Beyond product and presentation, AmericasMart strives to provide a comprehensive experience for all buyers and exhibitors. As part of an overall commitment to helping retailers and exhibitors grow and develop better business skills, The Education Center continues to provide highly specialized, radically different and non-traditional learning opportunities.

Here’s what we have on tap for July: 

THURSDAY, JULY 14

MIX-AMIZE PROFITS WITH AREA RUGS
TIME: 11 A.M. – NOON
LOCATION: BUILDING 1, FLOOR 4, ROOM 4-B-1

Don’t want to charge too much for your product but still want to make a profit? Join Andy Fried, Business Consultant at Kennesaw State University, for an educational seminar. In this class, you’ll learn pricing tactics and strategies for area rugs that increase profits and are easy as one, two, three! Fried has more than enough experience – 25 years to be exact – to be considered a “business guru.” His knowledge in the financial and retail sectors are sure to give you the right advice you need to maximize your profits.

FRIDAY, JULY 15

DEMYSTIFYING AREA RUGS
TIME: 2:30-3:30 P.M.
LOCATION: BUILDING 1, FLOOR 4, ROOM 4-B-1

Do you know the difference between a handmade rug and one that is machine made? Can you tell the difference between an Oushak and a Kilim? How do you know how if the price is right on your area rug? Think of this session as an “area rug 101” class. AmericasMart will provide you with all the info, including proper content, terminology and pricing structures. This panel discussion, made up of four of the world’s biggest area rug manufacturers, will ease your mind as you glide into area rug professionalism.

SATURDAY, JULY 16

DESIGN SHOWCASE TOUR WITH CHIP WADE
TIME: 1:30-2:30 P.M.
LOCATION: BUILDING 1, FLOOR 1, LOBBY VIGNETTE

For those who are crazy about HGTV, we’ve got the right tour guide for you! Chip Wade, known as the carpenter on the Atlanta team of Designed to Sell, will lead you through the Home center to preview themed design showcases using area rugs as inspiration. Wade’s passion for design and the execution of large-scale remodels make him the perfect inspiration to show how to set the tone for your entire design concept in any room. Wade will also highlight many Home center showrooms, where you can find rugs, furnishings and accents to polish off the look.

In Living Color
Color expert Rebecca Ewing of the Color Marketing Group will show you how color unconsciously affects feeling, behavior and physiology. Learn to use these predictable and universal color responses to attract, inspire and compel customers and clients.
This seminar is worth .2 CEU credits.
TIME: 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
LOCATION: Home Furnishings Center, Building 1, Floor 14 Seminar Room
Coffee and muffins will be served. 

Benjamin Moore Color Pulse
Join Randy Smith of Benjamin Moore as he presents the upcoming color trends for interiors and exteriors.
TIME: 1 – 2 p.m.
LOCATION: Living. Outdoor/Indoor.^® The Gardens.^®, Building 2 WestWing, Floor 10 Seminar Room
Coffee will be served.

DON’T WAIT! MAKE YOUR PLANS TO ATTEND TODAY!
Seating is limited. For more information and to RSVP, contact:
Meagan Maron: 404.220.2104 or mmaron@americasmart.com 

And while you’re here…
Refresh, Renew and Reenergize your store or client’s home with the latest in home furnishings, gift, gardens and more when you shop Market Wednesday in Buildings 1, 2 and 2 WestWing.

(I was inspired to do this article after visiting my daughter’s store, RUBY,  where I noticed how many little items she had tied together with ribbon as a “set.”  There were several bracelets together, panty packs of two, three or five, a package of three tees, etc.  The pricing was even numbered like $10, $20, etc. and as a shopper I could realize how quick and easy this choice could be. It seemed especially effective for the Valentine shopping season in progress.  The more I thought about it, the more I felt the need to share “bundling up” for better profits with each of you!)

