Blog
Dallas Market Center Sets Summer Campaign for World Central Kitchen
Dallas Market Center, in conjunction with select showrooms, will host a summer Gift for Life fundraising campaign, “This Showroom Feeds Families,” to support World Central Kitchen and its efforts to provide crisis-related hunger relief in Ukraine, the United States and other locations.
“I am inspired by the creativity and generosity of our Market Center partners,” said Cole Daugherty, Gift for Life chair and senior vice President of exhibitor marketing at Dallas Market Center. “Our goal is to raise over $30,000 for World Central Kitchen this June. Between our Retailer Excellence Awards fundraiser and Summer Market fundraiser, we already are well under way to surpass that target.”
Each participating showroom will have a custom program for fundraising during the June Total Home & Gift Market, June 22-28. Showrooms and participating brands will contribute via direct donations or $1 per-order donations. Buyers will participate via rounding-up per order, adding $1 per order, and/or direct donations via QR codes in the showrooms. Each showroom will have details available on how to help clearly posted within their showroom.
Participating showrooms include Cliff Price & Co. (TM 1800), Goetz Inc. (TM 2000), Ivystone (WTC 236), J Brandes (TM 1610), KBD Sales (TM 2038), NextGen Dallas (TM 1028), Nora Fleming (TM 2050), Park Hill (WTC 321), Patrick & Co. (TM 2927), Portico Collection (WTC 631) and Road Runners (TM 1743).
Generous direct donation support already has come from Creative CoOp (TM 2454) and OneCoast (WTC 265).
Gift for Life also is fundraising for World Kitchen in connection with the 71st annual Retailer Excellence Awards, on June 22, at the Dallas Tower Club. During the event, Gift for Life will present its 2022 Industry Achievement Award to Warren Shoulberg, long time industry editor and retail reporter, in recognition of his overall excellence and contribution to the gift and home industry as a thought leader, standard-bearer and overall industry influencer.
Hosted by Gifts & Decorative Accessories, the Retailer Excellence Awards recognize excellence in seven retail awards categories, as well as the vendor and manufacturer’s rep of the year distinctions. Register at www.retailerexcellenceawards.com, and donate to World Central Kitchen in support of Warren at https://donate.wck.org/REA2022.
For updates on the homeware and giftware industries, subscribe to Kitchenware News & Housewares Review.
Igloo Releases Wu-Tang Clan Coolers
Igloo has released two Playmate coolers honoring the Wu-Tang Clan, one of the most influential and legendary hip-hop groups in music history. Featuring original Shaolin kung fu inspired artwork, the special-edition Wu-Tang Clan Dojo Little Playmate and Dragons Playmate Classic, are available now, while supplies last.
“Being able to create Playmate coolers inspired by the revolutionary Wu-Tang Clan is a huge honor for us,” said Brian Garofalow, chief marketing officer at Igloo. “With a collaborative approach to designing the artwork, we know Wu-Tang fans will be happy to own this collectible.”
Igloo designed the special-edition Wu-Tang Clan coolers with primarily yellow — an ode to the official hue of the hip-hop group — and intricate Shaolin kung fu styled artwork that’s inspired by Wu-Tang Clan’s well-known love for the martial arts. The Wu-Tang Clan 7-quart Dojo Little Playmate cooler has a capacity for up to nine 12-ounce cans while the Wu-Tang Clan 14-quart Dragons Playmate Classic can fit up to 26 12-ounce cans.
Check out other new Igloo coolers in the July issue of Kitchenware News & Housewares Review. Subscribe now!
Outdoor Living Supply Acquires The Rock Garden
Minnesota-based Outdoor Living Supply, a distribution platform for outdoor living products with a focus on hardscapes, has acquired The Rock Garden, an independent distributor of natural stone, hardscapes, and architectural elements such as mantles and hand-hewn stone furniture. The acquisition extends the OLS platform into California and strengthens its regional presence in the Lake Tahoe market.
