Industry News

Wherever we’ve gone over the last few years, asking what your greatest challenges and concerns as independent retailers are, uncertainty about and the cost of health insurance and health care for yourselves and your employees always tops your lists. In …

Employees at Klem’s know dogs are more than just pets. They’re allowed in the store year-round and customers treat them as part of the family. “We know how much our customers love their dogs,” Klem’s president Jessica Bettencourt says. So …

Advertisers love me. I cry at Cheerios’ commercials. My heart races when I see Tiffany blue, and I always click on the engagement ring ads that pop up on the side of my Facebook page. These advertisers get it—or at …

Suzanne Pierce, co-owner of J.P. Lumber in Oakland, Iowa, and her sister, Trudy Weaver, found a unique way to reuse old tools and broken household items. The sisters collect these items, which would otherwise be thrown out, and construct unique …

Pending home sales were down in July, with higher mortgage interest rates slowing the market, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, declined 1.3 percent to 109.5 in July from …

While the healthy level of activity across Canada appears to be something many retailers shared through most of the country, it may not be enough to put most retailers ahead in sales over last year. Central and Eastern Canada In …

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware recently approved Lowe’s acquisition of the majority of assets of Orchard Supply Hardware. Upon the transaction’s closing, Richard D. Maltsbarger, a Lowe’s executive who led the team to acquire Orchard, will …

The national “buy local” movement Independent We Stand is currently accepting nominations for the 2013 Independent Small Business of the Year Award Sponsored by Chrysler Group. The award celebrates the characteristics that make locally owned, independent businesses unique, like quality …