Since greeting cards are a good way to introduce a new customer to a store, how can retailers boost their sales?

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We asked: How can retailers build sales in the wedding season?

"Most people still wed in a church, and others who marry in halls, parks (and) municipal buildings wed under God. While these facts have always been known, the majority of wedding gifts are purchased in secular department and specialty stores. Why is that, I've always asked? Christian stores ought to own this category and be the No. 1 destination shop for wedding gifts. Although there are some months that statistically show more weddings, people get married every day, every week and every month around the country. Creating a destination place for wedding gifts just takes a great and assorted selection and consistent stock. It's like bread and butter in a grocery store; they can never be out of it. Customers will come back and tell others after seeing a great selection of wedding gifts, and those they tell, will tell others, and soon you can become that No. 1 destination place."
Ed Nizynski
Vice president sales
Lighthouse Christian Products Co.

April 1
Market Wednesday!
AmericasMart Atlanta
Atlanta
404-220-3000
www.americasmart.com

"You don't want customers to see the same old displays week after week. If they walk by our windows and see, ‘Oh, there's nothing new for us this week,' they'll pass you by without spending any money in your store. And it's not always a matter of changing a display. Sometimes just moving it to a different part of the store is all it takes to keep things fresh from the customers' perspective. Even if it's old stuff-if we move it, it gets people through the door."

A report on P. Graham Dunn's dealer conference from Peter Dunn, president

Tuesday and Wednesday, March 24-25, completed our 9th Annual Dealer Conference. For the first time in our history, we co-ventured with Barbour Publishing, who in turn brought in (author of Amish fiction) Wanda E. Brunstetter for a book signing. The number of dealers attending was the most in our history, with 500 guests attending the culminating banquet, and over 800 stores represented altogether.

P. Graham Dunn featured its spring 2009 introduction. In addition, the SIS-store within a store, with a laser engraving system installed in a dealer's store-was featured for the first time at a Dealer Conference. The concept of cloning our manufacturing processes inside stores by empowering them to create their own gift line along with personalized products was received very well by established accounts.

What trends do you see in the design of wall décor? "The color story for fall 2009 will be a mix of warm spicy and cool eco-echoing tones, the most notable of which will be blue in a variety of shades. Decorating texture trends embrace iron and metallic tones such as copper, gold and brass. Look for frames with texture and interesting profiles. Iron remains a strong décor statement consumers buy for its high perceived value and affordability."

How can Christian retailers best keep up with these trends? "Retailers need to buy into new trends, but also maintain a base of product that reflects last season's trends and styles. While many consumers readily adopt new trends, some consumers are just noticing what became a trend last season. Savvy buyers order backlist items that have sold through and mix it with new items, too. Vendors are trend watchers and offer new trends each season to help retailers meet early trend adopters' needs."

North Carolina company releases Gaither song tapestry

"Something Beautiful," a popular hymn by Bill and Gloria Gaither, is showcased on the bannerette. The lyrics read: "Something beautiful, Something good; All my confusion He understood. All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife, But He made something beautiful of my life."

‘Clearlygrateful' stationery and gift line

Available to ship in May, "Clearlygrateful" includes boxed cards, bookmarks and magnets featuring Gratefulimages artist Emily Beynon's watercolor crosses paired with scripture. The line complements Demdaco's "Sure Grace" home décor line that also features Beynon's watercolor crosses.

Light House Apparel Center triples T-shirt sales

The center displays 20 T-shirt designs in a portable unit. First launched in 2006, the center is the cornerstone of an entire apparel sales system and organizes Kerusso apparel within a 4-by-4-foot area of floor space.

"In today's economy, retailers must obtain premium performance from all the space within their store," said Vic Kennett, president and CEO, who said the company supports retailers by combining "the latest in-store merchandising techniques with the latest apparel fashions and proven sales-marketing support systems."