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Peugeot Extends Invitation to Buyers to Tour Its Factory in France

PSP assembly line_uselectWith more Americans traveling to Europe to take advantage of the favorable EUR/USD conversion rate, Peugeot is preparing for an increased number of business partners touring its factory in Quingey, France.

Each year 2.5 million mills are manufactured at Peugeot’s factory, which is adjacent to its worldwide corporate headquarters. A large showroom displays the different styles and ranges of product offered, from mills to wine accessories, as well as examples of customized products.

Tours of the Peugeot factory go beyond the manufacturing of over 300 SKUs that are assembled and finished there. This is also an opportunity to experience and learn about Peugeot’s French heritage, generations of expertise, and its unsurpassed commitment to quality and innovation.

“For any of our business or retail partners who are traveling to Europe this year, we invite you to visit our factory to see something special, a brand that lives up to its heritage and standards without compromise,” said Yvette Laugier, General Manager, PSP USA Peugeot.

Peugeot is a true manufacturer, fully vested in every step of the process. Wood is sourced from sustainably managed forests in France that are PEFC-certified. Wooden mills are carved at the Peugeot factory, the same factory that produces the spice-specific mechanisms for which the brand is known. These are strongest mechanisms on the market, with a consistent high-output grind – one of the many reasons that Peugeot has been the world leader in mills since 1840.

Quingey, home of Peugeot headquarters, is a charming village in eastern France in the Franche-Comté region.

For more information on the Peugeot line or to arrange a tour of the Peugeot factory, visit Peugeot at www.peugeot-saveurs.com, or call 877.777.5914.

Villeroy & Boch Ultimate BBQ Receives Red Dot Design Award

Villeroy & Boch UltimateBBQThe tableware division of Villeroy & Boch has once again won over the 38-person jury of the Red Dot Design Award to win an award for The Ultimate BBQ collection. The new collection consists of selected items for barbecuing, which were developed to satisfy the wide range of grill dishes. The modular assortment consists of plates, platters and accessories for grilled food to be stylishly served and eaten with pleasure.

The series made of premium porcelain includes steak plates for fish, meat or burgers in various sizes, with compartments for barbecue sauces and trimmings, that prevent marinades and dressings from mixing together. Grilled steaks and skewered vegetables stay nice and juicy on the elongated plate or the big fish platter with drip grooves. A three-fold divided spice dish, a dessert bowl, dip bowls and a wooden carrier for standard barbecue sauce bottles round off the series. Very much under the banner of style mix and individualization, the series offers manifold combination options with the Artesano Original collection which was an award winner in 2013.

UltimateBBQThe international panel of Red Dot jury experts assessed a total of 4,928 entries from 56 nations for Red Dot consideration. The official award ceremony takes place on 29th June, 2015 in the scope of a Red Dot Gala with more than 1,200 guests in the Aalto Theatre in Essen. After that, Ultimate BBQ and the other winning designs of the Red Dot Design Award: Product Design 2015 will be presented in the Red Dot Design Yearbook, on the Red Dot website and as a poster in the Red Dot Design Museum.

Seminars, Events, Displays & Awards Enrich NY NOW Experience

A full slate of educational sessions covering a broad gamut of business strategies – supplemented by unique after-hours networking opportunities, themed product displays and awards for product excellence – will enrich the market experience for participants in the summer 2015 edition of NY NOW®, the Market for Home + Lifestyle, August 15-19, 2015, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

Leading industry experts will dissect practically every aspect of business operations — social media marketing, visual merchandising, tax preparation, demographic analysis, importing advice — and share savvy, actionable strategies. A slate of unique after-hours events including NY NOW’s popular “Night on Broadway,” featuring specially priced tickets to innovative new musical HAMILTON, also is on tap. A full seminar and event schedule is available online at www.nynow.com/programs, with advance pricing discounts in effect through August 14.

“We’re committed to delivering not just outstanding home and lifestyle, but to go beyond to help market participants better their businesses and to enjoy the best of New York City,” said Randi Mohr, NY NOW co-director and vice president. “From visual merchandising ideas to social media strategies, from staffing solutions to Millennial consumers, from design trends to overcome importing hurdles, we have practically every aspect of the industry covered.”

