October 2, 2017 By Blue Anderson Jargon is the fancy word for mumbo jumbo. We all can get a wide variety of emails and web links that talk about the latest trends, or how to motivate your staff, or the MSA Blog you are reading right now. Museum Hack is a professional museum consulting company […]
September 25, 2017 By Julie Steiner One of the admonishments I heard when I was new to this field was that I should not refer to museum store products as “souvenirs.” Souvenirs, it was said, evoke cheap and poorly-made things, rather than the quality merchandise of world-class institutions. But there’s another way of thinking about […]
September 18, 2017 By Mike Lovett As a museum store operator, or as a merchandise maker or distributor, you know that the ease of online shopping is a double-edged sword. Sure, it’s convenient — but for business owners and operators, the underbelly of counterfeited products, price discrepancies, and showrooming can quickly replace the thrill of […]
September 11, 2017 Name: Patricia Sampson: A Volunteer with Passion — who believes in Fate Job Title: Manager of Retail Shop and Visual Merchandising Institution: High Museum of Art Location: Atlanta, GA Interviewed by: Laura Murphy, Preservation Society of Newport County What path brought you to your job? I grew up in Harlem, NY. There […]
August 28, 2017 This week, the MSA blog debuts our new feature: MSA PRO-Files With over 1,300 members of MSA – there are just as many interesting stories. We plan to regularly focus on getting to know our MSA “neighbors” by sharing their stories through PRO-Files of their lives, careers, businesses, and amazing career paths. […]
August 14, 2017 By Kristen Daniels I like to think of a successful sales transaction as a win, win, win, win situation. The first winner is the producer, the second is the wholesaler (who is sometimes also the producer), the third is the retail store, and the final winner is the store visitor, who purchases […]
August 7, 2017 By Michael Guajardo Product development is soo easy! Right? Wrong. It is hard work! With the stakes so high, the goal is always to create a successful product. When I first got started, I had good intentions and a good amount of retail experience, but I had never created a product from […]
July 31, 2017 By Bradley Platz Attending the 2017 MSA conference in Pittsburgh was a genuinely rewarding experience for me. I found it so valuable to connect with other retailers, and to share strategies, while making important professional connections. Being recognized by MSA for ‘Best Store Web Presence’ this year is an incredible honor and […]
July 24, 2017 By Sarah Jones Maximize your productivity (and your Return on Investment!) when shopping a tradeshow Tradeshows are a significant commitment of time and resources: days away from your store, staff to cover for you in your absence, and the expense of traveling. So how does a buyer ensure a productive and prosperous […]
Photo credit: Exit Through The Gift Shop: A Banksy Film July 17, 2017 By Blue Anderson When I was in “regular” retail, I had a boss who liked to divide problems into two groups: ant issues, which are those annoying little everyday things, and elephants – big, thunderous issues that can cause havoc if left to run […]
