GIFT AND HOME RETAILER NEWS

A Service of GiftsWholesale.Com and OmegaNet Inc.

You are receiving this because you registered at GiftsWholesale.Com, AccessoriesWholesale.Com, DecorWholesale.Com, ToysWholesale.Com, ApparelWholesale.Biz or CAMEOEZMarketplace.com. To be removed from our mailing list, click the link at the bottom of this newsletter.
If you cannot see the newsletter below, click here to see the web version.

February 2014

What You Do Makes A Difference

Dear friends,
While perusing the winter gift and home shows these past few weeks, I sensed a renewed optimism and excitement. Just when you think nothing else can be created or imagined, there it was, around the corner on aisle 2600 in General Gift. And again in aisle 200 in Made in America. And again and again...throughout so many product categories.

New brands were often edgy and cool. Textiles were soft and lacy. Rose gold glistened. Vintage timber expressed hope and humor.

Vivid Imagination.
Unbridled creativity.
And it got me thinking.

  • How would us
  • dreamers
  • artists
  • writers
  • visionaries
  • manufacturers
  • magazine editors
  • ever express our passion and creativity without YOU?

After all, you are our face-to-face, real live, authentic connection to the human heart and mind. The consumer! And what about all the ways you help members of your community celebrate milestones, express love and hope and make a house feel like a home?

Amazing! That's you. What you do and sell makes a difference. An enormous difference.

So from all of us who create and manufacture, our hearts are filled with the upmost respect and gratitude. Thank you for your time and consideration, for your precious shelf space and most of all, for your passion for all things gift and home.

May 2014 be your best year ever!

Cheryl Karpen

As a speaker, author and product developer, Cheryl Karpen thrives on telling stories that inspire the heart and mind. With nearly a million gift books sold, her self-publishing company, Gently Spoken, is best known for the Eat Your Peas Collection (www.gentlyspoken.com). Cheryl can be reached at 877-224-7886 or at cherylkarpen@aol.com.


The Magic Millennials Are Coming

According to Unity Marketing, the Millennial generation will reach their peak earning years starting in 2020. How will that impact what you do in your store?

Shopping BagsUnity is planning a study of Millennials, defined as those born between 1978 and 2000, to determine what their buying trends will be. "We can predict with fairly high levels of certainty who will be wealthy in the future. What is more difficult is predicting how they will spend their money," says the Unity study announcement.

According to Unity Marketing's previous research, Millennials differ from previous generations in four important ways:

  • Millennials will reject their parents' status symbols, prefering achievement to purchases.
  • Millennials will trade money for time, so they will have less to spend on luxury, meaning they value quality of life over career.
  • Millennials will shift from conspicuous consumption to conscious consumption, guided by values: social, environmental, ethical, etc.
  • Millennials see "luxury" as only a marketer's label; they will focus on products that help them live as they want to, rather than buying status as traditionally defined.

The Unity study plans to find: How Millenials feel about money and wealth? What is their American Dream; where does materialism fit? What do they aspire to achieve in their lives? What does a luxury lifestyle mean to them?

These questions and more will influence buying trends as the Millennials become an economic force to be reckoned with over the next 25-30 years.


Quick Industry News

New (or New Look) Wholesale Websites

Grandparent Gift Company Blog: Family Tree MattersGrandparent Gift Company just opened it's blog: "Family Tree Matters" The blog features Grandparent Gift Company's founder Teri Harrison's writing about a variety of topics concerning family, holidays, gift ideas and more.

Custom Wood GiftsCustom Wood Gifts opened its new site recently. Custom Wood Gifts (formerly Sheila's) offers an assortment of architectural and specialty gift items for the home, office, or your next event. Each replica is made in the USA using a unique process to match the original design and customer specification.

Gina B. Designs wholesale website recently received a fresh, new look. Gina B Designs is a designer and wholesaler of greeting cards, stationery and gift products, all proudly made in the U.S.A.

Shannon Consultants Redesigned WebsiteShannon Consultants, Inc. recently got an "Extreme Makeover" for their wholesale website. Shannon Consultants is a sales agency with experienced sales professionals throughout the Northeastern United States.


CAMEO EZ© is the B2B e-commerce system developed by OmegaNet Inc., publisher of this newsletter, for use by retailers in ordering inventory for their stores. A partial list of CAMEO EZ sites can be found at the company's portals such as www.giftswholesale.com, www.accessorieswholesale.com, www.apparelwholesale.biz, www.decorwholesale.com, www.usmadewholesale.com, www.toyswholesale.com and www.usmadewholesale.com. A complete list of sites is available in the "Directory" on www.CAMEOEZ.com.