Monday, December 31, 2012

These Little Piggies Went to the Gift Market

Well, we really aren't little piggies, but we are planning to go to the Gift Market in Dallas in January.
It occurs to me that some people don't really know what the Gift Market is.  So here goes.....
We purchased Sweet Tooth September 1, 1992.  Somehow we found out that there was a Gift Market in Dallas and it was open for a few days in September.
Off we went with no clue whatsoever as to what we would see or what we could do. And we have been attending the Dallas Gift Market 3-4 times a year for 20 years.
The Dallas Gift Market is equivalent to the biggest shopping mall you have ever been to.  The Trade Mart is now 4 stories and the World Trade Center is 14 stories, full of showrooms and booths of vendors selling to retailers.
In addition, there is a building called Market Hall where the famous Cash and Carry vendors sell.
In the Trade Mart and World Trade Center we visit approximately 10 floors of showrooms.  Some showrooms represent one vendor only, but most have dozens of vendors with their wares displayed.  Our job is to visit all these showrooms, talk to the sales reps there, decide if we want to place an order....how much of an order....and when we want it to ship to our store.
The January Gift Market will have merchandise for the entire year.  In fact, we have already ordered some merchandise for Christmas 2013.
Each vendor establishes a minimum order for their merchandise.  It can be as little as $100 (wholesale) or much higher.  Sometimes vendors offer "specials".  For example, order $500.00 of merchandise and receive free freight or a Net 60 payment plan.  There are often a variety of ways to entice retailers to try out a new vendor.
Get out your credit card!!  These days many vendors want retailers to pay for the merchandise with a credit card.  Going out of style is the vendor who grants a retailer a Net30 account...30 days from shipment to pay for the order.
Going out of style also is actually attending the Gift Market.  The internet has changed the way retailers do business...both on the front end, where we order and on the back end where consumers order. 
It is expensive to attend the Market...travel, hotel, food and of course, the amount of merchandise we buy.  We remain the retailer who wants to touch and see the merchandise before we buy it, talk to the vendors to get information on the line so that we can answer our customers' questions.
Next blog:  Preparing for the Market.  Stay tuned.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

What Happens to Retail After Christmas?

We have entered the waning days of 2012.  You might like to know what we do in this transitional period between Christmas and Valentine's Day.
First, we have the After Christmas Sale.  It is the time that we take a serious look at all of the merchandise and candy we have been carrying in our store.  We have to say good bye to some of the lines we have ordered but for whatever reason, just didn't go over with our customers.
I have written about the "long good bye" retailers who cherish certain gift lines must go through.  When we put the 50% signs up on our shelves and displays, we always get the question from several customers:  "Are you going out of business???"
So let's put a stop to that rumor.  All retailers put merchandise on sale at this time of the year.  All retailers bring in new merchandise in January.  All retailers look forward to seeing their stores through fresh eyes.  No, we aren't going out of business.  We are in the business of retail!!
Another curious thing is that no one wants to buy candy at half-price. What that means is that up until the holiday, candy is full price.  After the holiday, the same candy is half price.  It is always interesting to see customers reaction to half-price candy.  It is the same candy as yesterday but it no longer appeals to the customer.  Want a chocolate bar?  Why not buy it at half-price?
How about those customers who rush in close to Christmas and tell us that what they ordered on line (1) didn't come (2) came but was damaged (3) came but was disappointing.....etc. and now they are frantically shopping locally to find a gift for people on their list?  I have discussed the principle of Shopping Locally.  There is nothing more to be said about that.
What about the customers who ask you before Christmas if something in your store will be on sale after Christmas?  I have to admit that I occasionally chuckle when I hear that question.  The answer is simple:  if it is still in our store after Christmas and if it is a Christmas item, for sure it will be on sale.  Take your chances that it will be here when you come in on December 27.
Soon we are off to the Gift Market, to search for all those treasures that we hope will be sold out on December 24, 2013.  It is fun and exciting, but it is definitely work.  There is no crystal ball in retail.  We take our chances.  And we recommend to our customers that if you see something you want, buy it when you see it.  It may not be there when you return to the store.
Happy New Year.  Our doors are open and we hope to see you often in 2013!!

