Quotable

“ Retail is a customer business. You’re trying to take care of the customer—solve something for the customer. And there’s no way to learn that in the classroom or in the corner office, or away from the customer. You’ve got to be in front of the customer. ”

- Erik Nordstrom, President, Nordstrom Direct

We also cover trends in wearables at resort, college, baby and apparel stores. And, for the first time in two years, we resume our hospital store coverage with the story on jewelry sales that includes interviews with hospital store employees in Illinois, Minnesota and Montana.

Also part of our jewelry coverage in this issue is a story on jewelry selling at boutique and jewelry stores, and jewelry sales trends at caves and caverns.

We also offer a story on sales trends in stationery, Hallmark and floral stores for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Nurse’s Day, and a home décor article that contains interviews with botanical garden retail officials in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, the Bronx New York and Virginia.

The issue additionally offers articles on home décor merchandise at botanical garden gift stores, souvenirs at public lands, edible gifts at candy stores, Halloween goods at party and hardware stores, and toy best-sellers at toy stores,

I hope you enjoy the issue. Please email me with your comments, questions or suggestions at editorsgnmag@kanec.com. You can also get in touch by visiting SGN on Facebook. And don’t miss additional ads and a selection of print articles on the SGN website, www. sgnmag.com.

Scott C. Borowsky President and Executive Editor Souvenirs, Gifts & Novelties magazine

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America’s National Parks™ store staff members, from right, Nashalie Agosto, Angel Rosa and Ana de Jesús, at San Juan National Historic Site in San Juan, Puerto Rico. See the Public Lands Stores story for an interview with Eastern National Merchandise Manager Julianna Haviv. Eastern National handles the site’s store and many other public lands retail outlets, focusing on merchandise that promotes education.

For

IMC Completes Atlanta NEXT

Home Décor Transformation in Winter 2022

International Market Centers (IMC) marks a major capital and strategic investment milestone with the Winter 2022 completion of its multi-market “Atlanta NEXT” transformation of the AmericasMart Atlanta home décor offerings. An additional 60,000-plus square feet of new, expanded, relocated and renewing showrooms were confirmed in the lead up to the Winter 2022 Atlanta Market, January 11-18, 2022.

“The latest 19 updates drive the eight-floor home décor marketplace to capacity, fulfilling IMC’s vision to create a compelling design-driven destination for market and year-round buyers,” said Scott Eckman, IMC executive vice president, chief revenue officer. “When we embarked on the Atlanta NEXT plan in 2019, we had no idea what the next few years would bring, but we continued in our commitment to reimagining our home décor sourcing experience. We are proud to present an intuitive and comprehensive destination of more than 300-plus showrooms for the design and retail community.”

The 12 winter 2022 expansions within Building 1 continue to refine the home décor offerings and bring more lines to Atlanta Market. Complementing the permanent showrooms are 215-plus home décor temporary exhibitors on three floors.

Launched in 2019, Atlanta NEXT is a multi-stage capital and strategic investment plan that transforms the AmericasMart Atlanta business through enrichment of all categories, strategic remerchandising of resources and improvements to all buildings.

Las Vegas Market Temporary Exhibits Expand Again in January 2022

Las Vegas Market’s temporary exhibits – housed in the all-new Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas – are tracking to grow by more than 30 percent to showcase nearly 400 established and up-and-coming lines in seven easy-to-shop gift and home decor destinations for their Winter 2022 staging, January 23-26, 2022.

“The Las Vegas Market Gift & Home temporary exhibits are a dynamic hub of inspiration, offering one-of-a-kind products, West Coast only vendors, and an eclectic mix of home, gift, design, and fashion lines found nowhere else in the United States,” said Scott Eckman, International Market Centers (IMC) executive vice president, chief revenue officer. “This Winter, they are a must-see for buyers in search of unique products, cash and carry, and the newest additions to the product scene.”

A full list of temporary exhibitors is available at LasVegasMarket.com/exhibitor/exhibitor-directory. ❖

30,000-Plus Buyers To Access Junipermarket In Preparation For January 2022 Launch

A new way of B2B wholesale sourcing is imminent as JuniperMarket enters the penultimate stage in its launch: a phased preview for more than 30,000 select buyers to source from the site’s more than 1 million gift and home décor products. JuniperMarket, a new B2B e-commerce marketplace powered by International Mar- ket Centers (IMC), was to go live to the gift, home, furniture and apparel industries in early January.

“We are putting the final touches on JuniperMarket before our grand opening,” explained Bill Furlong, Juniper CEO. “These 30,000-plus invited users will give us final insights that will ensure we have the intuitive, omnichannel tool buyers need when it opens to the full retail and design community at the start of the winter 2022 buying season.”

Buyers can register for JuniperMarket when they register for either the Las Vegas or Atlanta market and at the JuniperMarket Experience Centers at both markets. Interested brands can meet with the sales team during Atlanta Market in Building 1, Floor 9 and at Las Vegas Market in Building C, Floor 1.

“JuniperMarket’s programming in Atlanta and Las Vegas will celebrate our launch as well as the official start of an a symbiotic – and fruitful— relationship between physical and digital markets,” noted Furlong. “We look forward to joining with the industry as we toast to the opportunities that are to come!”

For more information, visit www.JuniperCommerce. com. ❖