Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Story of Duck with a Hat

When we purchased Sweet Tooth September 1, 1992 we didn't know one thing about managing a gift and candy store.  In fact, I had never had a retail job...babysitting was my talent in high school.
Therefore as we moved from holiday to holiday to everyday ordering, we generally followed what the previous owner had done or what our sales reps advised us to do.  We did tweak things a bit but not much the first year.
When it came to Easter, that same approach applied.  That would have been Easter, 1993...20 Easters ago.  That year, among other chocolate items, we had what we affectionately called "The Duck with the Hat."  He was and still is a gold foil covered chocolate duck, with what appears to be a blue-ish hat on his head.  I immediately loved that chocolate duck and he became my favorite Easter item.
Year after year, Duck with a Hat appeared in our order and was always the first Easter candy to sell out...well, that is until a few years ago when Duck with a Hat slowed down and occasionally some ducks were still on the shelf after Easter.
Duck with a Hat resembles the sort of duck you would find as a illustration in a children's book.  He has that old-world look about him.  As years come and go, candy manufacturers attempt to keep up with trendy looking chocolates and many of our chocolate rabbits have a more modern design about them.
European designs are not as popular or familliar to most of our customers.  For example, for several years we attempted to sell the Perugina large chocolate egg filled with small toys...a popular item in Italy.  Our customers simply didn't get the idea or perhaps didn't want to pay a few extra dollars to have a chocolate egg different from the standard American Easter candies.
So it is with Duck with a Hat.  He may just be too old-fashioned in a world of Sponge Bob, Dora the Explorer, Hello Kitty, etc. Many of those characters have been re-designed  with tatoos and mustaches.
Nonetheless, I still love Duck with a Hat and this year I am hoping that more of our customers will see the value in a good chocolate with a nostalgic flair about him.  I am hoping he flies off the shelf and ends up in lots of Easter basket.  Join me in cheering on my old chocolate friend, Duck with a Hat.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Sunset on Valentine's Day

The sun is setting on Valentine's Day.  Overall, it appears to have been a Valentine's Day like most have been for us in recent years.
Many of my earlier observations have been authenticated and I feel good about that.
I did overhear a few conversations that I have to put in this blog.
One of our favorite customers commented that coming to Sweet Tooth is "like therapy".  He often tells us that we should charge him just for entering the store!!  You can imagine that we like this customer very much.
The women standing behind him when he made that observation quickly agreed.  What a special moment that was for all of us....to know that people feel better after shopping at Sweet Tooth.
It is a goal of ours to be a home away from home for our customers.  We like people to think of our store as a happy place and one like the television show "Cheers".....where everybody knows your name.
Another customer commented that she really liked our choice of music playing in the store.
On the surface that may not sound like a big deal, but in fact, it really is.  We spend a cosiderable amount of time choosing the music to play, what I called "Shopping Music".  Have I written about that before?
It is the sort of music which is familiar to most people, upbeat, tuneful, a song or two that inspires you to hum along.  Jeff has a rather large collection of C.D.s and even some cassettes!!  He and I discuss what to put on if the music is new to the store.  Jeff also creates tracks which are seasonal, not just Christmas music but Valentine's. Spring, Summer and so on.
To hear that a customer recognizes the effort we put into the music playing in our store is an affirmation that we are looking after what some might call the little things.
So as we come to the close of our Valentine's season and tomorrow put our Valentine candy on at half price, we will see if my other observation......that no matter what, people just don't always want to buy 1/2 price candy......comes true.

Monday, February 11, 2013

We're Not Just a Hershey Bar!

This past week we had a mother and her 3 younger children come shopping in our store.  We had a good time observing the kids who were walking around the candy section checking out all the candy we had.
The mom had apparently said each could spend a certain amount of money and when that happens, it is truly amazing how much time and thinking a kid puts in to not waste their "allowance"on just any ole thing.
These 3 kids were searching for the sorts of candy they were familiar with:  Hershey bars, Snickers and so on. 
Sweet Tooth just doesn't carry those brands of candy.  We gently explained to them that Sweet Tooth attempts to offer all sorts of candy which cannot be found in drugstores and groceries.
All of that presented a problem for these kids and was just exactly what the mom wanted to see happen.  It was her intention to bring her children to a store which wasn't part of the mainstream, didn't carry the "ordinary" chocolates and candies.  In her world she wanted to broaden the awareness and the taste of what we at Sweet Tooth think of as "specialty candy and chocolates".
It was actually fullfilling to hear a customer comment that our store was different...that we had items not always available elsewhere, and that the "allowance" given to her children should be spent in a new world of confections.
Toeing the delicate line between very special candy and the perceived value of these confections is a tricky challenge.  The media is full of warnings about unhealthy eating, about calories and weight.  There is, of course, a great need for this information.  Who has time to read all the labels and count calories and carbs?  Those who make it a part of their shopping experience are fewer in number than those whose time is spent otherwise.
As a retailer, we want to adhere to many of the healthy guidelines while at the same time offering a special treat in our candy section for "just the right price and value".
It actually takes a lot of time, research and effort to make that happen.  We attempt to know what candy might be gluten free (not too much yet), what will happen if someone eats a candy which has been manufactured in a factory where nuts are used (peanut allergies being very prevalent), how many carbs are in a Sugar Free chocolate for those who can't or don't want to eat sugar.
Not many people who work in groceries or drug stores can answer those questions for their customers.  Being able to do that is what small specialty retailers like Sweet Tooth call "customer service".  We are aware of the available information and want to provide it for our customers.  Many times we hear from a new staff member that they never realized how much there is to know about candy or how many questions we will get from customers.
In the world of Sweet Tooth, we are both sweet and serious about the work we do. 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Valentine's Day Observations: Part 2

We are 9 days away from Valentine's Day.  I have been speaking to a few other retailers about the observations they have concerning buying habits for this holiday.  So far we all agree on the ones I posted last time.
So what other observations can I provide?
Observation OneA:  No matter what, chocolate is always high up on the list of gifts for Valentine's Day.  Someone could be giving jewelry (a typical V Day gift) or clothes or hopefully not a vacuum cleaner, but just like Christmas, most folks want to add some truffles or other chocolates to the gift.
Observation TwoA:  I remember when people used to wear Green on St. Patrick's Day and Red or Valentine's Day.  I'm not so sure that coordinating colors with the holiday is as typical as it was years ago.  The color Red is firmly associated with Heart Health for Women and Pink for Breast Cancer.  We need to go around to apparel stores and see if the clothes departments are full of red.
Observation ThreeA:  Jeff is bound to get out all his Valentine's Day ties to wear at the store.  Think about it!!  What accessory do men have to coordinate with holidays?  Ties, of course and Jeff has a few very clever ones.  On the other hand, I may be found wearing my Betty Boop jewelry because there is no other icon for Valentine's Day which equals America's Sweetheart, Betty Boop.
Observation FourA:  I have absolutely no research or data to back up this observation, but I just bet that lots of couples get engaged on Valentine's Day.  We have often been asked to hide an engagement ring in a box of chocolates or a bag of Valentine's candy.  Or I've heard of putting the ring in a cocktail....how many have almost choked on that ring?  This is the stuff that Trivia games are made for.
Observation FiveA:  This observation is true for every holiday.....no one wants to buy Valentine's Day candy at half-price on February 15.  Come on, peeps.  It is chocolate and at half-price who cares if it says "Be Mine"???
Since Observation Five A is the truest of the true, all the Sweet Tooth staff are hoping to be Sold Out of Valentine candy on February 14.  Don't wait too long to shop for your sweeties...what we have now is all we will have for Valentine's Day.