Saturday, December 15, 2012

The History of the Candy Cane

What makes a Candy Cane a Candy Cane?
Why is a Candy Cane different from a peppermint stick candy?
There is a sketchy history of the Candy Cane which I recently saw on AOL.  Here goes...
The Candy Cane did not enter into the history of the world until 1670 when the Choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany asked a local candy maker to prepare "sweet sticks" to keep the noisy children busy and quiet at the Christmas Eve service.
In order to allow children to eat candy at the service, the Choirmaster asked the candy maker to put on "hook" on the candy stick to remind the children of the shepherds who tended to the baby Jesus.
The popularity of the Candy Cane spread across Europe and became a treat passed out at Nativity plays.
The Candy Cane made its way to America, so the story goes, when a German immigrant in Wooster, Ohio decorated his Christmas Tree with Candy Canes.
No one really knows how the Candy Cane got its stripes.  Initially it was a white stick, but sometime in the early 1900's the Candy Cane became red and white.
For a number of years at Sweet Tooth we have ordered Candy Canes in a variety of colors and flavors.  Nonetheless, the peppermint flavor is still the favorite of our customers, followed by the red and white cherry flavor.
That, friends, is the history of the Candy Cane.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Shop Smart!!

This time of the year people who carry credit cards use them for most all their purchases.  As a retailer, I have swiped thousands of credit cards, so I consider myself a "person of experience".
What I see a great deal is customers with unsigned credit cards.  This has always bothered me because I think that if someone steals that card, signs the card carrier's name on the back, most of the time no one will bother to question whether the one using the card is the one who owns the card.
I am relieved to tell you that I am not alone in thinking this.  One of my favorite magazines, ShopSmart which is associated with Consumer Reports has confirmed my concerns.
Over my Raisin Brand this morning I read an answer to the question:  "Should I sign my credit card?"
The answer is this:  Credit Card companies tell retailers to reject a credit card if it is not signed.
And for the owner of the credit card, if your card is signed and then used by someone else, you will have zero or $50 liability for fraud, as long as you contact your credit card company in a reasonable amount of time.
In other words, signing your card ratifies the cardholder agreement and puts that protection in force for you.
What about putting "See I.D." on the back of the card?  I frankly don't understand why anyone would do that instead of signing their name.  Most of the time when I follow the customer's instruction and ask for an I.D., the customer tells me that I am one of the few retailers who ever ask for that information.  Therefore, "See I.D." isn't really providing any protection for the customer.
ShopSmart recommends carefully checking your credit card statement every month or online.  You can also sign up for email alerts to monitor your transactions.
I love that magazine!!  It gets to the point.  Systems only work when we use them properly and when everyone participates in the system.
So get out your big black marker and sign the back of all your credit cards right now.  Don't leave your financial security to others. 
End of sermon.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Christmas Ornaments? Where did they come from?


Have you ever wondered where the idea of hanging a decoration on a tree came from?  I did, so I performed a little research and found out that the idea of adorning a fir tree with glass decorations was started in the dark ages in northern Bohemia.  This idea was adopted by early Christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus and what we call a "Christmas ornament" was born.
For centuries the Germans dominated the production of ornaments, mostly blown glass ornaments, a process they learned from Venetian traders .  Families would also decorate trees with candles, food items, nuts and other sweets.  Sometimes small toys were placed in trees.
This brings me to the question of how to judge the weight and size of an ornament and whether it is going to fit well on a tree.  We often get this question at our store, which is why our selection of tree ornaments tends toward the smaller, lighter weight ornament.
It wasn't until after World War I that British and American companies began making tree ornaments.  And certainly the technology which produced plastic added all sorts of possibilities to the Christmas ornament design.
So many other products have been manufactured with the Christmas ornament in mind.  There are the specialty storage boxes, the ornament hanger, bubble wrap and tissue paper to keep our ornaments from breaking and the narrow ribbon to tie the ornament to the tree's branch.
And of course there is the whole area of who collects what sort of ornament?  Is it a Santa Claus ornament collector?  a Snowman ornament collecter?  an ornament with the year's date collector?  a Coca Cola ornament collector?  a Disney ornament collector?  a Hallmark ornament collector?  There is no end to the catagories of collectors.
The concept of ornaments on trees from the dark ages has certainly "illuminated" our contemporary Christmas shopping experience and the beauty that a wonderfully decorated tree adds to a home.  As families open ornament boxes and begin decorating their tree, I can imagine that they tell stories about each ornament, they live their family history over again and it makes the decorating of the tree an experience of memory and fun.
The birth of the ornament in the 1500's lives on today.  This year at Sweet Tooth we have a new group of ornaments called Bead It.  With a snowman or Santa head, you can add the hats, the bodies, the little spacer beads with sayings like "Grandma" and make your own personal ornament.  I'd like to think that the one you make and give will provide annual comments, laughter and wonderful memories to the Christmas holiday experience.