Retailer Features

Global Goods

Socially responsible consumerism The way Laura Wendell tells it, when customers buy her store's offerings, there are three factors that work together to seal the deal: the products are beautiful; they are functional and well-made;... more »

The Sweet Smell of Success

Everybody Loves Flowers There's a simple reason Americans spent around $7 billion dollars on flowers last year: Everybody loves them. "Everybody loves to receive flowers and be around them," says Paul Goodman, a financial consultant... more »

Clean, Green Profits

Decoding the lingo Lucas Heldfond sees it every day. The owner of Spring, a store in San Francisco that specializes in "green" products, says that green has increasingly become a buzzword in consumers' consciousness.Ruby Gonzalez... more »

Walk the Walk: How to Green Your Store

When Shannon McDaniel took over a well known Los Gatos, CA clothing and home furnishings shop in late 2007, preserving much of the store's longtime appeal was a goal. Another important goal was to make... more »

Green Mission, Green Success

Meeting a Triple Bottom Line Green Island Earth Friendly GoodsTraverse City, MI231.933.8465GoGreenIsland.com Sean and Lori Burns give a lot of thought to every product they stock in Green Island, their store in Traverse City, MI.... more »

Best Sellers in Austin, TX

Extraordinaire Extraordinaire's owner Steve James often greets customers with a cup of tea. Most of the lines this shop carries are small companies for whom producing goods is a labor of love. Extraordinaire too is... more »

Add Sparkle to Holiday Sales

The Numbers Retailers like you know the holiday season is worth every ounce of effort you can put into your business. Paul Stanford knows this too. Which is why, even if he calls the effort... more »

Just The Zing

Whipping up sales Chew on this: Tough economic times may actually result in an increase in gourmet food purchases. "In recessionary times, specialty food purchases have been strong because they are viewed as affordable luxuries,"... more »

Message in a Bauble

Message Mania Lynn Switanowski-Barrett points out that in times of recession or war, consumers have often looked for products that are positive and upbeat. Jewelry bearing messages of hope, inspiration and celebration fits the bill... more »

Profit from Play

Defining Specialty Kathleen McHugh encourages you to remember this fact: Many baby boomers are now grandparents. And, says the president of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association, grandparents are willing to spend money and buy... more »