By Moe Lastfogel
Director of Sales and Marketing for The Retail Observer

Earlier this year, The Retail Observer launched a completely redesigned website. Between 400 and 500 of you visit the site daily to get the latest news and Twitter feeds from all of the industries we cover. On our home page, you will find current features from our monthly issue, which is mailed out to more than 14,000 hard-copy subscribers and 5,700 email subscribers in 33 countries. You will also find links to other pages on the site like our writers’ corner, blogs, archives, subscription requests and more. 

There is an industry Twitter feed on our home page which has a live stream of news from industry leaders, associations, trade shows, as well as other bloggers, writers and magazines who provide timely and relevant information.

Major appliances, consumer electronics and furniture news are also covered on the Twitter feed and on our news page. With live RSS feeds, we follow the trends and news from all over the world to help keep you updated and ahead of the competition. This page also links to the industry news articles in our current issue. 

Our events page features our current monthly calendar as seen in the magazine, but now has an extended Year-at-a-Glance calendar to help you plan further ahead. Also, don’t forget to visit these pages: our Partners page includes an industry directory that links to the sites of manufacturers, distributors, buying groups and trade associations; and our Heart of the Industry page is where we proudly support our favorite charities and our partners’ charities with in-kind advertising. 

Take a look to see what’s new at www.retailobserver.com and if you would like us to add any information we may have overlooked, let us know at [email protected].

Happy Retailing, 
Moe
[email protected]

By Eliana Barriga
Publisher and Managing Editor for The Retail Observer

I recently became an empty nester and have resonated with stories about the eagle. The eagle encourages her young to leave the nest by slowly removing the soft nesting materials so all that’s left are sharp twigs—making it uncomfortable for the young birds to stay. Their first attempts of leaving the nest and flying usually end up in a freefall, but the mother eagle will swoop down and catch them before they hit the ground, maybe up to a half a dozen times until they get the hang of it. 

Here’s an excerpt from The Push by David McNally that sums up the feeling of the eagle: 

“Why does the thrill of soaring have to begin with the fear of falling?” thought the Mother Eagle. Her nest was located high upon the shelf of a sheer rock face. Below there was nothing but air to support the wings of each fledgling. “Is it possible that this time it will not work?” she thought. Despite her fears, the eagle knew it was time. Her parental mission was all but complete. There remained one final task… the push. The eagle drew courage from an innate wisdom. Until her children discovered their wings, there was no purpose for their lives. Until they learned how to soar, they would fail to understand the privilege it was to have been born an eagle. The push was the greatest gift she had to offer. It was her supreme act of love. And so one by one, she pushed them… and THEY FLEW. 

Sometimes we need it. Sometimes we need to give it. Maybe your business is ready to move to the next level and all you need is a little push—or to give a push—to encourage new growth and take your business to the next level. A push can be the greatest gift you ever give or receive. 

Until next time,
Eliana
[email protected]