Home Alone 3
Warren Shoulberg, editorial director for HTT, always seems to have something to say about things.
Presents of Mine
My, how time flies when you're in the textiles business. Faster than you can say, "Well, you doesn't have to call me Mr. Johnson," it's the most wonderful time of the year again, when our thoughts turn to mistletoe and markdowns, dolls and doorbusters, garlands and gross margins. And as the calendar counts down from Gray Thursday to Black Friday to White-Out Wednesday, it's time once mor... Read More
Comments (1)Merry M-Mas
In the military, there's a saying that generals are always getting ready to fight the last war. It's the same thing in retailing. As we clear the dust - not to mention the smoke and mirrors - from the Thanksgiving weekend onslaught known as Black Whatever, it is becoming increasingly clear that while retailers are consumed with doorbusters and online promotions to be consumed before the turkey, th... Read More
Comments (0)Trade-offs
The delicate balance that has been the Asian sourcing model for most American companies in the home textiles business is about to change...again.And this one is a biggie.There are of course some large, overriding issues impacting trade: A new leader in China, the re-election of President Obama in the U.S. and the overall slowdown in the global economy.But three very specific factors are impacting... Read More
Comments (0)50 Shades of Black
So much has happened over the past few weeks: A presidential election, a monster storm in the Northeast, the World Series, a man named Angus being elected to the United States Senate.So, of course, all of this raises the question every single person in this industry wants to ask: How is business going to be this Christmas?It's only a few short weeks until the official start of the holiday shopping... Read More
Comments (1)Quotations from the Chairmen
So, if you're a student of world history you'll know this statement I heard recently on a news report about China. It referred to the late Chairman Mao and one of the key tactics he used to take over the country. He said if you won over the countryside and surrounded the cities that the cities themselves would eventually be won over as well.It got me thinking: Who else adapted such a strategy in b... Read More
Comments (0)Q4
So, it's the start of the fourth quarter, do you know where your customers are? For that matter, do you know where your margins are, where your products are and where your competitors are, not to mention where you are?The business of the home business has sure gotten pretty complicated these days. In the middle of a prolonged, painfully slow recovery from the worst economic downtown in 70 years, t... Read More
Comments (0)The I-Went-to-New-York-Market-and-All-I-Got-Was-A-T-shirt-Column
Well, we all seem to have made it through another New York market week, but I'm quite sure what souvenir T-shirt you came back with varied wildly depending on your products, your customer base and your approach to business in general.With that in mind, I'd like to give you a sampling of the shirts I saw people wearing as they left market to head home:I Went to Market and All I Got Was a T-shirt R... Read More
Comments (1)Unchained
The classic supply chain of the global home textiles industry is crumbling right before our eyes...and that's not necessarily a bad thing.Having just returned from the Intertextile Shanghai show and now seeing what's about to happen at this week's New York Home Fashions Market, it's increasingly clear that many of the old maxims about doing business in home textiles are no longer valid. No new wor... Read More
Comments (2)Boxed In, Boxed Out
After the rise of the national discounter, which signaled the demise of most regional mass merchants, and before the onset of e-commerce changed all the rules of retailing, the most important development in the history of general merchandise retail was the era of the big-box category killer.No other retailing format had as big an impact on the marketplace as the super specialty store chain, and fo... Read More
Comments (2)Sunny and Share
Reports of the death of the American economy have been exaggerated.By a lot.Don't look now, but it's quite possible that the next year will be a time of business growth and development in the home business that we haven't seen in a very long time.And any company that isn't poised to take advantage of these conditions is not only going to miss the boat, they are probably going to sink into oblivion... Read More
Comments (2)Homeland Insecurities
There was this absolutely spectacular TV commercial on a few nights ago for home furnishings. Maybe you saw it.It focused on the role of the dining room table in the lives of ordinary Americans. It showed a husband and wife making a major decision at the table, followed by a son telling his parents he was taking the new job he had just been offered. Another scene showed one family member announcin... Read More
Comments (1)Homeland Insecurities
There was this absolutely spectacular TV commercial on a few nights ago for home furnishings. Maybe you saw it.It focused on the role of the dining room table in the lives of ordinary Americans. It showed a husband and wife making a major decision at the table, followed by a son telling his parents he was taking the new job he had just been offered. Another scene showed one family member announcin... Read More
Comments (2)
