By Mark Seavy 

As smaller gift store retailers seek to ward off incursions from larger competitors, they are adopting new strategies, including smaller order quantities and a focus on products that might separate them from big box chains.  

In fact, “experiential retail” and “private label” were very much the buzzwords as buyers this week canvased the  NYNow show in New York and the Spring Fair event in Birmingham, U.K.  

Nader Galleries, for example, has been stocking Edward Nader-branded candles but with orders for 150 units across each of nine fragrances. That number is down significantly compared to what was available several years ago, giving it a niche in the Shreveport, LA market. Dublin, PA-based Pineapple on Main, meanwhile, deployed a monogram station for a promotion in its store to affix customer names to Jellycat plush dolls, which resulted in a sellout, owner Kathy Safi said. 

“We’re on a pivot point where independent retail has the opportunity to do something really different and powerfully positive, and it’s to do with the relationship between retail, manufacture, and design,” said Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, a U.K.-based interior designer best known for appearing on the BBC’s DIY home improvement show  Changing Rooms,  during a keynote presentation at Spring Fair. “The leverage, the real power, the real difference happens through independent retail. It happens through the fact that you make your own decisions, because you know who you’re selling to.” 

That sense of personality was on display from suppliers at both shows. JK Adams landed an order for about 5,000 of its branded cutting boards at NYNow but also fielded a licensed seasonal collection from artist Linda Zindel. JK Adams is also a private label cutting board supplier to the likes of retailer Williams-Sonoma and Crate & Barrel.  

Coffee table book publisher Bond & Grace and puzzle suppler Aether Puzzles took booth space at NYNow for the first time in promoting products that featured prominent artists and authors whose copyrights had expired. Bond & Grace was seeking retail distribution for an Alice in Wonderland coffee table book that featured text as well as designs from a dozen artists inspired by the book. It was being sold in leather bound ($495) and cloth cover ($295 with artist designs) versions. Aether, which produces 1,000-piece puzzles at a factory in Rochester, NY, displayed products featuring the works of artists like Winslow Homer and Claude Monet.  

And greeting and notecard supplier Museums & Galleries launched a new greeting card, stationery, and gift packaging license at Spring Fair with British textile designer Emily Burningham. To help foster these types of licensing deals at the U.K. trade show, Licensing International and Fabacus partnered on the Licensing Lab at Spring Fair. In addition to networking opportunities, the Licensing Lab also featured educational programming.  

“Your [retail] brand is who you are, your personality, and what you love, and the more you are focused on that the more the customer can feel it when they walk into your store,” Safi said. “If you know who your customer is, as things start changing it is important to recognize that and adapt a little bit while still remaining true to your core vision.”   

Adapting to a changing market was a major topic of discussion for attendees at both the NY NOW and Spring Fair shows.  

Nader Galleries started out as a custom frame supplier before expanding into a full-service gift retailer. Pineapple on Main, which has two locations, launched as a home goods retailer but has since shifted to largely selling baby products. And Minneapolis, MN-based Patina, which operates eight value-priced gift stores, has adopted regional merchandising in some cases to feature local artisans, owner Rick Haase said.  

“It’s all about pattern [in designs] because that is the ultimate storyteller, it’ll take your mind wherever you need it to go and make the connection between retailer and customer stronger,” Llewelyn-Bowen said. “In the independent retail sector, pattern is something that can make an instant impression of getting people to understand who you are and what you’re doing.”