All of us enjoy a sweet deal, by just like icing on the cake, it can be overdone.  Bundling is a delicate blend of ingredients that:

*Sweetens the deal for your customers
* Increases your average sale
* Boosts your employees’ productivity
*Reduces your risks

If you are considering bundling, ask yourself these questions:

1) What are some of the challenges shoppers face in buying clothing
Some folks are color blind or have no fashion sense. They are in a hurry and forget to buy the related purchases they need. They long for help in making    decisions.  A bundle is already combined and ready – no choice.

2) What can I bundle together to make life easier for my customers?
Shoes and Handbags
Assorted Accessories that mix/match
Hosiery for the outfit
Socks for the shoes
Tees with Jeans
Tops w/suits
Slippers with robes
Panties with bras
7 panties (one for each day)
Basic tees set (red, black, white)
Lip gloss and mirror
Gloves & scarf
Anything that makes sense together or fills a need!

3) What benefits would buyers gain from bundles?
Customers would save time, whether shopping for themselves or a gift, they would find things easier. A bundle usually adds more versatility and functionality to a wardrobe by mixing and matching. Shoppers usually think a bundle is a better deal and they feel good about saving.

4) What benefit would the retailer gain from this?
Total sales should increase. Multiples units would be sold. Customers would appreciate the creativity and novelty of the combination.
Employee’s productivity should go up because they will generate more sales dollars per customer.

Look around, what goes together as the perfect bundle in your store?

Learn even more and be further inspired at TJ’s seminar at the Apparel Market on Saturday, April 2 at 10 a.m. She’ll get you excited about driving traffic through promotions and contests. More information on her seminar and full lineup of events can be found here.

More on bundling can be found in “Pricing for Profit” by Dale Furtwengler, available from www.amaconbooks.org.

This is a “can’t miss” event if you are interested in learning how you can better use AmericasMart as an interior design resource. First, hear Stan’s tips, strategies, design solutions and inspirations. Then, he will take you on a guided tour throughout the Home floors and showrooms where he will point out some of the best designer showrooms, products and lines. You are sure to leave this event with a better understanding of the reasons why many interior designers, including the legendary Stan Topol, consider AmericasMart one of the most valuable resources in the Nation.

Friday, January 14, 2011
2:30 p.m.
All About Home: Talk and Walk with Stan Topol
Building 1, Floor 14, Seminar Room 14-D-9

R.S.V.P. Please e-mail tturberville@americasmart.com by Monday, January 3, 2011.

Here is a sneak preview of what I’ll be sharing.

Keep It Simple

It really couldn’t be easier to create a blog for your business. It is much easier than creating and maintaining a website and can even be your business’ website if you don’t have a reason to keep a separate web presence. Using free blog hosting services such as WordPress and Blogger, it’s as simple as creating a free account, selecting from one of their excellent blog templates and filling in the blanks to customize the blog for your business. Then you do have to actually come up with what you want to blog about.

More about that at my upcoming seminar. Hint: It’s simple.

Keep Communicating

One of the original reasons I started a blog was because I didn’t want to send emails to customers too often at the risk of ending up in their SPAM folders or them just not reading emails because they were to frequent. I have always sent a monthly email newsletter to customer who subscribe and found that as business grew, there were times I wanted to communicate with customers more than monthly. Blogging was my answer. I post information on the blog that is worthy of sharing between newsletters and then direct customers to the blog for special updates, event info, sale and new product notifications. In this case, if customers want the information, they are free to review it, however, we are keeping our promise of only emailing them once per month.

Keep It Going

Blogging does take time. You may be lucky enough to have someone to delegate

blogging to, which would mean it won’t take as much of your time. I actually really enjoy blogging and using it as a platform to tell others about my business, therefore, I maintain our blog entirely on my own. Anything worth doing takes time and one of the biggest blogging mistakes you can make is to stop blogging once you’ve started. Make a commitment to your blog, just like you commit to your business. Make it something reasonable for you, not something an expert told you. If you can commit to blog once a week that’s great. If you can commit to once a month, that’s better than not at all.

