Old Hollywood Beauty With Natural Formulas
A makeup artist since age nine, Jessica Truesdale was inspired by beauty-industry legends like Estée Lauder and Elizabeth Arden, and founded True You Cosmet... Read more
Retail Industry News
Recent Retail Industry News Articles
Learning From the Customer
Bill Crutchfield has been perfecting customer service for 30 years, and he credits his customers with teaching him everything. Read more
7 Tips on Boosting Post-Holiday Retail Sales
Small business owners give advice on how to keep sales up after the holiday buying wave has passed. Read more
Mobile Payment Firm Square Drops Transaction Fee
The company says dropping the credit card fee is part of its vision to "create zero friction and complexity" around payments. Will its competitors follow? Read more
Turning Fierceness Into a Brand
Designer Christian Siriano of Project Runway fame takes time out from Fashion Week to talk about growing sales and falling models. Read more
What's Wrong With How We Innovate?
Can we learn from China's R&D? Plus, Europe's start-up ecosystem is maturing, U.S. "buy local" efforts are working, and more of the day's news. Read more
How to Bring an Alcoholic Beverage to Market
Hey, home-brew whiz. So you have what it takes to get your intoxicating beverage behind bars and on liquor-store shelves? Read more
Manufacturers and Retailers Rebounded in December
Two industries battered during the recent recession are showing signs of renewed vitality—and fueling an economic recovery, the Fed reports. Read more
Clothing Start-ups Seek Solutions as Cotton Prices Climb
Soaring cotton prices continue to present retailers with tough decisions: cut margins and risk profitability, or raise prices and risk sales? Read more
Cleaning Up—and Greening—the Jewelry Industry
In the wake of the blood diamond controversy, there's a growing niche for sustainable and ethically created fine jewelry. Small businesses are stepping in to... Read more
How to Start a Jewelry Making Business
Be it quartz or slightly quirky, jewelry is a hot market. Here is how to find your niche and get started selling gems. Read more
Getting Green Products on More Retail Shelves
Big retailers tend to be afraid of start-ups that make eco-friendly products.Here's a proposal on how to change that mindset. Read more
Smartphones Make for Smart Shoppers
Retailers hate these apps. Plus, the anatomy of a holiday toy craze and the rest of the day's news for entrepreneurs. Read more
How to Bring an Eco-friendly Product to Market
With more sophisticated consumers and a stricter FTC, creating a green product is no longer a magic bullet to sales. But done right, it can still help you st... Read more
The Founders of Vineyard Vines on Building a Brand 
Vineyard Vines co-founders Ian and Shep Murray answer questions about building a successful apparel company. Watch video
Banking on the Bacon
Bacon has proven to be a viable hedge against the recession -- its frenzied popularity has migrated from the Internet into the products of innovative entrepr... Read more
How to Double Your Gift Card Sales
Consumers spent more than $23 billion on gift cards last year. We've pinpointed the best strategies for small businesses to help gift card sales soar. Read more
This Holiday Season, Every Day is Cyber Monday
Hoping to spread the Black Friday cheer, online retailers are piling on the discounts all month long. Read more
Making Customers Work Harder
Momofuku Ko in New York City and Gjelina in Los Angeles draws crowds by playing hard to get. Read more
American Apparel Again Warns It Could Go Bankrupt
The beleaguered apparel brand reported its second straight quarterly loss and said it might not survive the next 12 months. Read more
6 Tips on Preparing for Strong Holiday Sales on Etsy
The impending holiday rush can be both a blessing and a curse for Etsy store owners. Inc. asked some seasoned, high-volume sellers to share their prep... Read more
The Best and Worst Performing Retailers of the Year
Eat, drink, and shop online? Consumers are doing the majority of their shopping online and through catalog retailers but aren’t purchasing big ticket items... Read more
How I Did It: Eileen Fisher
Fashion’s un-diva never forgets what her customers want: simple, timeless styles. Read more
The Smartest Businessman on the Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail delivers 1,500 customers to Winton Porter's door each year. His business's "high tolerance for strange" keeps them coming back for more. Read more
Elevator Pitch: ShopKeep
ShopKeep makes point-of-sale software for small businesses. Can it raise $1 million from investors? Read more
How to Start a Business in Dallas
It's one of the biggest U.S. cities for business, and nearly 80 percent of Dallas companies are small businesses. Here's how to break in. Read more
Jersey Shore and Lady Gaga Gear Drive Costume Shop Sales
Costume shops are selling out of Jersey Shore-inspired costumes and a BP oil spill outfit, while regretting that Lady Gaga didn't wear that meat dress a litt... Read more
How to Bring a Food Product to Market
So you can cook, preserve, brew, pickle, or roast with the best of 'em. But is your product ready to compete with the other artisanal goods on the market she... Read more
Andy Dunn, Co-founder of Bonobos
Andy Dunn, co-founder of Bonobos, an online men's apparel retailer based in New York City, talks about building a successful business on the Web. Watch video
How to Set Up a Mystery Shopping Program
Implementing the right tools to measure customer experience can help your business improve sales, operations, and profits. Read more
How to Write a Business Plan for a Retail Business
A sound business plan can help any budding entrepreneur lay the groundwork for a successful store. Read more
Rick Alden, Founder of Skullcandy
Founder of the skater headphone brand Skullcandy, Rick Alden talks about what it takes to build a $125 million business. Watch video
Engineering a Better Cup of Coffee
An industrial engineer takes on Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts by launching a pair of small, independent coffee shops. Read more
America's Fastest-Growing Consumer Products Company
With 8,094 percent growth in three years, the sudden success of wickless-candle company Scentsy saved its founders from bankruptcy. Read more
America's Fastest-Growing Retailer
ModCloth, run by a husband-and-wife team, is a website that sells vintage clothing and drew in $15.6 million in 2009. Read more
