GIFT AND HOME RETAILER NEWS

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November 2013

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November 2013
12-14 Atlanta
13-14 Long Beach, CA
18-22 New York

December 2013
4 Atlanta
8-11 Myrtle Beach

January 2013
7-14 Atlanta
16-22 Chicago
17-21 Columbus
21-27 Los Angeles
25-31 New York
26-30 Toronto
26-30 Las Vegas
30-Feb. 1 Phoenix
30-Feb. 3 Atlanta

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TheShoppePlace.Com (Retail)


Holiday Retail Sales Outlook Hopeful

Some forecasters believe this holiday season will see improvements in sales over 2012, which is good news for the retail economy in general, since a large percentage of most retailers annual sales comes during the last calendar quarter of the year. The most optimistic prognosticator is Shop.com, which released its 2013 holiday sales forcast in October. Shop.com estimates sales growth during November and December of 13-to-15 percent over last year.

A little more conservative is the National Retail Federation (NRF) which sees a marginal increase of 3.9 percent, but that is higher than the 10-year average holiday sales growth of 3.3 percent per year (source).

Christmas Cash Register Factors to consider include improvement in the housing market and increasing sales of big ticket items, which may buoy consumer confidence. Tempering consumer confidence are continued uncertainty in Washington, D.C. "Overall, retailers are optimistic for the 2013 holiday season," says NRF President and CEP Matthew Shay. "hoping political debates over government spending and the debt ceiling do not erase any economic progress we've already made."

The NFR also see an increase in seasonal hiring from 720,500 last year to 780,000 in 2013.

Not everyone is so upbeat, however. Forbes cites disappointing back-to-school sales in August as a reason to doubt that the holiday shopping season will be much better than last year (source). Forbes also notes ShopperTrak's holiday shopping forecast which calls for retail sales in November and December to rise 2.4%, which is less than the 3% 10-year average.

So these forecasts for increases in holiday sales range from below average to WAY above average. But at least they all predict growth and that could mean a good Christmas and/or Hanukkah for retailers.


Featured Vendors

indicates a CAMEO EZ© web site.

All For Giving offers a unique assortment of gifts and accessories for the home, office, and the wine enthusiast. We strive to provide our customers with high quality yet affordable products to make that perfect gift for someone special.

Badash Crystal: Our broad selection of mouth blown tabletop and decorative accessories from around the world will surely meet your needs. Every piece is individually and safely boxed. We offer superb quality and value for all your gift giving, bridal and/or personal pleasure.

Brownlow Gifts: Brownlow produces a full line of inspirational gifts for every occasion. You will find useful and attractive home decor gifts for the kitchen, bedrooms, study and all other rooms in the house. Brownlow is well known for gourmet products, journals, gifted paper items, photo albums, photo frames, decorative sentiment plaques, a variety of stationery, many different ceramic gifts as well as a large assortment of inspirational gift books. Most products are in coordinating themes that retailers can purchase in eye-catching countertop display collections.

Camille Beckman is known worldwide for the quality of their fine creams and lotions. For the past 18 years, this 'Made in America' product has been rated #1 in the personal care industry and continues to offer formulas based on rich and wholesome ingredients, blending small batches and using hand-crafted, old-fashioned methods that create a difference you can feel! Being that personal care products are an indispensable item for many gift shops, Camille Beckman is a natural choice because of their 27 years of service to the locally owned gift industry.

Coast Lamp Manufacturing was established and incorporated in the state of Florida in 1955. Now, a North Carolina Corporation since 1975, located in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. We are a family owned and operated company. Our product is UL/ULC listed and approved and made in the USA. Customer satisfaction and a long lasting relationship are our goals. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you.

Desden offers the most unique wholesale collegiate licensed gifts! Shop the company's totes, aprons, iphone cases and accessories. Choose from the collection of Made in the USA items, Chevron patterns, or blank totes for monograming!

Divinity Boutique is a gift company that is focused on trendy and fun gifts that feature inspirational verse and themes.

Elegant Baby Elegant Baby® understands that babies deserve style just as fresh as they are! Our marvelous collection of baby products is full of bold colors and spectacular designs. From traditional to contemporary, today's baby gift is sure to become tomorrow's treasure. Products ranging from My First Rubber Ducky to My First Baby Bible, My First Baby Blankie, My First Baby Jeans to the iconic silver spoon, Elegant Baby is where style meets tradition.

Europa Home decorincluding glass, candleholders and candles for garden, lodge, awards, gourmet food, sale items and more.

Flair Hair: Need a spikey flair to your day? Flair Hair is the answer! You can wear Flair Hair Visors anywhere. The comfortable adjustable bandanas and visors with hair are great for golfing, fishing, riding your motorcycle, hiking in the mountains and anything else you can think of. No matter where you go, our hats with hair ensure you will be the life of the party. Whether you want to sport the blonde colored hair you grew up with, or throw in a change-up with brown, black, or gray; people will notice!

