Take Me Back To Tulsa!!

Counting down to our trip to the Dallas Market causes us to reflect on the past 20 years of our attendance there.  In the 60 plus times we have made that trip to Dallas, we have bought hundreds of gift and candy lines.  The other day we were discussing what our Top 5 Finds have been. Here they are.
Sabrina's favorite Find was the Farkel dice game.  For a number of years we carried that game in our store.  One year the University of Tulsa had a big Farkel tournament on campus.  Farkel is a really fun game and although we don't currently carry it, Farkel could make a Come Back some day.
Our surprise Find at the Gift Market was the Peppermint Pig.  I had been searching for that candy item, having read about it in a trade magazine.  I never expected to walk down the Gourmet Food Market aisle and find the owners of that company. We had so much fun with the Peppermint Pig, one of the few American companies which hand makes their candy in copper pots.  One year they also made a chocolate Titanic ship, complete with the rock candy glacier which sunk that ship.  It was Terri Bowers favorite gift from Sweet Tooth that year.
Number 3 great Find has to be our ongoing relationship with Barry Horn, owner of Hobbs and Dobbs, a candy distributor located in Beverly Hills.  Twice a year we look forward to seeing Barry because he always has the latest, the greatest and the most fun candy.  We hug and talk and order from his showroom....he is so honest and never lets us buy anything which he doesn't put his personal guarantee on.  These days we bring Barry an authentic Oklahoma T-Shirt, his clothing choice.  Barry's favorite t-shirt is the one we brought him which says I SPEAK OKIE.
Number 4 and Number 5 Top Finds have to be 2 of our all time best selling gift lines.  The first is the North American Bear line of Muffy bears.  No longer on the Market in the same format, Muffy and her friends and family allowed us to have a line of plush which could be dressed, which had accessories and had a wonderful story line.  We even rented the Full Size Muffy Bear Costume and held Muffy parties in our store.  Ask Sabrina...she was usually the one in the Muffy Costume.
Finally there was a great fun company called Our Name Is Mud.  The ceramic mugs and plates from that company were a big hit...clever, witty and funny sayings on the ceramics which made the best gifts for just about everyone.  Purchased by a larger manufacturer, Our Name is Mud lost its uniqueness and we had to give it up.  What a shame!
Let me add one other Great Find.  That was all the years we were known as the Mary Engelbreit store.  Cherries, flat flowers, wonderful quotes and bright cheerful colors, Mary Engelbreit's creations were our longest running line of gifts and cards and books.
So...we are looking forward to the next Great Finds at the Dallas Market.  We never can tell what will jump out at us and say TAKE ME BACK TO TULSA!!

Stayin Alive in Retail!!

What's next on our Going to the Market schedule?  It is taking inventory.
At Sweet Tooth we have some of the best inventory takers.  Everything is done by hand or in these days, photos on cell phones.
By the time we leave for the Gift Market, we generally know which gift and candy lines are not going to make it in 2013.  And our mailbox is flooded with promotional material from all sorts of companies.  In addition, emails are flying, attempting to get us interested in visiting all the showrooms at the Gift Market to see new products.  (Footnote:  it is pretty ridiculous how many promotional post cards we receive AFTER we return from the Market.  Some companies just can't get their act together!)
Our Going to Market file folder is full of possibilities.  Don't you just love life when it is full of possibilities?  Hope is on the horizon, hope that we find the newest, the trendiest, the coolest, the best priced....on and on.
Without inventories of what we have in the store, we might just order items we already have in stock.  We aren't perfect!  So it is worth while to get our ducks in a row.  Jeff especially likes to take pictures of displays in the store, so when we are in the Dallas Market we can see what is actually on the shelves in the store.
We have a Staff Meeting before going to Market so that we can talk about our approach to looking for new lines.  It is sort of like those Survivor television shows:  we discuss and then we vote gift lines or candy OUT of the store.  If a line can't survive 7 or 8 Sweet Tooth staffers, then we apply our version of Darwin's Survival of the Fittest.
Just so you know, there is a great deal of laughter and fun while taking inventory, while walking miles and miles on tile floors at the Gift Market and sharing some lunches and dinners in Dallas. Retail:  we are going where we have never been before or have we? Let's check the inventory and the photos!!

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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.