News

Love of plants drove new business venture

Laughlintown -- Terry Coyne sowed the seeds for her new floral and gift shop while working as a nutrition researcher for 13 years at the University of Pittsburgh during the late '80s and 1990s.Amaryllis and... more »

NYIGF Offers Monthly Series of Exhibitor Training Sessions

White Plains, NY — A monthly series of "Market Readiness" sessions will begin on Thursday, October 15, for exhibitors participating in the winter 2010 edition of the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®). The series,... more »

Shop Around: Different twist on a dollar shop

Donna Freeman had always dreamed of opening a high-end boutique. But because of the stale economy, she opened an upscale dollar store instead. Freeman specializes in low-cost gift baskets that she puts together with items... more »

ArKay is right at home with floral, gift customers

ArKay Floral and Gifts in Brunswick is a good example of how you can be surprised by what you find in small area shops. It's also a good example of how we sometimes overlook what... more »

September Sales May Foreshadow Holidays

Retailers and analysts will be closely watching September sales reports due Thursday from key store chains for any sign they may need to adjust their already-gloomy holiday forecasts.Two analyst reports predict that Christmas-season sales will... more »

Shop expansion offers hope for Cathedral Quarter

The owners of a Cathedral Quarter gift shop say the opening of their new vintage-style clothing boutique indicates a shift in the economic climate.This time last year many retailers in the area were facing up... more »

Toy sellers playing with prices to kick-start holiday sales

The No. 1 toy trend this year isn't a toy.Topping this year's hot list is lower prices.Three months before Christmas, and the deals are already day-after-Thanksgiving caliber.Retailers are pulling out deeper discounts earlier this year... more »

The Shrinking of the Fantasy Gift

Even our fantasies are being downsized.Neiman Marcus Group Inc. mailed out its annual Christmas Book catalog, which each year features over-the-top "fantasy" gifts, to one million customers on Tuesday. But for the first time in... more »

Country Store offers crafts, homemade food items

An annual tradition for more than half a century, the Country Craft Store began as a Presbyterian Women's Association project and gradually evolved in a whole church function.Held on the first Friday and Saturday in... more »

Small Businesses Prepare for a Hit from the H1N1 Flu

Small businesses already hit hard by the recession may soon undergo another pummeling, this time by the 2009 H1N1 virus, the frightening new subtype of a strain that's been around for decades."Right now the bulk... more »