Keep It Connected

Because I’m also an avid user of social media for my business, I use other social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter to promote our blog to existing and prospective customers. After I post on our blog, I always put a link to the new post on Facebook and Twitter. These avenues expose our blog to many more people than just those who choose to follow it. I also reference the blog in our monthly email newsletter. I’ve found that this makes creating the newsletter faster and easier. I typically cover some of the same information in the monthly email newsletter that’s recently been posted on the blog. I link directly from the newsletter articles to the blog to share more detailed information, making the newsletter more concise.

These are just a few of my “blogging for business” tips. I’ll be sharing much more at the upcoming panel discussion “The Power of Blogging” AmericasMart University: Building

Your Brand Course on Thursday, January 13, 2011 from 1- 2 p.m. in Building 1, Floor 10, Room 1001. I hope to have the opportunity to meet many of you there!

Denise Knapp, owner of a brick & Mortar store in Ashville, N.C. as well as the largest prom dress retail buying group in the country, Top 10 Prom, shared more than 25 years of experience on the growing internet influence and the critical importance of strong, symbiotic retailer-vendor relationships.

Samantha Jones owner of two Birmingham, Ala., boutiques as well as popular social networking site, abetterretailer.com, offered insight into both the in-store and the online aspects of growing business.

Julie Routenberg’s experience owning high-end young designer specialty stores in the Atlanta area for more than 30 years provides a basis to offer advice on weathering almost any economic storm.

More than 25 retailers joined a lively discussion on maintaining budgets, watching cash flow and controlling inventory, adding personal anecdotes of what’s worked – and not – for their stores. Among the takeaways…

• Be a buyer, not a shopper. Managing a retail store is about more than finding wonderful things to fill your store. Overbuying is a common mistake that can affect all other aspects of your business. Sometimes less really is more. Don’t just buy the right things – buy the right amount.

• Know and understand your fixed costs. To manage cash flow, you have to know exactly how much money is going out the door every month, no matter how much you bring in. For example, based on standards such as rent being be no more than 8 percent, payroll approximately 10 percent, etc., you must account for every aspect of your fixed costs before planning your product purchases.

• Plan your open-to-buy budget based on real needs. Buy what you know will sell to avoid having to do huge markdowns to move inventory. Balance your budget with what you need to buy for coming seasons and your immediates. Don’t buy too far out; it’s too easy to forget and overbuy.

• Don’t train customers to wait for a sale. Instead, keep them shopping all year with cost-effective events and promotions such as trunk shows and discount with purchase offers such as “buy any dress and get 25 percent off a handbag.” Use a staple product as a cornerstone, then build around that to drive add-on sales. For example, drive sale traffic by offering a rare discount on a perennial favorite item. Talk to your best suppliers about samples and consignments to do special store events. When working with vendors, no matter how trusted, always get the terms in writing to avoid potential disagreements down the road.

• Retail consultants can be extremely helpful to keep you on track, but a wealth of resources is available online. No matter how busy you are – and you are busy – set aside time to really manage your business so you aren’t caught off guard. Use point-of-sale programs tailored to your size store so you get what you really need from them.

Remember that you’re in control of your business. Use your leverage with vendors and capitalize on your relationships with customers. Management doesn’t have to be overwhelming if you deal with one component at a time while keeping an eye on the complete picture.

Other events you won’t want to miss out on throughout Market include The Daily Strut fashion shows in Floor 2 in THE LOUNGE, TOTEally Fabulous tote giveaway for buyers on Floor 3, a wine & beer cart—only if you can catch it! And, don’t forget about the complimentary cocktail reception at 6 p.m. preceding the Style Runway fashion show on June 11 at 6:30 p.m.!

More information on events and seminars during the June Market can be found here.

Topics ranged from how to create a beautiful bed that’s also comfortable using layering, quality sheets and a plethora of pillows to how different people react to color in their spaces. When it comes to color, it’s completely personal; some people are “neutrals” while others demand bright hues. It’s rare to find a client who reacts positively to both sides of the spectrum. In design, it usually makes most sense to more lasting projects to use color in transient pieces such as pillows, upholstery, linens or even rugs than in fixtures such as countertops.

