BTween $1 and Five
Tweens (boys & girls aged 7-14) influence an estimated USD $270 billion in spending per year and will personally spend a total of $38 billion in 2004 in the US alone. Even so, they’re known to be a little tight with their allowance money. They want value, and Dallas-based retailer BTween $1 and Five aims to give it to them. In their own words:”Tweens have learned how to be very cost-conscious. They’re smarter than ever and want to get more bang for their buck.” (more…)Yoya Mart: a shop for dads
Mom isn’t the only one who takes the kids shopping anymore, and Yoya knows it. From the husband-and-wife teams that founded NYC’s YoyaShop – the baby-clothing retailer designed to appeal to the hip urban mom’s love of boutique aesthetics – comes hip urban dad-friendly YoyaMart. Designed for fathers by fathers, YoyaMart carries children’s and tweens’ clothing plus funky gadgets for Dad, all set in an environment featuring a stylish male-centric design, big screen TVs, and music (which of course by now reminds you of Dubai’s 1847!). YoyaMart’s focus on urban style is also reflected in the hipster-kid brands they stock, including Diesel, Puma, Ray Ban, and Antik Batik, along with Yoya’s eponymous sportswear line. (Source: WWD.com.)BTween $1 and Five
Tweens (boys & girls aged 7-14) influence an estimated USD $270 billion in spending per year and will personally spend a total of $38 billion in 2004 in the US alone. Even so, they’re known to be a little tight with their allowance money. They want value, and Dallas-based retailer BTween $1 and Five aims to give it to them. In their own words:”Tweens have learned how to be very cost-conscious. They’re smarter than ever and want to get more bang for their buck.” (more…) Yes, male grooming dominates every single lifestyle publication known to metrosexual man in big, happening metropolises. This may just have something to do with the fact that this is now a multi billion dollar market: commerce and vanity rule the world, after all. For example: in the UK, sales of male grooming products grew 560% over the last 5 years. Yet, we’ve managed to spot something promising in this field that is NOT located in New York or London:starting with a dedicated male grooming facility in Dubai, called 1847 (no website yet), which is ready, in our opinion, to be franchised around the world! Dubai’s upscale 1847 grooming lounge for men (see pics to the right) takes a decidedly executive-friendly approach to male grooming. 1847 is located in a prime location to service their target customers: The Boulevard of the Emirates Towers Hotel, an uber-swanky shopping complex attached to one of the best executive-focused hotels in the UAE. And by the way, don’t call 1847 a “salon” — the management is adamant that they “are not a spa or a salon” but rather a new sector of men’s grooming. Service areas in 1847 are partitioned for privacy and designed to feel like traditional male retreats such as libraries and studies. 1847 also has wireless LAN throughout the facility, 18″ LCD screens with DVD and personal libraries in each service area, a 42″ plasma screen television in the lounge, custom designed treatment sofas, and hand-made Italian barber chairs so clients can catch up with work or indulge in extra leisure and comfort while enjoying 1847’s signature treatments. 1847 also has an in-house retail boutique featuring premium grooming products designed to address the travel and grooming needs of busy, powerful men who want to look good. (more…) The LIFE CACHING phenomenon we covered in July’s TRENDWATCHING.COM newsletter continues its major upswing as more and more industries take advantage of portable tiny tech innovations to capture, package and store consumer experiences. One of the newest entries in the music sector has the potential to make old school concert bootlegging all but obsolete, and instantly puts once-in-a-lifetime shows in the palm of the audience’s hand. Meet the USB Concert-On-A-Stick (and the umptieth nail in the coffin of the big bad ‘record’ companies). Subscription-based MP3 outfit eMusic recently debuted USB downloads as a service available from eMusic Live, their concert division that sells CD copies of shows at select venues a mere 10 minutes after the last encore. The high quality of the CDs, reasonable pricing, and legal status positioned them as viable alternatives to often-substandard bootlegs, but the groundbreaking new USB-based system trumps bootlegs and the CDs by a mile in portability and potential. The service’s focal point is the on–site, wall-mounted eMusic Live download kiosk, where concert goers can use a credit card to buy reusable USB 2.0 keychain drives for $20 and download a live recording of the entire performance they just enjoyed in MP3 format for another $10 (Source: AP). Consumers also have the option of bringing their own USB flash drives to use in the kiosk – either way, the recording is restriction-free, making it perfect for easy, unlimited (and encouraged) legal sharing. (more…) When Springwise first highlighted New York’s 311 Service back in June 2003, its primary focus was as a municipal clearinghouse for non-emergency services. In those early days, 311 operators typically handled issues like complaints about noisy neighbors, pothole repair requests, and clarification of the city’s Byzantine alternate-side-of-the-street parking rules. Now, the initial success of the service has prompted New York’s city government and tourism sectors to set new, loftier goals – 311 is being transformed into a one-stop info source for the city’s vast cultural and entertainment offerings. The first stage of 311’s expansion, already in effect, includes information on street festivals, a running concert calendar, and alerting callers. The latter was put to good use when last month more than 1,000 callers were informed about rained out New York Philharmonic concerts, saving them a trip to the park. (Source: NYT.) The second stage is being jump-started in time for the Republican Convention through the combined efforts of the system operator (the Department of Information Technology and Communications) and non-profit tourism marketer & promoter NYC & Company. NYC & Co. is providing 30 volunteers to man a temporary help desk at the 311 call center specifically to handle entertainment-related requests during the Elephant-fest. (more…)Opportunities
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