August 8, 2011 If you feature products on your website, you know that it can take a lot of time to keep the photos and information current. The Bridge is an innovative approach to solving this problem for retailers, connecting brands, shopkeepers and customers online by "stocking...
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June 1, 2010
June 1, 2010
Predictive marketing based upon past purchases
Below is a New York Times article from this past weekend. The article shares how major retailers are dynamically customizing their promotions based upon past customer purchases. Luxury home goods retailers could likely customize their offerings in a similar fashion. The strategy is akin to how election marketing is done. If someone drives a Prius, then they are likely to be a Democrat. As such, Democratic candidates are marketed to that person. What ...
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October 24, 2009
October 24, 2009
New Yorker article suggests economy is bound to rebound
This New Yorker article by James Surowiecki suggests that in just a few years Americans (and the world) will be consuming like its 1999. And I think there is some truth to this. If one adds to this information from another recent New Yorker article about cycles (one theorist says a bust comes every 8.6 years), then we do seem destined to recover. Aka: more people will be buying home goods soon.
INCONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION by James Surowiecki ...
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August 1, 2009
August 1, 2009
Will fine china manufacturers and retailers offer 'secret' discounts?
This article below from today's NY Times shares how brands and retailers in our market are offering 'discreet' discounts. How do we act on this info below to compete?
August 1, 2009 High-End Retailers Offering More Discounts
By STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM Scott Stuart was at the Bloomingdaleβs store in Manhattan when a salesman sidled up to him, said a private sale was under way and offered him a discount on the slacks he was inspecting.
Cross Promoting Tableware Brands with Food and Beverage Brands
This article below from the New York Post shares that Facebook is looking to promote music to its customer base. Why? Facebook, like MySpace, knows that people that use its service are young and probably listen to and buy a lot of music. Facebook is anticipating a customer desire, and trying to offer one more way to satisfy him or her-and make money in the process.
I wonder if there is some room for the tableware industry to learn from...
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August 18, 2008
August 18, 2008
Price Fixing, MSRP, and the Tableware Market
Tableware manufacturers often want to set retail prices, but are afraid of being accused of price fixing. According to the article below from today's Wall St. Journal, due to a court decision last year manufacturers now are much more likely to be able to set prices. I'd be happy to hear your thoughts about the article below. (The story appears on the front page, if you'd like read the print version.)
What the Tableware Industry Can Learn From Rupert Murdoch's Takeover of the Wall Street Journal
This past August Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. captured the crown jewel of the publishing word by purchasing The Wall Street Journal from the Bancroft family for $5 billion. What does this event have to do with us in the tabletop industry? I propose that there is a lot the industry can learn from Murdoch's coup. The main lesson is that investing in technology-and in particular online operations-is ...
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Your Tableware Television Network August / September 2007 Tableware Today
Starting in 2008 there will be a full television channel dedicated to showcasing tableware to millions of households. Tableware TV programming will include advertising and original programming about the manufacturing of hundreds of brands, biographies about the personas behind the brand, and tutorials about how to care for the tableware, amongst ...
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