Here's what I am thinking about. 49 days until Christmas. 49 days to get everything done that a retailer wants to get done during the 4th quarter.
Why, you ask? Because the 4th quarter in retail either makes or breaks the year. So much of what happens in the next 49 days is due to the consumer's interest in what we have, to the choices we make for publicity and marketing, to the possibility that we are missing some critical trendy item, to the overall confidence in the economy......in other words, it is a partnership between the retailer, the consumer and the economy.
If I had to pick out the "trendy item" I would point to the Dr. Who ornaments, mugs, watches and scarves we have this year. And I really know nothing much about Dr. Who except what my daughter tells me.
If I had to pick out the best marketing and publicity for the store, I'd have to say the great relationship we have with the people at Tulsa People magazine. Our latest "My Happy Place" ads which have featured Connie Cronley, Eric Himan, Teresa Miller, and for our December pin up, Karl Krause as Scrooge have really taken off. The staff at Tulsa People have given us such great feedback and turned our ads into glorious color and fun.
Picking out what the consumer's interest will be is a lot harder. Each year we have some definite repeats, particularly in the Candy Section of the store. But if a manufacturer decides not to produce last year's best seller, we are really out on a limb about that. What sells big in our store may not be the best seller nationally. And just to let you know, sometimes the candy biz has trouble recruiting candy makers. Candy manufacturing, although industrialized, is still a hands on business and less people these days are into being craft people. As we always tell our customers, seasonal candy and gifts are just that: SEASONAL and no one down the line in the retail business wants to be left with seasonal stuff.
As for the economy, it is locally an election year and believe me, that effects people's buying patterns. In addition, what is going on nationally eventually finds its way to Tulsa.
Stay tuned for the On The Spot Reporter...ME...to find out what happens during the next 49 days.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
5,000: a magical number
What is the magic number of readers of a blog? According to the stats on this blog, we have passed 5,000 page views.
For me, that is pretty exciting. There must be some people who write blogs who feel like I do.....is what we have to say worth someone's time to read the blog?
Now please be careful if you want to reply to that question. Be gentle and realize that writing this blog must be like news anchors who sit facing a camera and never see an audience. That is kind of a weird feeling.
Years ago I was part of a small panel being filmed for a television program. The interviewer was there and I think 3 of us were set to talk about theatre in San Diego.
Somewhere in the middle of the program, with absolutely no audience in the room with us, I had a brief moment of panic and seemed to be transported out of my body. I began watching myself and my fellow panelists....it felt like the Twilight Zone.
When I sit down to write this little blog, I attempt to imagine that I am talking to a friend, someone who is truly interested in what I have to say about our store, our merchandise, our choices, etc. I've yet to give a name to that imaginary friend, but I feel that he or she has sensitive eyes and a look of concentration.
Because I love musical theatre, all of a sudden I am thinking about the central question in the musical RENT. "How do you measure a year in the life...........How about love?"
I have learned to love writing this little blog and it is my hope that those who read it find something of interest, something which increases the information they have about what it is like to be a small retailer in 2013.
How do I measure that? Not only by numbers, but by what effort I put into the doing of it.
For me, that is pretty exciting. There must be some people who write blogs who feel like I do.....is what we have to say worth someone's time to read the blog?
Now please be careful if you want to reply to that question. Be gentle and realize that writing this blog must be like news anchors who sit facing a camera and never see an audience. That is kind of a weird feeling.
Years ago I was part of a small panel being filmed for a television program. The interviewer was there and I think 3 of us were set to talk about theatre in San Diego.
Somewhere in the middle of the program, with absolutely no audience in the room with us, I had a brief moment of panic and seemed to be transported out of my body. I began watching myself and my fellow panelists....it felt like the Twilight Zone.
When I sit down to write this little blog, I attempt to imagine that I am talking to a friend, someone who is truly interested in what I have to say about our store, our merchandise, our choices, etc. I've yet to give a name to that imaginary friend, but I feel that he or she has sensitive eyes and a look of concentration.
Because I love musical theatre, all of a sudden I am thinking about the central question in the musical RENT. "How do you measure a year in the life...........How about love?"
I have learned to love writing this little blog and it is my hope that those who read it find something of interest, something which increases the information they have about what it is like to be a small retailer in 2013.
How do I measure that? Not only by numbers, but by what effort I put into the doing of it.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Go Fly a Kite!!
The visit of author Kaled Hosseini sponsored by the Oklahoma Poets and Writers headed up by Teresa Miller inspired a bit of creativity at Sweet Tooth.
I suggested that everyone who works at Sweet Tooth take a kite which we purchased and decorate it. We planned on hanging our kites up by the door....oh, I don't know......just for the fun of it.
In years past we have dreamed up some similiar projects, which have had absolutely nothing to do with what we sell here at Sweet Tooth. One year we took brooms and created "people" out of them. Then we put them in the front window to greet our customers.
The kite decorating proved to be a challenge. Jeff's kite, in particular, with its Superman theme and at least 1.15 pounds of candy glued to the Superman emblem was the most messy and the most time consuming project!. Sarah's kite proves that left over cupcake cups can be turned into objects of beauty and art.