Fortune Keeper: Have you ever opened a fortune cookie, had a powerful connection to the message inside, and wanted to hold on to it for inspiration? Do you have other inspirational messages or pictures that you would love to wear? Welcome to FortuneKeeper - Beautifully designed necklaces, keychains and bracelets to safely store your prized fortunes, quotes, mantras, prayers, pictures or affirmations.

Gina B. Designs is an award-winning greeting card, gift and stationery products company featuring exceptional art and design. With an array of styles, variety of products and outstanding customer service, Gina B. Designs has "something for everyone."  All products are proudly made in the U.S.A.

Halle Joy is a different type of company, committed not only to designing beautiful products, but to bringing joy to people throughout the world. A portion of the proceeds from every piece we sell goes to support worthy causes around the world.

Highland Graphics: a leader in functional gift with decorative items for gift giving and kitchen. From our topselling Absorbastone coasters, to our decorative bamboo cutting boards, everything we manufacture is made in the USA. Our high quality plus competitive pricing lets our customers make higher margins. We feature licensed art, official collegiate products and have a full range of custom capabilities with low minimums.

InDesign, Home of The Sophie Collection, one of America's leading fashion accessory wholesalers! All products designed by Anna Larsson Daley using only the finest textiles and materials available. We provide retailers with unique, high quality fashion accessories including the # 1 selling jewel embellished scarf at retail.

JTP Wholesale: Monogrammed toilet paper and coasters - The perfect gift for the person who has everything.

Julia Knight: Designer Julia Knight creates bowls and trays, glassware and serving pieces with meticulous patterns and shapes, color and hue.

Leslie Handpainted Glass: Leslie Hand Painted Glass is Proudly Painting in Portland Oregon USA Specializing in Custom & Regionally Specific Designs - Personalized Wedding & Bridal Parties - Corporate Gifts & Events.

Luvali Convertibles features "all things reversible or convertible", including women's and children's clothing, hats, handbags, handheld electronics cases and more.

Malibu Creations collection of affordably chic home décor will turn your decorating daydreams into reality with fun and stylish designs inspired by the warm colors of sun-kissed beaches, the refreshing comforts of mountainside resorts, and the vibrance of today's active lifestyle. Malibu Creations believes you should be able to decorate and redecorate your home as inspiration strikes, and with the company's smart prices, you don't have to miss out on a single design trend you love. Live your life in affordable luxury as you spend time with family and friends in your beautifully decorated home, enjoying an evening of dining on the patio or just relaxing in a cozy, sunny nook in the living room.

Mya Grace features unique jewelry, keychains, watches and snaps. Mya Grace donates a portion of our profits to childrens cancer research.

Nicole Brayden Gifts: a bright and trendy collection of stationary and home decorproducts. Lots of fun colors and designs offered. Introducing new and exciting "Purse Pad" stationary assortments as well as the trendy Cheeky Chic collection.

O3 USA: Founded on principles of creativity, functionality and a funky spirit, O3 USA strives strive to offer products that are unique, stylish, and, most importantly, cool. From kids' backpacks and luggage with integrated coolers, to fun accessories for the family, we hope you find what you are looking for with us here at O3!

Red Carpet Studios, Ltd.: All Jazzed Up Fashion Accessories for Fall & Spring. A wide range of Giftware for the Home & Garden. Visit our website for New Products & Specials.

snoozies!® are not socks and they're not slippers - sort of a crossover between the two and that's why we call them "foot coverings"! snoozies!® are made with a brushed fleece exterior in colorful & fun printed patterns and then lined with a soft Sherpa fleece inside.

Shade Tree Greetings' "Actual Pictures" are recognized as one of the best-selling greeting card lines in the industry. Nostalgic photographs and clever, funny verses make these cards a success. Go to our website to browse over 300 styles. GREAT introductory programs and free fixtures.

Stupell Industries: one of America's premier suppliers of handcrafted decorative accessories for upscale homes and offices. In business for over 30 years, our line includes a wide variety of baby products, kitchen and bathroom plaques, wall hangings, faux windows, picture frames, and other unique decorative objects. We are constantly enlarging and updating our product offering to keep abreast of the latest trends and styles in the fast-paced home decorative market.

Sunbelt Marketing Group, Inc.Licensed and non-licensed products tailored for the men’s market. Items include both functional and decorative giftware for the home, i.e. wall décor, clocks, shelves, coat and key racks, etc. Licenses include Coca-Cola, General Motors, Ford, Carroll Shelby, Farmall, John Wayne and Elvis Presley. Product mediums include wood, resin, ceramic, glass and mixed mediums. Sunbeltgifts recently developed its own line of gifts for the aviation market and acts as a contract manufacturer.

Sunday Greetings is a greeting card company that started when Brenda Kellman made a homemade birthday card for her husband Alan. Brenda's photography is on the cover of the company's greeting cards for every occasion.