SnapRetail will host a variety of daily, free, sessions addressing online marketing strategies – with both 15-minute “In a Snap” sessions, as well as more in-depth explorations of building a web presence, Pinterest and Instagram for businesses, effective email subject lines, and more. CRAFT (Craft Retailers & Artists for Tomorrow) will present a series of “Power Hour” sessions focusing on different aspects of branding and sales strategies: “Branding for Beginners — Essential Tips For (Re)Creating Your Brand,” “Staffing Mistakes Every Business Owner Should Avoid,” “Influencer Outreach and Reputation Management,” “Measure Twice, Market Once: A Beginner’s Guide to Marketing Analytics,” “Why Strategic Plans Fail: The Missing Factors In Growing Your Business,” and “Looking for a Retail Advantage? Handmade American Craft Adds Excitement and Sparks Sales.”

Two Museum Store Association-hosted sessions will address tax and branding issues relevant to non-profit retailing. On Saturday, August 15, Robert Lyons, of Marks Paneth presents “Understanding UBIT & Its Impact on Your Bottom Line,” and Laurie Marshall of Marshall Law Group shares strategies for protection of brand identity in “Understanding How Trademark Rules Impact Business & Branding.”

On Sunday, August 16, the seminar “Open House — What’s Hot in Home?” will be presented by Warren Shoulberg of Progressive Business Media, Laurie Pressman of Pantone and Tom Mirabile of Lifetime Brands. The seminar, which will address design and color trends, as well as related consumer preferences. is presented as a complement to NY NOW’s Open House display, an annual showcase of color and design trends relevant to home and lifestyle products.

Other Sunday sessions include “Pop-Up Retailing” hosted by Specialty Retail Report and presented by Patti Biro, will address the new trend in temporary retailing, while the Day Spa Association will deliver “Spa Products Are Hot … Show Them to Sell Them!” E-commerce will come under the microscope in a panel discussion, “Turning Brick-and-Mortar to Click-and-Order” led by Jenny Heinzen York of Home Accents Today.

Material and color trends, brand story-telling, spa retailing and selling to Millennials will be the topics addressed in three seminars on Monday, August 17. The New York Chapter of International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA) will host “A Visual Journey: An Exploration of Trends in Color and Material,” presented by Stacy Garcia; Susan Szenasy of METROPOLIS will explore product sales through provenance marketing in “Selling Sustainability through Provenance”; and strategies for expanding a spa retail business will be shared in seminar hosted by the Day Spa Association; and Claire Johnson, managing editor of Giftware News, will present “Generation Y Not? Engaging Millennials In Your Store’s Marketing Strategy.”

On tap for Tuesday, August 18, Fashion Group International will deliver “New Gifting Experience,” discussing the latest in gifting for today’s discriminating consumer; “Blogging for Business 101: Everything You Need to Know and Why” will discuss using a blog to build business; and Gift Shop will present “How to Hire, Manage and Retain Millennial Employees.”

Attendees also will be able to take advantage of an expanded slate of seminars to be hosted in collection with Artisan Resource®, which runs concurrently with NY NOW at the Javits Center. Free “Importing 101” sessions will be presented on Sunday, August 16 and Monday, August 17. Other Artisan Resource seminars in the lineup include “Handmade Futures: 2016 Design and Color Trends in Global Handmade Products,” “Concept to Reality: Turning Ideas Into Artisan-Right Products and Processes,” “Handmade Messaging: How to Build a Design-Oriented Artisan Brand and Tell the World About It,” and “Buyer Panel: The Highs and Lows of Artisan Commerce.”

The fifteen-minute, and 45-minute online marketing presentations hosted by SnapRetail, as well as the Artisan Resource seminars, are free of charge. Most other NY NOW sessions cost $20 before August 14, and $25 afterwards. Pre-registration is required for all sessions. Complete details, and registration is available online at www.nynow.com/programs.

Beyond the show floor, NY NOW will host “Only in New York” events, offering attendees unparalleled after-hour networking opportunities. The roster includes NY NOW’s perennial favorite “Night on Broadway,” featuring discounted tickets to the Monday, August 17 performance of HAMILTON. Tickets normally priced at $142 are specially priced at $110 before August 14, and $120 after. Also on tap are Gifts and Decorative Accessories’ Retailer Excellence Awards to be held on Sunday, August 16; discounted admission to the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) during Market Week; and a networking reception for Museum Store Association members.

