BY RAY DAVID | Editor/Publisher
From what our D.C. pals tell us it looks like the whole country is creeping – slowly – back to pre-recession levels. Home sales, especially existing homes and new multi-family dwelling starts, are on pace for a self-sustaining growth cycle with an expected gain of about 2.2% for the year and more next year. New home starts are lagging, partly because of tight credit, but should be back into growth territory within the next year or two.
Part of what’s fueling the expansion is the dropping unemployment rate coupled with new capital spending by large corporations which puts more paychecks into the system. Tech companies like Honeywell, United Technologies, G.E., cybersecurity specialists, and heavy industry are all going strong so retailers near any of those centers are in a good place. The boom in drilling and fracking is pushing demand for rail cars, barges and storage tanks, which is another big plus for the economy. Pipeline construction, too, is moving ahead quickly to keep up with the pace of that growth.
On the downside, expect travel costs to go up. With more money in play, hotels, airlines and car rental agencies are increasing rates, decreasing the number of previously free amenities, and adding new user fees, surcharges, assessments, dues, utility recovery charges, asset replacement fees, overhead contribution cost, and anything else they can come up with.
But what’s important to our market is housing, construction and job growth. Every new dollar going into buying a house means potential new business for those who supply the amenities that make home ownership more comfortable. And with travel costs going up it makes sense to put money into the homestead and spend more vacation time enjoying it. So read up, and learn more about how to provide for the needs of wildlife in the backyard – and use that newfound expertise in your local advertising to make yourself the neighborhood backyard guru when it comes to equipping the home to serve the purpose.
P.S. Offering more nature-walks and in-store seminars provides additional opportunities for families to get the kids outside into nature, and learning new things.
Table of Contents
It’s Show Time:
Trade shows can be a powerful business experience
by Hank Weber
Gifts That Sell:
Choose gift merchandise that actually sells
by Hank Weber
Looking Forward:
Tomorrow is Already Here
by John A. Riutta
Hundred Dollar Windfall:
Pennies from Heaven just waiting for you to pick them up
by Hank Weber
Too Hot Not to Handle:
AmericasMart Atlanta: An Incubator for Gift Trends.
by Mike Anderson
Birdscaping:
Designing
a Landscape for Birds: Donahue
It’s easy to choose plants for a lovely
summer show, but don’t forget their
value to birds in the winter months
by Micelle Z.
Book Reviews
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