July 2011

July 6, 2011: Green Toys The birth rate in America is still at official “baby boom” levels-which means at least 4 million kids a year are being born (as of 2009, the last year for which we have statistics). Obviously … Read More →

July 13, 2011: Artisanal Ice Cream Some trends are specific, while others more broadly cover an industry or a group of people. And then there are times like now when a broad trend develops to “feed” a specific demographic. For … Read More →

July 6, 2011: Large-sized Men’s Clothing While the choices for clothing for plus-size women have been improving for years (though there surely is room for more improvement), larger men have mostly had to put up with what one man describes … Read More →

June 20, 2011: Barbers Yes, barbers-and I promise I’m not having a flashback to the 1950s. But I can understand why you might think so, especially after seeing the numbers from AnythingResearch.com. The research firm has named cosmetology and barber … Read More →

July 27, 2011: Buff Babies Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating some when I say “babies,” but not by much. Bloomberg Businessweek recently reported that “child bodybuilding” is becoming “a real industry.” That view is reinforced by market research company IBISWorld, which … Read More →