ST. LOUIS, Mo. — December 11, 2017 — Warson Brands, official licensee of Reebok for occupational footwear, has introduced the new Reebok All Terrain Work line of work shoes. The series includes several styles for men and women.

With squared-off rubber lugs and deep flex grooves, the All Terrain Work is immediately recognizable as having its roots in trail running, and includes outdoor features such as a neoprene bootie to keep out mud, dirt and debris. Those same features allow the All Terrain Work to excel in industrial work environments, including an ASTM-rated steel toe for impact protection and an upper that is free of metallic hardware, a feature often required in auto manufacturing facilities.

“We looked at the features and benefits that trail running shoes provide to outdoor fitness enthusiasts and found that we could apply those to work footwear,” says John Duvic, VP of Product Development at Warson Brands. “A full-bootie neoprene lining hugs the foot for a glove-like fit while keeping mud, rocks, and debris out of the shoe for all-day comfort on the job, and the aggressive lugged outsole provides trail-rated traction with ASTM-rated slip resistance.”

The All Terrain Work features a MemoryTech footbed that adapts to the unique contours of the foot and a steel toe that meets or exceeds ASTM F2413 safety standards. The RB4090, RB4091, RB4092 and RB095 provide electrical hazard protection, while the RB4093 and RB094 are static dissipative with a patented dual-resistor system that reliably delivers a precise range of electrical resistance for people working with sensitive electronic devices.

Posted December 11, 2017

Source: Warson Brands

AIRPORT CITY, Israel — December 8, 2017 — My Size Inc., a developer of proprietary smartphone measurement applications, intends to release a new measurement solution technology that will revolutionize the way consumers shop for clothing online. The new technology is currently in the testing phase at several Israel-based academic institutions, and to date, has shown promising results under lab conditions.

MySize’s innovative technology has been designed to allow consumers to measure themselves using their smartphone and then be matched with an online apparel item in their size. We believe that this technology has the potential to significantly reduce the margin of error for customers purchasing the wrong size apparel online.

MySize’s R&D Engineers have developed a system that pulls data from anthropometric databases, which is then combined with studies on body measurements of diverse populations groups. MySize’s proprietary methodology combines this data with the measurements obtained from an individual via the smartphone app to estimate the circumference of different body parts that determine the size of garments.

In order to help consumers determine the key body measurements needed for fitting apparel purchased online, MySize invented a simpler and more accessible three step process:

• Perform convenient body measurements using a smartphone;
• Predict the body circumferences required by the retailer size-chart using the MySize’s new proprietary algorithms; and
• Recommend to the user their appropriate garment size according to the retailer’s size chart.

Recording accurate and detailed body measurements via traditional methods is generally difficult. The main traditional methods involve advanced 3-D scanners, or manually using multiple tape measures and calipers. In both cases, they can be expensive, require expertise to operate, and are not available to consumers. My Size is the only company that is able to do that based on recently awarded patented technology that uses actual body measurement. My Size’s patent has been approved in several countries, including the U.S.

“My Size has developed an innovative solution that will enable consumers to shop for better-fitting apparel online, across multiple vendors, and get their correct size, based on their individual smartphone-based body measurements. This level of accuracy and convenience is not offered by any of our competitors,” said My Size CEO Ronen Luzon. “The U.S. e-commerce apparel market alone is over $72 billion of the total e-commerce market of $394 billion (Statista, U.S. Census Bureau), and we believe that the My Size solution will help reduce returns to retailers due to sizing issues, thereby benefitting consumers by assisting them to purchase apparel that fits their specific size.”

Posted December 8, 2017

Source: My Size Inc.

WASHINGTON — December 8, 2017 — Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are expected to increase 1.5 percent this month over the same time last year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. The year, which included five of the seven busiest months for imports on record, should end with a healthy 6.4 percent increase over 2016.

“Retailers are doing last-minute restocking as consumers head toward the finish line of the shopping season, but the majority of holiday merchandise is already in the country and ports are beginning to quiet down,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “With tax cuts that will leave more money in shoppers’ pockets in the headlines and consumer confidence high, all signs are that this has been a strong holiday season.”

Gold added, however, that retailers’ ability to provide consumers with quality products at affordable prices could be threatened if the United States pulls out of the North American Free Trade Agreement or engages in other anti-trade policy that fails to recognize the increased employment and other contributions imports make to the nation’s economy.

“Despite constant threats from the administration regarding trade, especially free trade agreements, imports have been riding high,” Gold said. “Concerns continue about what will happen in 2018 and beyond.”

Ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 1.77 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units in October, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available. That was up 0.3 percent from September and up 5.9 percent year-over-year. A TEU is one 20-foot-long cargo container or its equivalent.

November was estimated at 1.64 million TEU, down 0.3 percent from last year, and December is forecast at 1.6 million TEU, up 1.5 percent.

The total for 2017 is expected to come to 20 million TEU, topping last year’s previous record of 18.8 million TEU by 6.4 percent. That compares with 2016’s 3.1 percent increase over 2015.

The year set an all-time monthly record of 1.8 million TEU in August, and included five of only seven months when imports have hit 1.7 million TEU or higher.

January 2018 is forecast at 1.67 million TEU, down 0.5 percent from January 2017; February at 1.6 million TEU, up 11.6 percent from last year; March at 1.5 million TEU, down 2 percent, and April at 1.66 million TEU, up 3.6 percent. The February and March percentages are skewed because of changes in when Asian factories close for Lunar New Year each year.

The import numbers come as NRF is forecasting that 2017 retail sales will grow between 3.2 and 3.8 percent over 2016 and that this year’s holiday sales will grow between 3.6 and 4 percent. Cargo volume does not correlate directly with sales because only the number of containers is counted, not the value of the cargo inside, but nonetheless provides a barometer of retailers’ expectations.

“As we close out 2017, we feel very good about the events of the year,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. “We expect the coming six months to continue to grow, although at a reduced rate on a year-on-year basis. The second half of 2018 will be weaker than the first half, but recession is not on the horizon.”

Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by the consulting firm Hackett Associates, covers the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades and Miami on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast. The report is free to NRF retail members, and subscription information is available at www.nrf.com/PortTracker or by calling (202) 783-7971. Subscription information for non-members can be found at www.globalporttracker.com.

NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs — 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.

Posted December 8, 2017

Source: The National Retail Federation/Hackett Associates