The home and housewares business touches down at the summer Atlanta Market this week. The next few days there should provide an important, real-time update on the state of the business as suppliers and retailers edge closer to the critical holiday season.
Expect the following talking points, among many more, in the AmericasMart showrooms:
- Suppliers are seeking outlets for in-stock and inbound inventory stalled as big retailers anxiously clear out surplus and put a hold on some new orders. It is a buyer’s market right now for open-to-buy retailers of any size and scope that can squeeze in new goods and/or goods held up in ports that finally are being unloaded.
- Retailers, especially independents that make up a good portion of Atlanta Market traffic, are hunting for more than compelling, differentiating new products. Many want/need help with aggressive price promotions earlier than usual that can be implemented to recharge traffic heading into the holiday season.
- How long can a strong, if easing, labor market continue to stave off recession as the Fed tightens monetary policy in an effort to curb inflation? Moderately dropping gas prices, meanwhile, might provide a little relief as retailers and suppliers in Atlanta negotiate the rest of the year and the start of 2023.
- What’s next for Bed Bath & Beyond after another rough quarter sealed the exit of CEO Mark Tritton, possibly tossed a wrench into the chain’s private-label-heavy reset and even raised concerns about the retailer’s liquidity?
There is marketing solace and reality in the long-held adage that Christmas arrives each year. It should be further comforting to the home and housewares business that, despite the unpredictable, unusual and (no one should be surprised) unsustainable pandemic sales spike, growth prospects in many key categories still compare favorably to pre-pandemic levels. It just requires working more diligently, more nimbly and more creatively to win share in a tightening market.
Near-term urgency might overshadow any long-term planning that often begins during the summer markets. Either way, there is much to talk about in Atlanta. As with every industry trade show before it this year, all who make the time and effort to shop Atlanta Market will do so with purpose. Very specific purpose.
