Let's Talk Trunk Shows

At Sweet Tooth we are entering THE retail season of the year....it's called 4th quarter.  Along with all the new merchandise, we are planning lots of events at our store, including what we call TRUNK SHOWS.
My one and only daughter thought folks might be interested in hearing about what sort of planning goes into a Trunk Show....so here goes.
No, a Trunk Show does not involve cars or lockers or big trunks.  But once upon a time, trunk shows often did involve salesmen carting around trunks, opening them up for customers to pick through and find what they wanted.  And in England I read that people pay a fee to get into an event where they do open their car trunks and sell whatever they have brought.  It's like our flea markets, in a way.
At Sweet Tooth, a Trunk Show involves planning to bring in merchandise that we might not ordinarily carry in our store, making it available for a few days so that customers can see a greater range of items in a particular line.  In our case, it is usually a Jewelry Trunk Show, but we have shown other merchandise lines.
We invite a representative from the company to be on hand, to talk to customers, answer questions, take special orders and generally represent the merchandise line. 
And of course at our Trunk Shows, we MUST have yummy treats, sometimes even a glass of wine, occasionally a special order from our Sweet Shop Truffle company to "fuel" our customers who attend the Trunk Show.
We always have special offers, a gift with purchase, a drawing for an item from the gift line.  Sometimes we have a Preview Day so that current customers of that line get a chance to see the Trunk Show first..
How early do we need to start planning?  Most of the time we begin 6 months or so out from the date of the Trunk Show.  Ordering the merchandise, designing, ordering and mailing the invitations, taking ads in monthly magazines, putting a "crawl" line on our television ad, getting refreshments and so on take lots of extra time.
In addition, retailers are always several seasons ahead of their customers.  We began ordering Christmas and Chanukah candy and gifts in January.  Very soon we will order Valentine and Easter/Passover.  Why so early?  Manufacturers need those orders so that they can produce and ship to their distributors and those distributors can ship to us retailers.
So if we greet you with a "Happy Valentine's Day" just know that we are already beginning our planning for spring 2013.
And if you see Sweet Tooth is having a Trunk Show, we hope you will attend.  No special invitations are ever needed and we promise there is no arm twisting to purchase.  You simply have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Trunk Show line, our sales representative and our staff.  And YOU might just be the one who wins the drawing for a wonderful free gift!!
Mark your calendar:  Elly Preston Jewelry Trunk Show on Saturday September 29!!