Jul 14, 2011

One Kings Lane to Receive REA “2011 Rising Star” Award

White Plains, NY – Susan Feldman, founder of online retailer One Kings Lane will accept the 2011 “Rising Star” Award, at the 60th Annual Retailer Excellence Awards (REAs), in New York City. The New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®) is the leading sponsor of this prestigious industry event, which has been presented annually by Gifts & Decorative Accessories magazine since 1951.

One Kings Lane is a membership-based site which offers daily sales on top home decor brands and designer merchandise. Limited quantities of products, which go on sale for 72 hours at up to 70% off retail pricing, are primarily manufacturers’ samples or overstock items sourced from many of the top names in the gift and home furnishings industry.

“One Kings Lane has introduced an important new web-based opportunity for our industry.  This branded on-line platform enables vendors to move excess inventory quickly, efficiently and without disruption to established channels of retail distribution,” said Dorothy Belshaw, NYIGF director and GLM senior vice president. “We’re delighted to recognize the contributions of this exciting new player.”

“One Kings Lane is a great choice for Rising Star,” said Warren Shoulberg, editorial director for Gifts & Decorative Accessories magazine. “They truly represent a brand new way for the gift and home industry to do business and acknowledging their emerging role in the business points to the evolving nature of the industry.”

The REAs recognize excellence in four retail categories (Store Design/Redesign; Visual Merchandising; Marketing Achievement and Store Events), as well as for individual achievement (Outstanding Manufacturer’s Rep and Rising Star).  As part of this very special evening, Gift For Life – the gift and home industry’s only charitable organization – will present its 2011 Industry Achievement Award to Michael Aram; and Gifts & Decorative Accessories will present a special Lifetime Achievement Award to Su Hilty, who is retiring after a long career in the retailing and home furnishings industries.

Finalists for the 2011 REAs include: Artel Glass (Prague, Czech Republic), Homescapes Carmel (Carmel, CA) and Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (Dallas, TX) for Store Design/Redesign; Absolutely Fabulous (Huntington Beach, CA), Rolling Greens (Los Angeles, CA) and Room at the Beach (Malibu, CA) for Visual Merchandising; Mason & Madison (Middleton, MA), Virtu (Chicago, IL) and Wonderworks (Charleston, SC) for Marketing Achievement; Griffin Pharmacy & Gifts (Derby, CT), Maze Home (Winnetka, IL) and Palavela Home (Scottsdale, AZ) for Store Events; Sue Larmon, One Coast (Tampa, FL), Nancy Messina, GUND (Edison, NJ) and Angie Zabritski, Homestyle Sales (Denver, CO) for Outstanding Manufacturer’s Rep.

The REAs, which are presented annually by Gifts & Decorative Accessories, are sponsored by NYIGF.  The REAs will be held Sunday, August 14, from 6:30pm to 10:00pm, at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Tickets, which cost $185 per person or $1850 for a table of 10, are available through vengel@giftsanddec.com.

NYIGF runs Saturday, August 13, through Thursday, August 18, 2011, at the JavitsCenter and Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 92 and 94 in New York City . NYIGF is the nation’s premier gift, home and lifestyle marketplace, with 2,800+ exhibiting companies featuring an extraordinary breadth and depth of design-driven home fashion products and complementary giftware.  Some 35,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 85 countries worldwide are expected.  Information and registration is available online at www.nyigf.com.