Star search
Becky Smith -- Home Accents Today, 3/1/2006
It's either American Idol or Survivor — or perhaps a bit of both.
When you consider the themes of two of the country's most popular TV shows, you can find a remarkable parallel to the 50 Retail Stars listing we will produce for the May issue.
Consider:
Like Idol candidates, the stores are bright, enthusiastic and ambitious to do better (maybe they can't sing either, but I don't know that for sure).
Like Survivor cast members, they are determined to survive and prosper, no matter the challenges or pitfalls (and they have been known to relight their torches if the crowd douses their flames).
OK, maybe I'm stretching a bit, but we are excited about our own "reality show" — our Stars. There are so many interesting retailers out there who are making a difference in their communities while they make a good living. It's exciting for us to highlight 50 of them.
Retailers are not only our readers, but our friends, too. We love a good retail story and we love to share them with you. So far this year, we've profiled three very different and imaginative stores: Curious Sofa in Kansas City, Wild Orchid in Virginia Beach, Va., and Moses at Home in Albuquerque, N.M. Stellar stores, for certain.
Beginning in this issue, we also are taking a look at retailing in a different way with Metro Reports. In this issue (pages 36–44), we look at the fastest-growing Metro areas in the country in terms of their buying power in four major home accent categories: wall decor, lamps, area rugs and decorative pillows/throws.
We have taken information from our exclusive Consumer Buying Trends survey and overlaid that with data from Easy Analytic Software Inc. to estimate and project sales for 2010. EASI's projections for 2010 are designed to forecast the changes that statistically adjust for household income, age by race and sex, births and deaths among numerous other updating and forecasting factors. Spending forecasts assume a national rate of inflation.
In coming months (April, July, October and December), we will profile a collection of stores in one city within the specific region, not only to highlight good retailing, but also to help other retailers identify good ideas and build on them.
It's another way, just as our Stars feature is, to help our friends get better and better. Now that's a reality we can all appreciate.
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