For the second consecutive year, HGTV Magazine is hosting a Blogger Block Party in connection with NY NOW. This day-long meeting and tweeting event, running Monday, August 17, from 12 Noon to 8:00pm, at 404 10th Avenue (between 32nd & 33rd Streets), will include appearances by HGTV Magazine’s Editor in Chief, Sara Peterson, and designer Genevieve Gorder. For details, visit www.hgtvmagonline.com/events.

Two special product displays will highlight sustainability and design trends at NY NOW. The SustainAbility: design for a better world® display will feature eco-friendly and socially-responsible home and lifestyle products and producers while “Open House,” sponsored by Progressive Business Media and Pantone, will highlight four key design and color trends for 2015-2016 — Bijoux, Ephemera, Footloose and Mixed Bag — representing various uses of color, materials and cultural inspiration.

Outstanding product design and innovation will be recognized in four Best New Product Awards categories: Baby + Child, Gourmet Housewares + Tabletop, Home Textiles and Personal Care + Wellness, with popular voting to determine an overall “Best of HOME” and “Best of LIFESTYLE” winner from among these categories. Popular voting also will determine “Eco Choice Awards” winners in three categories – Most Sellable, Most Innovative and Most Sensitive Use of Materials.

Industry experts will cull winners in four additional awards categories: The Accent on Design® Awards and the Accent on Design “Bloggers’ Choice Awards” will recognize excellence in contemporary home and lifestyle product design; the ASID NY Metro Chapter’s “Best of the Best” Awards will select HOME exhibitors for product excellence in seven categories; and IFDA NY Selects — Best in Market @ NY NOW will select new and innovative home products in eight categories.

The summer 2015 edition of NY NOW, the Market for Home + Lifestyle, will run Saturday, August 15, through Wednesday, August 19, 2015, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. NY NOW’s three comprehensive collections – HOME, LIFESTYLE and HANDMADE, as well as NEW! exhibitors – encompass 100,000 products in myriad product categories. Attendees from all 50 states and around the world are expected. Information and registration is available online at www.nynow.com.

Zoku Character Pops Win The National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval

Zoku_CharacterPops_Full SetZoku® Character Pops, which make it easy to create homemade ice pops with personality, has received The National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval for its innovative design, fun shapes and ease of use.

The National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval program is based on independent testing of products that are marketed to parents and children. Independent testers include parents, educators and panelists of the National Parenting Center.

Zoku turns ice pops into collectible friends with these individual mini molds for quick, easy, and fun homemade ice pops. From Bunny and Songbird to Turtle and Hedgehog, Zoku Character Pops are designed to bring every pop’s personality to life. Just pour the ingredients into the mold, insert the reusable stick, and freeze it.

Each of the eight Zoku Character Pops comes with a red mold and a reusable stick with a built-in drip guard made to complement each design: a tail-shaped stick for the Kitty, a fan of feathers for the Owl, and webbed feet for the Frog. But the fun doesn’t disappear when the pop does – every bite reveals part of the heart-shaped stick.

These chilly treats release easily with a fun “pop” sound. There’s no need to run the mold under warm water. Each family member can choose their own unique character since each of the eight different designs are sold separately. Purchase multiples of the same design for themed parties. Cross-merchandise with other products for an eye-catching display and endless story possibilities.

Available for immediate shipment, Zoku Character Pops have a suggested retail price of $7.99 for each of the eight different designs, each sold separately.

For more information on The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, visit http://the-parenting-center.com/about-the-seal-of-approval/.

For more information on Zoku, visit www.zokuhome.com.

Former Sears Executive Joins YouCopia as Vice President of Sales

TammyMcHenry YouCopia _300dpi_RGB_4x5YouCopia, creator of innovative home organization products to help people simplify and enjoy life, is pleased to announce the appointment of Tammy McHenry as Vice President of Sales.

Most recently, McHenry was Senior Director of Sales for the Sears Brand Management Corporation where she was responsible for the external sales of Kenmore, Craftsman and Diehard brands. Prior to that, she held senior sales positions at Fiskars Americas, Thermos and Sanford Corporation, a division of Newell Rubbermaid.

“Tammy is a tenacious leader with a consistent record of achievement in launching profitable consumer products, building strong sales teams and developing successful retail programs,” said YouCopia President Lauren Greenwood. “With over two decades of experience in the housewares and crafts industries, she will be a great asset for our company as we grow and expand our business.”

McHenry’s appointment comes at a time when YouCopia has doubled its product offerings with the goal of providing complete programs for sellers in the growing home organization category.

For information, visit www.YouCopia.com.