2020 Earnie Awards Winner – Accessories: Iscream

Accessories

Iscream

Est. 2007

Jennifer Mines Kamen, Vice President

First paying job: House and Garden Magazine production manager

Pet peeve: When people overreact to situations

Dream hire: Iris Apfel

Most coveted dinner guest: Queen Elizabeth

Last book you read: The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

Last movie you watched: Knives Out

Hobbies: Yoga, running, reading and walking my dogs

Best advice you’ve ever received: If today wasn’t great, make tomorrow better.

Go-to quarantine snack: Smartfood Kettle Corn

One fact few people know about you: I have three dogs.

Personal motto: She believed she could, so she did.

More Than a Brand Iscream is a lifestyle. Offering our stores a wide variety of products at multiple price points, we continuously expand to best serve retailers a one-stop-shopping experience. We refresh collections every season, building on popular themes as well as adding new trend-driven offerings.

Pivot Perfection Working from home this year, we continued to develop new products throughout quarantine. We experimented with several new finishes, including foil flocking, embroidery and fur.  We also added innovative quilting to the mix and expanded our patch program. Our beauty assortment was another growth focus in 2020. Most importantly, we increased our drop-ship programs to support new buying patterns and retailers who were unable to keep their stores open.

Safety First When COVID-19 hit, we made sure our employees felt safe and appreciated. We were able to keep all 135 employees and paid them their full salaries over the three months we were closed.  Team members are able to work from home are still working from home. Those who returned to the office are masked, get their temperature taken daily and fill out health surveys every morning.

Five-Year Forecast The key words for the future retail market are sustainability, diversity, inclusion, positivity, retro, euphoric, tran-seasonal and multi-functional. Think items that have dual purposes. Parents will be looking for items with longevity.  Short-term expensive trends will not be as popular.  Get ready for lots of cozy and comfy with fun touches and novelty features. We know little girls will always love bright happy colors and sparkle, but the way they are interpreted by manufacturers will have to be different. Less excessive and gaudy; more energetic, inspiring and optimistic. Buying will continue to shift online. That’s something we’ve anticipated for awhile, but the pandemic will accelerate it.  With a higher level of online shopping, I also anticipate retailers will start investing in the development of virtual 3-D shopping experiences.