Based in Truckee, California, The Rock Garden was founded in 1998 and is a division of Marsh Ventures, Inc. The Rock Garden is the premier natural stone supplier to the North Lake Tahoe and Truckee markets. Their high-quality product offering and commitment to their customers has made The Rock Garden the first choice of local architects, contractors, and homeowners.
“I am proud to welcome the dedicated team at The Rock Garden to the OLS family of companies. This exciting new partnership expands our OLS footprint into California,” commented Brian Price, CEO of OLS. “With its proximity to our Parker Hardscape Supply location, The Rock Garden is an exceptional fit. The combined strength and resources of these two locations will allow us to form the region’s market-leading platform, delivering best-in-class customer service to the Lake Tahoe and High Sierra markets.”
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP served as legal advisor to OLS.
For updates on the housewares and outdoor living industries, subscribe to Kitchenware News & Housewares Review.
Gap, Walmart Partner on Home Goods Line
Gap and Walmart announced a strategic partnership to introduce Gap Home, a new brand of home essentials available exclusively at Walmart. With this launch, two of the world’s most iconic brands have come together to bring Walmart’s scale and Gap’s brand heritage to life through signature style in a new product category for the first time – encouraging customers to shop for quality designs and timeless home essentials for their everyday lives.
Available to shop beginning June 24 exclusively on Walmart.com, the Gap Home launch collection will feature more than 400 items across home décor, tabletop, bedding and bath, ranging in price from $15.88 for a Washed Denim Pillow to $64.98 for a T-Shirt Soft Jersey Reversible King Comforter Set perfect for dressing all spaces, from college dorms to forever homes. New Gap Home seasonal and special collections will drop throughout the year and will be developed in partnership with Gap’s licensing agency, IMG.
“We’re thrilled that Gap selected Walmart as the exclusive retailer to debut its home brand. A hallmark of American fashion, Gap is the ideal partner to bring its timeless, signature style into the modern home to help customers design and decorate beautiful living spaces,” said Anthony Soohoo, executive vice president, Home, Walmart. “Over the past few years, we’ve focused on expanding our home assortment to bring high-quality, stylish home goods and decor to our customers at an unbelievable value. Gap Home is the latest example of how we’ll deliver on that mission.”
The launch collection is made with the planet in mind and features quality materials such as denim and chambray with stylish finishes at a price point that is accessible to all customers. The Gap Home collection includes items made with organic cotton and recycled materials.
“Walmart is a global leader in the home space with extensive digital reach and distribution, and this partnership enables Gap to introduce a new category in a smart, scalable way,” said Mark Breitbard, president and CEO of Gap brand. “Gap Home at Walmart opens a new door for Gap as a lifestyle brand delivering timeless American style in all new ways. We are excited for this growth opportunity, enabling even more customers to fall in love with Gap.”
For updates on the home goods industry, subscribe to Kitchenware News & Housewares Review.
JuniperMarket Showcases Women-Owned Lifestyle Brands
JuniperMarket is introducing RISE, a curated showcase of women-owned lifestyle brands making their market debuts, at Atlanta Market and Las Vegas Market this summer. The 17 lifestyle brands join International Market Centers’ vendor community as part of ongoing efforts to support values-based commerce and bring new perspectives to its physical and digital markets.
“Our goal is to bring new voices to wholesale by empowering retailers to stock their shelves with products from women-owned businesses. Some 80 percent of the brands featured in the inaugural RISE showcase are helmed by women of color with founders self-identifying as API, Black and LatinX,” said Vanessa Bruce, IMC vice president of Social Impact. “We’re committed to the intersectionality of community and values, and RISE makes it easy for buyers to source values-based brands both online and at market.”
RISE will feature brands led by female makers and artisans selling products with values such as being cruelty-free, eco-friendly, handmade, vegan and more. The brands will be presented as a collective within temporary exhibits.
You must be logged in to post a comment.