display. A merchant can scan the QR code and get all Carmel’s products online instantly.
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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Staff at manor department stores like Saks are finding success with Instagram and social media. The Information shares this:
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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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A recent study conducted by Jungle Scout reports that many consumers prefer to support small and local businesses for their holiday shopping. 20% reported they will buy holiday gifts from indie stores, up from 10% last year. The report ranks independent retailers in 4th place for in-store shopping, surpassing Costco, Walgreen's Best Buy, Sam's Club, Macy's and Home Depot.
The article shares 53% of consumers bought online from independent stores on Small Business Saturday as reported by ...
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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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Kate Spade New York tableware and accessories has for two decades held a singular spot on retail shelves and on customers’ tables thanks to a timeless charm and chic stylings. Even after 20 years, the fun, fresh, playfully sophisticated, and refreshingly original collections from Lenox occupy a unique niche in the tableware pantheon.
Kate Spade’s contribution to fashion cannot be understated. She became synonymous with fashionistas everywhere when she started her fashion ...
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