Tripar International Inc.: Tripar International is your source for both displays and decorative accessories. Our extensive product line includes a wide assortment of easels, risers, ornament stands, plate racks, mirrors, jewelry displays, and unique display pieces. We are also an excellent source for wine accessories, wall decor, inspirational signs, and cookbook stands. We offer quality with style, low minimums and fast shipping.

Wellspring makes functional products with fresh designs for companies that sell gifts. Great fun and cute personal accessories designed for the purse, stationery designed for organization and Flip Notes- the best-selling slim notepad consistently ranked by retailers as a top 10 in sell through. Perfect 4th quarter pick up gifts at under $10 retail- a sweet spot with today's consumer. Now with collegiate logos! www.WellspringGift.com.

White Mountain Puzzles is ahead of the pack when it comes to puzzles with educational content. Why not learn something while doing a puzzle? If you love to travel, why not put together an entertaining birds eye view of KEY WEST, MARTHA'S VINEYARD, BOSTON or NEW ENGLAND? Or work on a puzzle of states like MICHIGAN, ILLINOIS, OHIO, VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA or GEORGIA? Or learn something about PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY or THE CIVIL WAR? These challenging projects take artists like DAVID HARRISON WRIGHT, DEB MARCONI, GARY TORISSI, and MAUREEN RUPPRECHT months to create.

Wild Habitat has long had socks but also features arm sleeves, baby booties, backpack buddies, wristbands and plush hats.

WOW Window Posters, for Halloween and Holidays, are brilliantly colored, backlit plastic window posters that illuminate with your household lamps to delight all people who pass by! They fit big and small windows alike, and quickly decorate your home by transforming your windows into an incredible display of holiday art!

Zingz And Thingz : Located in Santa Monica, California, Zingz & Thingz proudly offers more than 700 products to retailers. The company's merchandise strengths are in our wide selection of affordable and fun Garden Decor items and our continually expanding Lighting collection. Discover Zingz And Thingz' extensive collection of fun and functional products today and put a little zing in your life.


Still Time to Shine
Last Minute Ideas for Holiday Sales

With Christmas fast approaching, it's not too late to positively impact your fourth quarter results. Consider these tried and true tactics to help boost results.

Pre-wrap. It's a "grab and go" culture as customers look for time saving solutions. Identify some well stocked, boxed, easy to wrap items with broad appeal. Boxed candles, photo frames or personal care gift sets are all good choices. Attractively wrap up several and display them along with some open ones. If the item comes in more than one color/style/ fragrance, lightly press a small descriptive sticker on to the ribbon so customers can confidently select the correct one, and easily remove it after purchase.

Organize gift options. Help customers with their selections by creating a gift item "cheat sheet" of popular gift categories for your staff to suggest. Include on the list gifts at popular price points, like $10 and under and $20 and under, as well as by gender and age, including gifts for dads, moms, girl friends, teens and children. You can also include gift suggestions by lifestyle and interest, like golf and gardening, and popular gift occasions like Dirty Santa and ornament exchanges. Make sure to update the list regularly, removing out of stocks.

Support Small Business Saturday. Hopefully, you have been promoting November 30, 2013, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, as Small Business Saturday. To learn more go to AmericanExpress.com/shopsmall for ideas and support. In advance, use signs as a tool to educate consumers about the day and tell its story.

Promote gift cards. As time grows short, continue to promote gift cards through signage and suggestive selling for customers who are stymied by what to buy. Gift cards offer flexibility, are particularly popular with men shoppers and are welcomed by teens and other hard-to-buy-for folks.

Gail Markert is a former key account retailer and gift industry specialist committed to improving results through enhanced product development, marketing, and branding strategies. We partner with clients to advance processes and product lines to achieve sales growth. Visit our website at MarkertGroupConsulting.com.

© Gail Markert, Markert Group Consulting, 2013


Quick Industry News

New Wholesale Websites

These CAMEO EZ© websites are new (or have a new look) for November. Check them out!

All For Giving has a brand new OmegaNet wholesale website. All For Giving.com was created by Bobbie Metz in 2007. Bobbie's passion for design, home decor and gift giving launched her from a small home based business to expanding her products in major department stores, wineries, and gift stores all across the United States and Internationally. All For Giving offers a unique assortment of gifts and accessories for the home, office, and the wine enthusiast.


CAMEO EZ© is the B2B e-commerce system developed by OmegaNet Inc., publisher of this newsletter, for use by retailers in ordering inventory for their stores. A partial list of CAMEO EZ sites can be found at the company's portals such as www.giftswholesale.com, www.accessorieswholesale.com, www.apparelwholesale.biz, www.decorwholesale.com, www.usmadewholesale.com, www.toyswholesale.com and www.usmadewholesale.com. A complete list of sites is available in the "Directory" on www.CAMEOEZ.com.