Cost Plus Holiday Candle Holders

Cost Plus World Market has opened stores and launched merchandising initiatives, ensuring it is heading into the holiday season with some momentum. Among the merchandising efforts is a comprehensive holiday decorating and entertaining promotion, and another tied to the movie release "Life of Pi."

The retailer’s Holiday Décor and Entertaining Collections include products developed to suit a range of tastes, the company noted. For traditional shoppers, the retailer said it reinvented its Christmas Carols Collection as a nostalgic nod to Yuletide’s past in the form of red plaid tabletop textiles and ceramics with vintage snow scene silhouettes. The Alpine Workshop Collection reflects the Cost Plus affinity for folkloric and handcrafted styling, the company noted. Among the featured design statements is an Old World style of appliqué and embroidered cuckoo clocks, patterned heart shapes and cheerful woodland birds in textiles that use a black background to provide a contemporary twist. Cost Plus crafted Le Premier Noel as an elegant and graceful winter-inspired story draped in soft whites and metallic silver and copper, it said. Etched stemware and shimmering metallic threads woven into textiles add a deluxe sensibility. And for shoppers who prefer a non-traditional theme, the Kokeshi Christmas Collection offers a whimsical, global-inspired look with textiles, ceramic tidbit plates, patterned bowls and platters adorned in vivid purple, green, pink, blue and red, the retailer asserted.

The Cost Plus assortment of gift items includes a mercury glass décor line that incorporates filled candles with lids, hurricane lamps and lacquer frames, as well seasonal textiles such as tea towels and tablecloths. Cost Plus developed collections for specific recipients, and gifts for him, for example, include stylish bottle openers and cocktail accessories. Yet it also assembled a collection around popular retro tin robots and Sock Monkeys and other retro toys to transcend age. Further, Cost Plus used its global purchasing reach to establish unique stocking stuffer propositions such as horn jewelry boxes from India, wool hats from Nepal and scented candles from France.

Cost Plus also is giving customers create-a-gift options by providing dedicated baskets and containers.

Even as it announced its holiday merchandise initiatives, Cost Plus launched a promotion around the film "Life of Pi." Referencing the story’s southern India setting in, products in the promotion include a range of home décor items as well as tunics and jewelry. To generate particular excitement around the product introduction, Cost Plus has launched a Life of Pi sweepstakes that gives customers a chance to win a trip for two to India, a $1,000 Cost Plus gift card and Life of Pi merchandise. Also, on Black Friday, November 23, the first 100 customers through Cost Plus doors will receive an exclusive Life of Pi limited-edition ornament and a movie ticket. On Saturday, November 24 and Sunday, November 25, the first 100 customers through the door get a reusable Life of Pi tote bag and a movie ticket.

Cost Plus also will get a holiday season boost from fresh locations. This fall, the retailer has added stores in Simi Valley, CA, Renton, WA and Katy, TX, while debuting a relocated store in Rockville, MD.