giftfluence

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GIFTFLUENCE.  

BE INFLUENCED. 

GET INFLUENCED.

BE INFLUENTIAL.

GIFTFLUENCE, is the new on-line community for everyone and everything in the GIFTWARE INDUSTRY. 

In an ever changing and increasingly more difficult business environment, GIFTFLUENCE is dedicated to the idea that as a community the only way for all of us to succeed is understanding our inter-dependence on each other.  No matter what role you play in the industry, you are ultimately an INFLUENCER.  From the designer to the manufacturer to the sales representative to the retailer there is but one common goal:  to offer and sell merchandise.

A combination of blog, web site and on line magazine, GIFTFLUENCE is set to be the "go to source" for current industry and market news, new products and trend directions.  An open exchange from all points of view and backgrounds, GIFTFLUENCE will feature and encourage participation with open thread discussions, opinions, polls, questions and answers.

FEATURES AND CONTENT:

• Daily updates focusing on industry news, trends, new products, displays and business matters.
• ASK and ANSWER: an open thread that lets YOU ask the questions and get answers from industry insiders.  Share your knowledge.  Get advice.  Vent a frustration.  Offer a solution.
• SEEK and SHOP:  If you are a retailer seeking a product or trying to source a trend, but can't find what you are looking for, or are unable to get a Mart to shop, SEEK AND SHOP can help!  This posting space lets you ask Reps and manufactures for help! 
• Our GIFT LISTS are the place to find reps, vendors, resources and artists. 
• Get news out fast!  Promote new products, business news, closeouts, specials and more by submitting information to be included on the GIFTFLUENCE front-page.  Send to: influencer@giftfluence.com
• This is just the start, we have much more planned and coming soon!

GIFTFLUENCE will be adding features and content daily over the next few weeks as we move from this "beta" introduction format to our full site.  So book mark us on your favorites, or subscribe to our update feed.

2009: FORT LAUDERDALE SHOW LAUNCHES

If you are in the Florida area, mark your calendars for the launch of a new Fort Lauderdale Gift Show debutings in the summer of 2009.

See the press release below for all the details.

Urban Expositions launches gift show in Fort Lauderdale

Atlanta-based Urban Expositions is launching the Fort Lauderdale Gift Show, Aug. 8-11, 2009, at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in Florida. The show will feature a wide variety of gift product categories, including: general giftware; greeting cards; paper goods and stationary; destination, resort and tourist merchandise; shell items; jewelry and fashion accessories; toys and games; decorative accessories; tabletop; logo products; gourmet products and garden gifts. Retail buyers will also be offered free seminars, as well as special buyer incentives at the show. Attendees will include buyers from gift stores, department and chain stores, resort specialty stores, museum and hotel gift shops, stationary stores, mass merchants, home centers, beach stores, catalogs, gourmet shops, bed and bath stores, and garden shops. This event will replace the Miami Beach Gift Show. Contact: Cece Lee, (678) 370-0332.

TRENDS: IN/OUT FOR 2009

What's In and what's Outfor 2009?  According to a recent list by a top trend watcher here are some predictions.

IN

-Purple: slides to the red-side.  Midtones and pales move up from the background.

-Metallics: platinum, rose gold and copper.

-Small Scale Design: patterns in medium-scale, with tiny-scale emerging.

-Florals: move toward femininity.

-Eco-fibers: linen, cotton, soy, hemp and bamboo

OUT

-Damasks: move to smaller scale or small accents

-Simple surfaces: detail, depth and texture replace smooth and plain

-Spa Blue: oceans and rivers over spa.  Mediterranean turquoise

-Opaque Wood Stains:  visible wood grains, piecing, marquetry over dark chocolate stains.  Distressing makes a move.

 

MADE IN THE USA: IKEA

Not all manufacturers are fleeing the homeland for the economic benefits of setting up factories and manufactuing in countries such as China.  While doing research on MADE IN THE USA products, I came across an article about a new IKEA factory that opened in Danville, Viginia.  The 930,000-square -foot facility, could be the first of several U.S. factories, and has created over 200 jobs in a region devasted by the loss of factory closures.  Some of Ikea's global suppliers are following their lead and may soon also be opening domestic plants.  Producing in the USA and eliminating the transport of product from overseas on boat also reduces the company's carbon footprint, important in today's "green" economy.

MADE IN THE USA and GREEN, more than trends, they are movements; inter-connected and on the rise.  Two topics we will continue to explore here on GIFTFLUENCE.

 

GREEN IS GLAMOROUS

GREEN WITH GLAMOUR is a retail site devoted to stylish ego-friendly merchandise for home, gift giving and body.

If you're a retailer searching or struggling to find merchandise that qualifies as "green", this site could become an invaluable resource.  Not only does it feature hundreds of earth-friendly products, but product descriptions highlight the feature that make it green.  Reading the descriptions alone is an education in the marketing of green products.

Target quarterly profit drops 8 percent

The current economic woes have crept into even the deep pockets of one of the largest retail chains.

Last week, Target Corp reported a nearly 8 percent drop in quarterly profit as shoppers passed over trendy clothes and home decor in favor of every-day necessities, hurting its margins.

Dates and Location Change for 2009 Winter New York Gift Fair

  WHITE PLAINS, NY - George Little Management, LLC (GLM®) has announced that the winter 2009 edition of the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®) will run Sunday, January 25, through Thursday, January 29, 2009, at New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 90, 92 and 94.

