ICON Honors Call For Entries Now Open on New Website

Posted on March 31, 2010 by ksantry

The ICON Honors national call for entries is now open with submission invited in three categories:

Innovation (for technology applications to achieve market share, product design, packaging design and sustainability and branding)
Contribution (for independent retail community trailblazer impact/influence, cause-related product impact/influence and industry-building impact/influence and community betterment/improvement achievements)
Achievement (for top newcomer recognition, individual professional accomplishment, collective business accomplishment and life accomplishment)

Competition for the Honors will be by individual submission in the Innovation and Contribution categories, and by independent nomination in the Achievement category—with the potential for up to 27 awards conferred.

Members of the home and gift industry are eligible as:

Retailers
Manufacturers
Sales Agencies
Service Providers /Affiliates

For complete details on the awards and instructions on how to submit, visit the new ICON Honors website: www.americasmarticonhonors.com.

All entries must be sent in via mail.

Submissions will be accepted now through Friday, May 14, 2010.

The winners will be notified in advance and officially announced and honored at the ICON Honors celebration on Saturday, July 17, 2010, in conjunction with the July Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings and Atlanta International Area Rug Markets.

Guest AMU Blogger Darrah Brustein Shares On Saving Money, Driving Business

Posted on March 31, 2010 by ksantry

It’s the dream of many young girls to one day be in the fashion industry! After college, I was lucky enough to find myself as a rep for a high-end denim line and seemingly living my dream of the glamorous life of fashion! As many of you know, the glitz n’glam can be fun, but there is a lot more to the business. After a couple years as a rep, I was ready for a new challenge and was fortunate to be introduced to the world of merchant services. I had a soft spot for the needs of a retail business owner who certainly could use some help cutting costs where they are unnecessary. When I learned how unscrupulous people in the credit card processing world can be, I jumped on the opportunity to parlay my newfound knowledge to the boutique owners I knew and cared about.

If you’ve ever wondered ‘why am I paying so much every month to a credit card processor?’, ‘what’s the difference in what it costs me to transact a debit card, credit card, or a key entered order?’, or ‘would my business benefit from an influx of cash with an advance on my credit card deposits?’, then come meet me as I share what I’ve learned from working with hundreds of retailers and e-commerce stores about merchant services. I’ll be offering guidance on how to get the best rates on your processing, as well as how to drive more revenue to your business with merchant services. It’s time to take the confusion out of this business and shed some light on the matter!

Join Darrah on Friday, April 9 at 11 a.m. to find out how to Save Money and Drive Repeat Business during her AmericasMart University (AMU) presentation. More details here.

HFN Named ICON Honors National Media Sponsor

Posted on February 16, 2010 by ksantry

HFN will serve as national media partner for the 2010 ICON Honors in an alliance bringing the trade magazine together with the Gift & Home Trade Association (GHTA) and AmericasMart Atlanta to create and produce the inaugural ICON program, which celebrates innovation across the home and gift industry spectrum.

As the national media partner, HFN will affirm and champion ICON Honors among domestic and international independent retailers, product manufacturers, sales representatives and service providers—all of which are eligible to pursue awards recognizing superior accomplishment in Innovation, Contribution and Achievement in product design and packaging, technology applications, sustainability commitments, cause-product influence and 14 additional honors.

ICON Honors takes place July 18, 2010 in conjunction with the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market.

Read the entire release and find our more details here.

Robust Buying at Market, Positive Outlook for 2010 from buyers, exhibitors

Posted on January 13, 2010 by ksantry

reg With its successful eight-day Market run—the first Market of 2010—AmericasMart is looking forward to what this year is to bring. Market started last Wednesday with retailers from around the world entering to thousands of new introductions and product debuts. Traffic continued to pick up through the weekend and the buying continued to be strong. Now, with Market coming to a close, buyers and exhibitors are ending their Atlanta Market with a positive outlook for 2010. Read more details here.

AMU Speakers Remind Retailers to ‘Not Chase, but Be Chased’

Posted on December 23, 2009 by ksantry

Steve Boodakian-loRes Small store. Big Store. Megastore. We all feel the pressure from our competition. How should we compete? The knee-jerk reaction is to lower our prices. When it comes to Oriental rugs, the best way is to take a lesson from a generation ago – make it job #1 to provide great service. That starts by becoming passionate for this art form, and getting educated and comfortable with answering customers’ questions about the rugs you sell.

You don’t need to become a scholar, although Oriental rugs are a fascinating study! What you need to do is learn all that goes into creating them. Take that simple step and you will unavoidably be awaked to the artistry and craft that goes into creating Oriental rugs of all types and qualities! You will become passionate about what you sell. Only then will you be able to instill those feelings in the hearts and minds of your clients and lead them to buy finer and more expensive rugs. And even better, buy them from you! Sy Mahfuz-loRes

The next step is to not only sell the rug but turn each customer into a customer for life. You do this by understanding what your real product is, making it unique, and working tirelessly to strengthen it.

If you pay attention and do it right, you will become the competition that everyone else chases!

Steve and Sy can be reached at www.meraconsulting.com

Be sure to attend their seminars during Market.

Faster, More Convenient Registration

Posted on December 2, 2009 by ksantry

AmericasMart has launched Fast Badge, a new online service used for buyers to secure admission into Markets prior to arriving. Starting today, retailers can visit www.AmericasMart.com/fastbadge to register online in three simple steps:

1. Complete the form online;
2. Print confirmation with barcode;
3. Bring confirmation to Market for scanning and immediate entrance.

