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Universal Memorabilia Collectibles Retail

Collectors turn first to specialty stores to buy new items to add to their collections. About 35 percent reported they shopped in these types of stores to buy collectibles in the past year. They also looked to mail order, the Internet, and other nonstore channels, with about 28 percent reporting purchase through these sources. Rounding out the top three channels for collectibles purchases are discount department stores, where 21 percent of collectors shopped last year, with women in particular having a preference for the discount stores. Continue Reading »

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About one-third of households reported buying collectibles in the past year. This percentage has been about flat, when 34 percent bought the same. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines a collectible as:

An object that is collected by fanciers; especially: one other than such traditionally collectible items as art, stamps, coins, and antiques.

With little guidance provided by the type of object that is considered collectible, the key to the definition of the term is that it is something anything—that a fancier brings together into one grouping or place. Continue Reading »

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Just over 40 percent of households (42 percent) bought some kind of art in 2005, up significantly from the purchase incidence in 2003. With consumers turning their attention to the walls for decorating, they are responding to new availability of ready-to-hang art at retail outlets ranging from mass merchants and discounters to home specialty stores. No longer are consumers required to seek decorative art in out-of-the- way galleries and art dealers, or pay exorbitant prices to custom frame a print. Already-framed art, as well as the explosion of specialty framing boutiques that offer affordable and quick custom frames, have opened the art market to the masses. Continue Reading »

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Just over 40 percent of consumers (42 percent) in 2003 purchased baskets, boxes, vases, pots, and other decorative holders. With the definition of this category expanded from the last survey, the whole range of functional storage accessories are becoming more important in home decor, offering both decorative values as well as the functional benefit of holding flowers, plants, or other items. Continue Reading »

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Leadership first, perception second. To try to reverse this sequence is almost impossible.

What if you do everything right? What if you are the first in a new category and subsequently go on to dominate that category domestically? Then you should try to expand the market in the U.S. at the same time that you take your brand to the global market.

Coca-Cola did all of these things. But what’s next? Are there no second acts in branding history? Continue Reading »

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But everybody wants to grow, and you can’t blame them. So what should an Internet brand like Amazon.com do? There are five fundamental branding strategies for a leader in any category.

1. Keep your brand focused.

There are more than 5 million dotcom sites registered on the Internet, and you want your site to stand for more than one thing? Amazon.com should stay focused on books and music CDs. After all, the site accounts for just 4 percent of the $24.6 billion book market in the United States. Continue Reading »

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Amazon.com used to use the theme “Earth’s Biggest Book‑store.” No longer. They’ve changed it. The new theme is “Earth’s Biggest Selection.”

Person of the year Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, says, “It’s very natural for a customer to wonder, can you really be the best place to buy music, books and electronics? In the physical world, the answer is almost always no. But on the Internet all the physical constraints go away.” (A sign of the times: The company recently registered “Amazoneverywhere.net as a Website name.) Continue Reading »

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The biggest mistake of all is believing you can do anything.

Success in business doesn’t just show up on the bottom line of the profit-and-loss column; it also goes to the top. Success in business inflates the egos of top management.

Supremely successful companies believe they can do anything. They can launch any product into any market. They can make any merger work. It’s just a question of having the willpower and the resources to throw into the task. “What is it that we want to do?” is the question that management usually asks itself. Continue Reading »

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Christmas is the pinnacle of all holiday decorating, but thanks to Martha Stewart and other home-decorating mavens’ tutoring, Americans have expanded the number of holidays for which they go “all out” and decorate their homes. Over 60 percent of American households (61 percent) purchased Christmas decorations or other seasonal decorations in 2003, up from 55 percent purchase incidence in 2001. While no statistics are available about the exact number of homes that decorate for each major holiday, the holidays that are key for home decorating are Valentine’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and, of course, Christmas. This is the third most widely purchased home product category. Continue Reading »

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2. Paper catalogs face an uncertain future.

Mailboxes across the county are stuffed with countless catalogs every day. According to one estimate, 17.6 billion catalogs were mailed in the U.S. last year. That’s sixty-four catalogs for every man, woman, and child.

That may change. Catalogs of all types will find themselves under severe electronic competition. There are a number of reasons why a Web catalog is superior to a paper one. Continue Reading »

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