News

A unique array of goods

The owners of Unique Creations are finding their niche.Betina Geiger and Sue Silvia opened the boutique gift shop in February with an initial emphasis on locally produced art, plus their gift baskets and photography.In the... more »

Bringing toys to life

Cherie Bouchard is seeing firsthand how a toy craze takes off with the increasingly popular Webkinz pet.The plush toy comes with a secret code that allows the owner to enter Webkinz.com, an online world where... more »

Preventing Retail Theft

In retail, you want your products to fly off the shelves and out the door--but only after they've been paid for. Theft--both by customers and employees--costs American retailers more than $33 billion per year. Entire... more »

Webkinz a big hit at small retailers

Webkinz could be on the way to becoming one of this year's biggest toys, and one of the reasons may be because it is not being marketed to the biggest stores.At first glance, a Webkinz... more »

Retailers looking forward to back-to-school season

After modest sales gains in June, retailers are gearing up for the back-to-school season, according to the National Retail Federation.Retail sales — excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants — rose 3.4 percent unadjusted over last... more »

A hodgepodge of pleasures

Jerri Turner, who owns Sweets, Treats & Design, has quite the varied inventory. Along with chocolates, the North End Tacoma boutique offers tea sets, candles, frames and custom work. "We do wedding favors, we do... more »

Merchants hoping to cast spells over shoppers

Novi, Mich. — Harry Potter entered the wizard shopping district known as Diagon Alley and was amazed by what he saw."Harry wished he had eight more eyes," J.K. Rowling wrote in "Harry Potter and the... more »

Side by side: In business and in life

They met over a coffee maker.Three years ago, Kirk Miller ventured into a Lexington kitchen store, looking for a Krups coffee maker. It wasn't in stock so Tina Lowry, the owner of the store, Ladles... more »

Toy charms at hospital gift shop found to have high lead levels

Action by an alert Health Department employee visiting a gift shop at Fletcher Allen Heath Care has triggered a state attorney general's investigation into a line of children's jewelry with potentially high lead levels. Mike... more »

‘Expert’ consumers spread word on retail

The most influential group of consumers, opinion leaders who talk more frequently with friends or online about products and retail experiences than others do, are more likely to pass on positive recommendations than negative ones,... more »