Retail Ideas
Leslie Carothers Retail Ideas columnist Hi, I\'m Leslie Carothers, principal of The Kaleidoscope Partnership, a national company specializing in helping retailers and manufacturers use the internet and their websites to powerfully drive traffic and profitability. I have been involved in all aspects of the retail home furnishings business for over 25 years-especially with respect to sales, sales training, writing, speaking and consulting. By writing this blog, I hope to educate, inform and stimulate you to try new ideas in your own businesses that can help you make money and engage with today’s customers in ways that are fun, personalized and relevant –to them. I welcome all of your comments so we can have a shared dialogue benefitting our entire industry. Please feel free to either email me at leslie@tkpartnership.com or call me at 713-705.2482.
@Kathy Ireland is rocking the Twitterverse
Many of you know (but maybe a few of you don’t) that Kathy Ireland is the owner of Kathy Ireland World Wide and that KIWW is, according to Newsweek, a 1.4 billion dollar a year company which produces over 15,000 items sold to home furnishings consumers around the world through over 17 different manufacturer licensees. I knew Kathy was a huge and well respected name in the home furnishings i ...... Read More
Comments (17)Manna from heaven? - A social media miracle for a mom
This is the story of a lifetime. It is a story about the generosity of the furniture industry-even as we are facing the worst economic situation of our lives. It is the story of one well respected blogger and his wife . It is the story of one Romanian badly abused Mom and her three children-one with Down’s syndrome- who had run out of options. It is a story of profound hope in the goodness ...... Read More
Comments (1)What I learned about the 'Green' consumer
The green consumer is not who you think it is. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending www.d2eboston.com to represent my client, BiOH polyols (makers of a soy based ingredient used in cushions and mattresses-www.BiOH.com) at the exhibit space of one of BiOH’s retail partners-Circle Furniture. Circle is a well known independent Boston area retailer with six stores and a core focus ...... Read More
Comments (8)Message of hope to our industry CEOs
Leaders: I may be wrong, but please read on. Right now, I know each of you are taking the actions-hour by hour - that are necessary for the survival of your businesses. After 27 years of getting to know many of you, whether retailer, manufacturer or supplier- I know you are a group of people who care deeply about the impact your decisions on the lives of each of your stakeholders. I believe y ...... Read More
Comments (9)Ask Me in Las Vegas
On Sunday, I will be in Las Vegas. I am on Twitter as @tkpleslie. Let’s talk. If you will sign up for Twitter and ask me your questions, I will answer them as fast as I can-in real time. The more of you that participate with me in the conversation, the richer the learning and the faster questions, ideas, products can spread. Here is how it works: Go to www.twitter.com. Sign up. It’s ...... Read More
Comments (1)Partnering For Survival
yourfurniturelink.com is the brilliant idea of Mig and Tig and Mortise and Tenon-two retailers in different parts of the country partnering to help furniture manufacturers whether the economic tsunami currently facing our country. Before you go further, please read that first sentence again. What DIDN’T I write? This: two retailers partnering to help each other. What DID i write? Two retail ...... Read More
Comments (4)I am a Twitterholic...
Yes, it’s true. My name is Leslie and I am a Twitterholic. Don’t go away,though, because the reason why I’m addicted may be of interest to you if you want to reach your potential customers directly, measurably and for free. Last October, on the first day of the High Point Market, I was thinking…”What can I do to show my readers the power of social media marketing ...... Read More
Comments (8)Sligh-second life?
Dear readers: READ THIS if you do nothing else this Thanksgiving week…and PASS IT ONRob Sligh, well known to many of you as a traditional manufacturer and a leader in our industry has just taken a HUGE LEAP out of …well..something bigger than a box and has had an experience he will never forget. Through his willingness to take a leap of faith with me into an idea I had about how to c ...... Read More
Comments (2)Weight Loss
Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Many of you are probably going to be working right through it figuring out ways to trim the fat from your budgets for 2009. In the spirit of a little fun, since so much of the news has been so heavy lately, I thought I would write one post with a lighter message. This year, I have lost 51 pounds. Yes, it’s true. Why would you care? You don’t- ...... Read More
Comments (1)Reality-cut operating expenses. How?
Right now, almost all of my readers are wondering how they can cut operating expenses in 2009. Budgets are being squeezed-every line item is being scrutinized for ROI. It’s all good. And, all of a sudden, I am getting A LOT of phone calls and emails asking for help in understanding how to set up a digital marketing strategy using social networking and online reputation management tools and ...... Read More
Comments (0)CEO of Major Manufacturer says...
CEO of MAJOR mfg. when asked what surprised him most at market, “How many of my dealers are down 30% and don’t have the faintest idea of what to do about it.” I was the one who asked him this question when we were seated next to each other at the American Hall of Fame Dinner and this answer blew me away-both for its honesty and what it told me about the state of furniture reta ...... Read More
Comments (1)Target sued for $6-million because website out of compliance with ADA
TARGET SUED FOR 6 MILLION BECAUSE WEBSITE OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH ADA. Last night, one of my internet strategy clients-Walter E. Smithe in Chicago, emailed me an article from the September 22nd edition of Financial Week. It is very important for everyone reading this blog to understand what happened as it could have significant implications if you are a larger retailer-multi-channel or pure play e- ...... Read More
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