Shop (and eat) local!

I adore the holiday season. The smells, the food, the holiday spirit. And I cringe at the holiday marketing and terminology. It's difficult for me to read and report on Black Friday Sales and Cyber Mondays, it is afterall the media who creates the hooplah behind these events measuring the success of the entire retail world against minute-by-minute reports of sales. Alas, the marketing and messages are here to stay.

And yet, there were few campaigns that garnered my attention. Target sure did with its scary woman ad campaign. I am not sure the image of her getting primed for Black Friday sales really did much for the brand. Well, I do remember the advertising although the message did not make me want to shop. I did however appreciate Target's followup campaign with crazy lady's tired, not-in-the-mood-to-shop-sister the following day. That made me smile. But I still didn't run out shopping. For me the day after Thanksgiving is a day to relax.

And sleep off the turkey.

I will admit I surfed the Web to check out the deals online during the weekend. But I did not buy. Probably won't spend much online this year. My goal is to stick with the 3/50 Project, which was brought to my attention by my retail friends in Sonoma during a recent segment of TGRTalk.com. I love this project, check it out here  - www.the350project.net

It's smart, simple and what specialty retailing is all about. I plan on bringing this plan into action in my local business community next year and I am kicking it off this holiday by practicing what I preach. But for the moment, I am simply trying to figure out what is on the holiday lists for the year - aside from restaurant equipment [don't ask], sleep, and two lengthy children's lists to fulfill. So while you are all bustling with customers at your doorstep, breaking last year's sales numbers and proving the independent retailer is the heart of this country, we'll be resting up here at TGR and getting our resources ready to help you be even more successful in 2010.

An odd aside, one book I might have to buy is this year's Eat This, Not That! Restaurant Survival Guide, which highlights the good, bad and ugly of restaurant dining. It's amazing to see the calories in some entrees you otherwise might consider healthy, makes me realize how simple it is packing on the pound over the holidays or say...at a trade show samplling products. It'll be a good book to have on hand as I head out on the road again in a few weeks to start the 2010 trade show circuit, discovering great new products and visiting with retailers across the country. To check out the book - or at least the full list of 20 foods by category that you should not eat with nutritional information for each item, visit: http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/20-worst-restaurant-foods-america

Cheers!

Michelle