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Atlanta Reports Traffic “Robust"
Retail sales in December fell 0.09% excluding gasoline and auto sales. For the total year, core sales rose a marginal 2.4% which represented the slowest pace of gains since 2009. Gift beat reports that 72% of stores they surveyed showed a increase while 28% were down. It appears the winners for Q 4 were the online retailers and independents. Department stores as well as the big box sector continue to take it on the chin.
We attended the Atlanta Gift Show and felt traffic was much heavier than last year. The showrooms were busy and buyers were spending money. We left the show Friday night and have heard since that the traffic slowed down dramatically on Monday and continued to drop off. This is the same pattern as last January and appears to be the new norm. Most of the companies and reps I spoke with were happy with the show and showed an increase over last year. We had several productive meetings with current licensees as well as potential new ones. We will be following up and hopefully will be moving forward with nice programs.
We had two product launches in Atlanta by new licensees. The first was by Bethany Lowe. Bethany introduced an extensive Holiday line including ornaments, garland, figurines and stacking boxes.
We were extremely happy with the execution and their attention to detail. They were pleased with the early response to the collection and have already begun working on line extensions for next year. They also introduced a few skus for Halloween. Bethany Lowe has a great reputation and a loyal following and we are pleased to have them as a partner.
The second launch was also by a new licensee, American Tumbler. They manufacture a quality line of insulated tumblers in several sizes. The tumblers carry a lifetime warranty and are Made in America. They incorporated several of our iconic illustrations into their line which looked terrific.
They also had a nice response and will also be showing in Vegas and the Chicago Housewares show. Based off their response at the show, we are busy supplying them with additional illustrations to add to their mix.
Nautical and Lodge continued to be on trend in Atlanta. "Industrial Farmhouse" also seems to be overall trend design. This trend incorporates vintage wood furniture with wire and industrial metal accents. The colors are mainly neutral with textured fabrics including burlap, linen and cotton. The only color in this trend appears in wall décor which mainly consists of rural themes, such as cropped portraits of cows, pigs and chickens (which we will have to offer).
We will be attending the Housewares Show in March in Chicago. We look forward to seeing and meeting with several of our licensees there. Please let us know how we can help you with your image needs. We enjoy the challenge!
Best,
Mike Waldner | Director of Licensing
1100 Waterway Boulevard | Indianapolis , IN 46202
phone (317) 489- 6973 | mwaldner@curtislicensing.com
Curtis Licensing | The Saturday Evening Post
