Scott C. BorowskyEach day you open your store is a fresh start and an opportunity to get it right when it comes to selling merchandise. Your well-trained employees are your ambassadors for building bridges with the customers, whether these customers want close assistance as they choose a purchase or space to quietly browse and decide on their own which if any merchandise they will buy.
Just as each day offers another chance for your store to succeed, each issue of SGN is also an opportunity to learn from your colleagues across the United States as they discuss what is selling in their stores and offer their advice on everything from buying new merchandise to displaying goods so they will sell. In this issue alone, members of our team of contributing writers interviewed over 130 retailers, and these and the many other store owners, managers and buyers who are contacted for each edition offer real advice from the front lines of retail.
This issue also offers a special opportunity to learn more about some of the top vendors in the industry in the 2017-2018 edition of the Annual Buyer’s Reference Guide. This directory highlights the advertisers in the issue with detailed contact information, and also lists other quality companies with names and addresses that you can google to learn more.
Special trade show sections for IGES, the Smoky Mountain Gift Show and Surf Expo are also featured in this installment. These sections contain bonus original SGN stories that cover everything from selling gifts and signs at seaside shops to offering plush and toys at resort stores.
Additionally, our regular editorial sections are anything but typical. The Apparel Section covers display, theft prevention and licensed merchandise, while the Zoo and Aquarium feature looks at store fixtures and display props, and the best-selling edible, personal care and candle gifts. Also, in a special story, Contributing Writer and Editorial Assistant Susan Mease interviewed retailers for their perspectives on marketing and customer service. The issue also includes a bonus Gifts and General Merchandise Section.
I hope you enjoy the magazine. If you would like to discuss SGN or the industry, please contact me by calling 610-645-6940 ext. 0. You can also email your comments, questions and suggestions to editorsgnmag@kanec.com and I will respond to your note personally.
Scott C. Borowsky
President and Executive Editor
Souvenirs, Gifts & Novelties magazine
