By Moe Lastfogel Director of Sales and Marketing for The Retail Observer ![]() Well, we’ve made it through Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday— and Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas and New Year’s are yet to come. The holidays can bring hope, joy, stress, and the inevitable shopping credit card debt. Holiday shopping can be a crazy scene; to be uprooted from family, food and football, just to stand in lines longer than those at Disneyland to get that incredible advertised deal. Yes, the holiday spirit is in the air—but is this what the holidays have come to? I hope we haven’t forgotten the true reason of the season. It’s time to ask ourselves, “What is the true meaning of our holidays?” We personally carry on our holiday traditions through storytelling and rituals that bind us together and create family traditions that we pass on to the next generation. We celebrate our cultural history. While growing up, I understood the reasons we celebrated and what the true history of the celebration was. Today, many seem to celebrate Easter and Christmas on a level that has no relevance to their true meanings. What is a Holy Day and what is a Hallmark holiday? Sure, retail sales go up and the economy flourishes, but what was the original intent of the remembrance? I was raised with the belief that giving was more important than receiving. The act of giving should be an expression of the heart as opposed to the need to buy an obligatory gift. We took care in making sure we handled ourselves in a courteous manner and would never do harm to anyone or anything (except the Turkey) in creating our holiday atmosphere. If you couldn’t afford to give gifts, you made them. If you couldn’t afford the big dinner, you came together potluck style. Everyone joined together and celebrated the true meaning of the holiday. It’s time to get back to basics. Let’s talk about family and bringing back the values that make a difference in the world by starting at home with the ones you love. Again, this isn’t about the religion or the holiday, it’s about the truths and teachings. They have been held sacred in the past; let’s keep our traditions rich and meaningful for the future. Joyous holidays to you and your families, Moe Lastfogel [email protected]
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By Moe Lastfogel Director of Sales and Marketing for The Retail Observer ![]() Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at the Z-Wave Alliance Summit in Oklahoma City and the Smart Kitchen Summit in Seattle. At Z-Wave I was on a panel called “The Sell-through Roundtable: Retail, Online or Distribution; Tips, Tricks, War Stories and How to Get Your Products Sold” and at the Smart Kitchen Summit, I lead a panel on “Kitchen TV: The Community Screen?” Both events got me thinking about today’s Smart technologies and where it is all going. What does Smart mean today? Where is this technology going, and how will it affect what you are selling or specifying? At Z-Wave, I was introduced to hundreds of companies and their products that I didn’t even know existed. Yes, I have seen many of these companies before, whether it was at CES, CEDIA or IFA, but I can say I now better understand what they are all doing. They are making life easier, for sure. From dimmers and controllers, to security and networking, these companies strive to bring products not only to the end users, but to the installers and retailers in a cohesive solution for today’s fast-paced tech world. The Smart Kitchen Summit was an incredible opportunity as well. The panelists in my session were amazing. Yoon Lee, Samsung’s head of innovation; Esme Williams, Allrecipes VP consumer brand strategy; and Amanda Rottier, NY Times product director NYT cooking. Their insight into how the TV or screen is the hub of the hub (the Kitchen) of the home was very thought-provoking. Our focus was about the emergence of the screen in the kitchen and the potential impact on recipes, content, cooking and overall kitchen behavior. With so many new technologies in the home today, the kitchen still reigns supreme as the center of the home. I’d like to thank Mitch Klein, executive director of the Z-Wave Alliance for the opportunity to learn more about his extensive group, Michael Wolf for putting together the Smart Kitchen Summit, and all my fellow panelists for their insights into how they all see these emerging technologies meshing together today and in the future. Happy Retailing, Moe Lastfogel [email protected] |
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December 2021
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