Multifunctional rooms are imperative. There are no wasted rooms anymore; people want liveable spaces that make the most of an often smaller footprint. Creating outdoor living areas that as livable as those inside is complementary design focus. Adding curtains to create a sense of enclosure, deep seating and beautiful lighting for functionality and art for aesthetics makes the outoors interchangeable with indoor spaces.

When it comes to simplicity, clean doesn’t have to be stark. It’s a matter of editing to ensure there aren’t too many competing elements. Use fewer layers of materials. For example instead of a granite countertop and tile backsplash, use marble or synthetic surface for both. Lighter woods such as bleached pine walnut and oak create interest without density, especially in kitchens and bathrooms.

In all design, personal style should be paramount. In some cases, people opt for a do-it-yourself option for cosmetic, quick fixes – even more popular as people opt to stay in their homes and renovate instead of selling and moving. Bathrooms and powder rooms are two areas where it’s popular to use paint and fabric to quickly and inexpensively transform a space.

As design continually cycles, “trends” are more fluid than ever. Looks from the 1980s are showing up as masculine elements with an edgier feel. But feminine shows up too in smaller scales and mixing furniture styles. With so much information readily available, it’s more important than ever to create rooms that work for individuals instead of trying to duplicate the “latest” style. Pick and choose elements that fit the client and the project is more likely to last.

Use free tools like Google Alerts, Google Reader, SocialMention and Twitter Search for insight into your consumers world that companies would have had to pay big bucks for not long ago (there are tools out there like Radian6 that are more robust but not free). The set-up is easy and management is whatever you can put into it.

To create your listening program, use these tools to track keywords and terms that are relevant to your business and set aside an hour a day for researching and analyzing the collected information. Gauge the sentiment of comments and create a spreadsheet with positive, negative and neutral tabs to organize the data. In a short time, you should have a firm finger on the pulse of your industry – new opportunities; what consumers are in love with or might not like at all. This will enable you to position your organization and strategy for the next step – engagement – reaching out and joining the conversation.

The result of a well-thought out listening program is an integrated marketing strategy where you can thoughtfully reach out to consumers and deliver what they expect.

To hear more, visit the Lunch and Learn: Social Media 101 seminar:

Saturday, March 20, 2010
Noon-1 p.m.
Building 2, Floor 14, Seminar Room 1405

Brent Beatty, Search and Social Media Marketing Strategist for What’s Up Interactive, will take you through a best practices approach to effectively growing your business through interactive channels like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogs. In an interactive discussion, hear examples of how businesses are using Social Media and tangible steps you can take to begin engaging with prospects, partners and peers to build relationships and drive sales.

Metallics are here to stay and we couldn’t be more excited! This trend can be seen through the ever popular mercury glass. Every bride is screaming for it. It brings in the “something old and something new” look that helps make the occasion timeless. Mercury glass comes in many finishes including gold which is definitely making a comeback. This particular finish itself brings back old memories and the remembrance of good times.

Apothecary glass vessels in varying heights and sizes create a very fresh look that is commonly used with candy bars or natural or silk terrariums.

Taper candles are very sleek and have been finding their way back into event design. The amount of light given off is just enough to enhance the gleaming moment that one may be watching. These candles can now be found in many colors and act as perfect accents to floral or table design.

These are only a few of this year’s trends and Jeanna and I are excited to show you how many of these design ideas can be created using many of the wonderful finds pulled from the shelves of the Atlanta AmericasMart. We look forward to sharing more of our design experience with you and helping you find your inner designer!

Please visit Jeanna Graham and Fleming Patterson of A Legendary Event discussing Bringing Decorative Taste to the Holiday Table
Sunday, March 21
Building 1, Floor 19, Room 19-A-23

Find out more details about their seminar and the March Market events here.