Susan Dickenson

Home décor and gift retailers at AmericasMart discuss holidays, sales performance
January 14, 2008

Last week in Atlanta, I had a chance to ask retailers about business -- how they’re faring, if they’ve had a chance to tally the results from the 2007 holiday season, and if they had any thoughts on weathering the retail climate in the coming months. Below, some of their responses:

Business has been good. Our customer is more traditional and most products relate to the Winterthur Museum, which makes it easier since we’re not so trend forward. We’re a catalog so our numbers aren’t in yet from the holidays, but overall we’re pretty healthy. In products, I’m seeing bolder color combinations – not new colors, but new combinations in things like rugs, which are performing well for us. --Monika Petrucci, Winterthur Direct, Winterthur, Del.

Our local economy is doing well – we’re in a tourist area so the effects of the housing market haven’t much of an issue. Real Deals is a franchise. We’re open just two days a week, Thursday and Saturday, and business is great. We’re off the beaten path and offer warehouse prices so we appeal to people looking for a deal, which also plays well right now. In fact, business is booming at all our locations. --Leslie Warren, Real Deals Home Décor, Glenwood Springs, Co.

The CarGo Collection is a 3,000-sq.-ft. gift and accessories shop located in a car wash on the University of Kentucky campus, close to downtown. It’s great for busy moms and multitaskers – while their cars are being washed, customers can shop in the store. We did great during the holidays, especially after a brief segment ran on the local news about our business, but February is usually our biggest month because of all the people who come in to wash the salt off their cars. We do really well with equine products, especially around Derby time. --Susie Gotcher, CarGo Collection, Lexington, Ky.

Business has been about the same. We got in 1stDibs.com so we’ve been getting a lot of exposure for the larger furniture items. Things picked up towards the end of the holidays, when people came in for last minute gifts and smaller items. --Lee Kleinhelter, Lees Pieces, Atlanta, Ga.

Our holiday season was great and business was up quite a bit this past year. We brought in a lot of new gift lines and added some select brands to our ornament collection. We continue to have success with collectibles, products that are traditional and nostalgic in nature as well as contemporary styles. Reds and greens always do well at holiday time, but this year anything in brown and aqua color combinations did great. --Donna Fields, Fields Unlimited, London, Ky.

Overall, our year was up, but the holiday market fell just a little short. Going forward, we’re pretty insulated here by a high-end housing market. I’m here for a week to restock and buy new things. --Greg Scartozzi, The Hardware & Garden Center, Paoli, Pa.

I had a great Christmas and the best year ever. I design residential interiors and also stock inventory. I think people are coming back to a little more traditional, classic design, but it’s difficult to find truly good basics. Electronic media is really becoming big – furniture designed around televisions, media rooms, changing designs and angles, and working around flat screen TVs hung on the wall as art. --Nancy Reams, N. Reams Designs, Richmond, Va.

Posted by Susan Dickenson on January 14, 2008 | Comments (0)