New Online Directory Helps North Country Giftshop Owners Buy Local Product

To help giftshop owners, especially in this challenging year when budgets are restricted, the Adirondack North Country Association's craft website, www.AdkNCcrafts.com now features the American Handmade Wholesale Directory.

Giftshop owners know the importance of freshening up displays with new product to appeal to their faithful customers of the busy season; the summer residents and visitors. Yet many giftshop owners are hesitant to travel to the national gift shows to restock especially when much of the overseas product featured at those shows is losing its competitive price and appeal.

The Handmade Wholesale Directory links directly to 135 artisans, specialty food producers, furniture makers, print and photography artists, souvenir gift makers, musicians, and book publishers from the region who are all experienced in wholesale. Though most of these hard-working small businesses live and work in upstate New York, some are from the Catskills, Central and Western New York and a few are from Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

They all create rustic and/or nature themed work which is what sells the most in the North Country. Many of the 135 artisans and producers offer functional and/or comsumable items. The wide range of product quarantees a mix of competitive price points.

They have all been exhibitors at ANCA's 23 year old regional rustic and nature themed gift trade show Buyer Days (www.AdkNCcrafts.com). The show is being held at the City Center in Saratoga Springs, NY on Wednesday, April 8 and Thursday, April 9, 2009.

Independent Retailers Outperform Chains Over Holidays, National Survey Finds

"MINNEAPOLIS, MN (Jan. 15, 2009) - In an extremely challenging economic climate, independent retailers are outperforming many chains, a national survey has found.
The survey of 1,142 independent retailers in a wide range categories (books, toys, clothing, etc.) and across all 50 states found that holiday sales at independent stores declined an average of 5.0% from the same time period in 2007. That compares favorably to most competing chains, including Barnes & Noble (- 7.7%), Best Buy (-6.5%), Borders (-14.0%), JC Penney (-8.1%), Macy's (-7.5%), The Gap (-14.0%), and Williams-Sonoma (-24.2%).

This week, the Commerce Department reported that December retail sales overall were down a record 9.8% over December 2007.The survey also found that independent retailers in cities with active "Buy Local" campaigns reported much stronger holiday sales than those in cities without such campaigns. "Buy Local" or "Local First" campaigns have been launched in dozens of cities and towns over the last few years. Independent retailers in these cities reported an average drop in sales of 3.2%, compared to a steeper decline of 5.6% for those in cities without an active Buy Local initiative.

...Ninety-five percent of the retailers surveyed said that the fact that their business is locally owned matters to their customers. That's up from 82% in last year's survey."

Read the complete press release at http://www.ilsr.org/columns/2009/011509.html

The Institute (For Local Self Reliance)’s mission is to provide innovative strategies, working models and timely information to support environmentally sound and equitable community development. To this end, ILSR works with citizens, activists, policymakers and entrepreneurs to design systems, policies and enterprises that meet local or regional needs; to maximize human, material, natural and financial resources; and to ensure that the benefits of these systems and resources accrue to all local citizens.