It may seem too early to start planning for Christmas. But for us retailers, it is late. Most retailers buy their holiday stock in January, with a late fall delivery schedule. Though FAB doesn’t have all its holiday inventory on display yet, we still need to start planning our advertising campaigns, buying ad space, and ordering print material for our December mailers.

Read More
Kerry McCoy and French Hill

We’ve had 5 months of a writer’s strike, 2 months of talks with auto workers and, according to CNN on Wednesday, more than 75,000 employees of Kaiser Permanente walked off the job, marking the largest healthcare worker strike in US history. And don’t forget, the actors are still on strike, and after this week’s brouhaha in Washington, I guess you could say the House of Representatives are too, creating the biggest chaos and a potential government shutdown.

Read More

Arkansas doesn’t have a pro team, but it feels like we do. The University of Arkansas Razorbacks are our state’s passion. In sports bars and restaurants, alike, fans show support by unabashedly “calling the Hogs” and then high fiving each other in solidarity.

Read More

It is hard to believe I have lived in my house for almost 30 years. When first moving in with a budding family, it didn’t seem big enough. Now, it’s too big.
At this stage of my life, I find many of my friends are downsizing . I too have contemplated a smaller place, but with my still-nagging ambition, and possible fallacy to believe “bigger is better,” I just can’t pull the trigger and move into a condo.

Read More

In my 40+ years in business, Flag and Banner (FAB) has been through decades of drastic changes. When first starting out in 1975, I sold flags door to door and even carried some inventory in the trunk of my car. But when gas prices soared, when my daughter was born, and when long-distance calling became affordable (due to the deregulation of Ma Bell’s monopoly), I changed to a telemarketing sales strategy.

Read More