This one-time shift, from NYIGF's traditional Saturday-Thursday staggered opening/closing date pattern, will occur due to venue availability. These opening and closing dates apply to all nine of the fair's divisions.

The New York's Newest division, a "launching pad" of the market's newest resources across all categories, will relocate from the Metropolitan Pavilion to Pier 90, and will expand to featured 300+exhibitors. This move will facilitate traffic flow and cross-category buying opportunities between New York's Newest, Studio™ at Pier 92, and At Home at Piers 92 and 94.

Tribeca Co Candle Unveils Their 2008 Holiday Candle Line

Tribeca releases six new fragrances this week, inspired and intended to evoke the comfy, cozy feeling that the holiday season brings.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) August 19, 2008 -- Inspired and intended to evoke the comfy cozy feeling that the holiday season brings, Tribeca has released 6 new fragrances, which includes: chestnuts and brown sugar; buttered rum; cinnamon buns, forest pine, balsam fir, christmas wreath and frengelico streusel.

Tribeca's Holiday Collection compliments each other where fragrance combining is urged to create a unique fragrance for you home and festivities. They are packaged in a festive holiday box with which both inside and outside of the box are decorated perfect for holiday gift giving.

Each candle is hand made in the USA with a proprietary soy blend and lead free wick. Tribeca Co candles are available through wholesale and retail outlets.

About Tribeca Co, the latest entrant into the home fragrance industry Tribeca launch this year in April 2008, with 4 collections including: Tribeca Signature, Tribeca Everyday, Tribeca Bachelor Collection and their Raising Malawi collection. Tribeca candles are unique not only with their urban packaging, but that their fragrance throw is astounding.

This newcomer is sure to take on the industry with innovative design and fragrance combinations.

For more information or photos please contact Tribeca.

Contact: Joyce Kohn
Company: Tribeca Co
Phone: 650-787-0407
joyce @ tribecacandle.com
press @ tribecacandle.com
www.tribecacandle.com

Yellow On Rise In Home Décor

By JENNIFER FORKER | For The Associated Press

August 22, 2008

Step aside, orange. It's yellow's turn to shine.

The last few years have seen greens and oranges in the home decor spotlight, but that's about to change, as the primary colors blue and yellow muscle back into the forefront.

"Orange has started to run its course," says Jack Bredenfoerder, president of Color Marketing Group, an international association of color design professionals.

As in the fashion world, with its punch of yellow in bangles, bags and high heels, the color often described as "sunny" and "energetic" is returning as an accent color in home design.

"It's in fashion now, then in our homes," he says.

The yellow he sees stepping off the runways is the shade's calmer tones, combined with neutrals. Yellow is especially attractive as an accent for whites, grays and black.

Yellow has long been an accent color for blue, which is overtaking green as a principal color in the home. Bredenfoerder advises steering clear of traditional blues and looking instead for an "intense, bright, ultramarine-type blue."

With the changing seasons, now is the perfect time to think yellow, says Sonu Mathew, an interior designer and senior manager of commercial and residential design with the paint company Benjamin Moore. "You can use yellow as a bridge from the cooler colors of summer to the warmer colors of fall," she says.

Give a room some punch with a yellow bowl, throw pillows, a slipcover or a bedspread. Or make it as simple as a bouquet of fresh yellow flowers.

Mathew warns that yellow can be a particularly difficult color to navigate. "It's just a hard color for our eyes to process," she says.

As an accent color, a little goes a long way. The safest yellows are the creamy, calmer ones. Too much of a cheerful yellow can prove annoying.

Occasion-Specific Gifts Largest Revenue Producer in U.S. Giftware Market

Gift items that deliver a message are likely to be among the hot gift sellers this year, says marketing consulting firm Unity Marketing.

New research conducted by the company into the $27.1 billion U.S. giftware market, shows that occasion-specific gifts are both the fastest-growing giftware category and the largest revenue-producing product category.

"The key to success this year is to give shoppers an emotional boost," says Pam Danzinger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience.

"The way to do that is to powerfully engage them in the shopping experience with delightful things to see and explore in the store. Shoppers will be looking for gift-giving ideas that are emotionally evocative and speak personally to the individual. This year the hot giftware categories, notably character-licensed merchandise, collegiate giftware, pet gifts, occasion-specific and personalized gifts, all share the ability to communicate emotionally and personally to the chosen recipient," explains Danzinger.

--From Gifts and Tablewares Magazine, Canada

ROMAN, INC. WINS TURNAROUND AWARD

Turnaround Management Association (TMA), the only international non-profit association dedicated to corporate renewal and turnaround management, has selected its 2008 Turnaround of the Year and Transaction of the Year award recipients.

Roman, Inc., producer and distributor
        of giftware in Bloomingdale, Ill., recieved the Mid-size Company Honorable Mention Award.

With international headquarters in Chicago, TMA's 8,300 members in 43 regional chapters comprise a professional community of turnaround practitioners, attorneys, investors, lenders, venture capitalists, investment bankers, accountants, appraisers, liquidators, executive recruiters and consultants. Members adhere to a Code of Ethics specifying high standards of professionalism, integrity and competence. Its Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) program recognizes professional excellence and provides an objective measure of expertise related to workouts, restructurings and corporate renewal.