It’s fast, it’s simple, it’s for you!

AmericasMart, with Today’s Garden Center, to host Revolutionary 100 Roundtable

Posted on November 3, 2009 by ksantry

Today’s Garden Center and AmericasMart are partnering to host the Revolutionary 100 Roundtable during the 2010 January Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishing Market.

The Today’s Garden Center Revolutionary 100 list recognizes the most progressive, innovative, and successful garden retailers in the industry each year. The Revolutionary 100 Roundtable brings together many of these outstanding minds for three days of discussion, ideas and networking.

In addition to three days of sharing great ideas with the most Revolutionary independent retailers in the country, attendees at this year’s Roundtable will enjoy complimentary admission to AmericasMart’s January International Gift & Home Furnishing Market in Atlanta and one complimentary hotel night.

To participate, though, you’ll need to be a part of the 2010 Revolutionary 100 list. More info can be found here!

Eager Buyers Shopping in September

Posted on September 13, 2009 by ksantry

The Atlanta Fall Gift & Home Furnishings Market started with a rush Saturday morning. Registration lobbies were filled with buyers eager to hit the floors. While many were looking to fill in sparse inventories prior to the holiday rush, a group from VerdeGo – a design and garden center in Bunnell, Fla. – was in Atlanta to buy for a new store as they expand to a second location.

There were plenty of educational opportunities for buyers to gain new skills early on Saturday. Home retailers heard industry experts’ advice about how to grow business in a tough economy. Crafty buyers learned to creatively construct gift baskets that will thrill customers while garnering strong profit margins. And one of the most popular spots of the morning was a social media seminar explaining why smart retailers should make the most ofopportunities to speak to customers through Web sites, Facebook, Twitter and every other possible medium. Foodies learned from one of Atlanta’s top chefs, Shaun Doty in the state-of-the-art Gourmet Kitchen in Building 2 WestWing. And in the afternoon, the much anticipated Best of Atlanta winning gourmet products were revealed.

Sunday sets up to be just as busy with another Gift Basket University class; ample opportunities to source exceptional product from both permanent and temporary exhibitors and get ready for a promising holiday buying season.

ABCs, 123s and More Advice from Experts

Posted on July 11, 2009 by ksantry

Each Market, an array of seminars and AMU classes offer instruction and motivation to better your business. On Friday, the many experts on site to advise and instruct buyers included:

For those interested in the culinary realm, Chef Jay Swift of the famed Fourth & Swift restaurant (4thandswift.com) in Atlanta shared recipes for savory Corn Soup, Georgia White Shrimp with Eggplant Relish and Strawberry Shortcake with Creamy Sweet Grass Daily Chévre. Attendees learned some of the behind-the-scenes tips Jay uses every day to create scrumptious comfort foods with a contemporary flair while running a flourishing restaurant business. Plus, everyone got to enjoy samples of each dish!

Michael Sims of Lion Ribbon Co. (LionRibbon.com)created masterpieces of ribbon. He showed how to use ribbon as both an accent and a centerpiece for any occasion or season – even teaching attendees how to make intricate (but deceptively simple) ribbon roses. As everyone is trying to do more with less these days, Micheal showed how something as simple as ribbon can add depth and interest to any display without tremendous expense.

Vicky Jones of The Jones Group, a full-service graphic design company based in Atlanta (theJonesGroup.com), taught two AMU classes. The first helped retailers understand the importance of graphic design and how it impacts branding your business. She explained how something as basic as a logo generates the first impression a customer has of your business and why it’s so vital to communicate the right message. She also offered advice to those who want to do some of the work themselves as well as insight into effectively communicating with a graphic design firm to achieve the results you need. Vicky’s second class helped demystify company Web sites. As the one marketing tool you completely own and control, she explained why a dynamic Web presence is crucial to success for any type of retailer in today’s social-networked, internet-based marketplace.

Multiple seminars and AMU classes are going on throughout the weekend. Check them out to see what best suits your business and learn something new!

Tips for Sales Sucess in Today’s Retail Environment

Posted on July 10, 2009 by ksantry

melissa-haberstroh1 Experienced retailer Melissa Haberstroh had audience members taking detailed notes earlier today as she discussed strategies for sustainable sales in her AmericasMart University seminar “Doing Business in the New Norm.”

Haberstroh stressed the importance of creating a signature style for your store, including a distinctive name and logo, in order to stand out against the competition. Those “branding” tools should be used consistently in all marketing pieces, in-store signage and packaging to forge an identity, making it memorable for customers so they’ll keep coming back for more. Your brand should also clearly reflect the mood of your store and the type of product you offer.

Haberstroh also discussed the crucial role customer service plays in building and maintaining sales. She suggested reminding employees often that they are ambassadors of the store and are responsible for staying true to the brand promise. Consumers have plenty of shopping options; if they have a bad experience at one store, they can simply take their business elsewhere. So make sure every customer leaves your store satisfied.

The tips kept coming and the question and answer period became an interactive forum for retailers to compare experiences and gather advice. If you missed out on today’s AmericasMart University seminars, be sure to check out the full lineup of informative seminars on Saturday and Sunday.

Melissa Haberstroh is president and majority owner of The Burlap Horse, an inviting retail showroom for antique and heirloom furnishings and accessories.

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