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Appealing to a New Generation?
The preliminary results of our most recent readership survey hit my desktop this morning. One comment, in particular, caught me eye. A reader requested that we start doing articles on how to retire from retail. I thought this was interesting because we're an aging industry (and, yes, I do include myself in that statement). But aging should not be the main concern of the industry. The fact that the industry doesn't seem to be appealing to a new generation of suppliers, reps and retailers is more of a worry.
In the course of the last few years, more than a few people have lamented the fact that it's becoming increasingly difficult to attract young people to the industry. The children of suppliers and retailers have witnessed the hard work and long hours it takes to survive and be successful in the industry. They have weighed the work and hours against the pay, and decided that it's not a viable equation. There's simply more money to be made more easily in other professions.
I wonder if maybe we should all be re-evaluating the giftware industry model. Are there ways of working smarter? Should shows run during the work week? What roles do sales representatives play? Are there ways of making the gift industry more appealing to a new generation? It would be nice to think there are some bright, young entrepreneurs out there waiting to buy your retail business when you're ready to retire.
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Lori Smith, , Editor-in-Chief
Lori Smith is the editor of Gifts and Tablewares, Canada's premiere gifts and tablewares magazine. Written for retailers of gifts, tablewares, housewares, stationery and home furnishing accessories, its objective is to help readers increase their sales and run their businesses more profitably by providing information on new products, merchandising, small business management, customer service, consumer behavior and industry news. The magazine is published six times a year by BIG Magazines, LP, a leading Canadian information company.
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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on July 21, 2008 1:01 PM.
The previous post in this blog was Waking up to Foreign Ownership.
The next post in this blog is Pulling Together? .
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