Doris' love of owls inspired her to make her own owls out of felt and someone out there in Facebook land asked if she could buy Doris' kite!
Jesse and Janet journeyed down the Road of Bling.....both of them distracted by shiny objects.
Alyssa had been wanting to take multi-colored cord and turn her kite into a tribute to LOVE....
And guess who discovered that she has crafting abilities?? Lisa, whose kite is a souvenir from her recent trip to Northern California. And just to prove Lisa down deep was ready to decorate a kite, Lisa had saved all sorts of tickets, maps, a cup, and more from her trip. Better than a scrapbook page.
Any day now we are expecting Sabrina to turn up with a Girl Scout kite....or maybe one illustrating musical theatre.
Each time a kite appeared at the store the staff oohed and awed over each other's work. We laughed, we questioned, we smiled really big smiles and after all was done, the kite decorating project which seemed so difficult at first turned out to provide moments of fun and comradery.
Flying Kites at Sweet Tooth ... I said it had nothing to do with what we sell at the store, but it had everything to do with our being a TEAM and really liking each other. I think that translates into a store which is most often a great place to spend some time.
I suggested that everyone who works at Sweet Tooth take a kite which we purchased and decorate it. We planned on hanging our kites up by the door....oh, I don't know......just for the fun of it.
In years past we have dreamed up some similiar projects, which have had absolutely nothing to do with what we sell here at Sweet Tooth. One year we took brooms and created "people" out of them. Then we put them in the front window to greet our customers.
The kite decorating proved to be a challenge. Jeff's kite, in particular, with its Superman theme and at least 1.15 pounds of candy glued to the Superman emblem was the most messy and the most time consuming project!. Sarah's kite proves that left over cupcake cups can be turned into objects of beauty and art.
Doris' love of owls inspired her to make her own owls out of felt and someone out there in Facebook land asked if she could buy Doris' kite!
Jesse and Janet journeyed down the Road of Bling.....both of them distracted by shiny objects.
Alyssa had been wanting to take multi-colored cord and turn her kite into a tribute to LOVE....
And guess who discovered that she has crafting abilities?? Lisa, whose kite is a souvenir from her recent trip to Northern California. And just to prove Lisa down deep was ready to decorate a kite, Lisa had saved all sorts of tickets, maps, a cup, and more from her trip. Better than a scrapbook page.
Any day now we are expecting Sabrina to turn up with a Girl Scout kite....or maybe one illustrating musical theatre.
Each time a kite appeared at the store the staff oohed and awed over each other's work. We laughed, we questioned, we smiled really big smiles and after all was done, the kite decorating project which seemed so difficult at first turned out to provide moments of fun and comradery.
Flying Kites at Sweet Tooth ... I said it had nothing to do with what we sell at the store, but it had everything to do with our being a TEAM and really liking each other. I think that translates into a store which is most often a great place to spend some time.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Trunk Shows Are Not For Elephants
Trunk Shows are growing in popularity. In the Tulsa World today I saw several local stores having shows of jewelry and apparel. Other retailers were supporting Breast Cancer Month. And towards the end of October the Care Card will return to Tulsa.
Our experience with Trunk Shows has generally been a good one and we are enthusiastic about sponsoring them at Sweet Tooth.
Many have the same policies. Order a minimum of merchandise (most often it is several thousand dollars), advertise like crazy (sometimes the company will help with funds for that), keep track of your sales, sign people up to win prizes sometimes offered by the company, sometimes subvented by our own funds.
Cross fingers and hope that you get a large group of people who not only attend, but make purchases.
From the consumers' point of view, the Trunk Show is a win-win. The store brings in merchandise which isn't always carried on an everyday basis. This way the consumer can check out the particular piece, handle it, compare it to other pieces and decide to buy or not to buy.
Why order online when you can pick the pieces you can see and handle? Sometimes ordering online is a catch-as-catch-can experience. And what if the item you ordered doesn't meet your expectations? You have to return it, wait for a refund, etc.
In addition, consumers are rewarded most of the time for attending the Trunk Show: gifts with purchase or an opportunity to sign up for a drawing of free merchandise, occasionally discounts. When purchasing, stores usually gift wrap or provide a nice bag or box for the item.
Many times consumers get to meet with the Sales Representative from the company. They can ask questions, get insider information and really walk away feeling that they know more about the product and the store and the manufacturer really does care about their customers.
So....we are off and running, planning at least 3 jewelry Trunk Shows from now til December, as well as a Holiday Party and perhaps some last minute promotions.
Buyer Beware: Seasonal candy, Seasonal Gift Items are exactly that.....they are SEASONAL and most of the time cannot be re-ordered. So if you pass on the opportunity to purchase early, there may be no coming back closer to the holiday date and finding the choice of exactly what you want.
Our experience with Trunk Shows has generally been a good one and we are enthusiastic about sponsoring them at Sweet Tooth.
Many have the same policies. Order a minimum of merchandise (most often it is several thousand dollars), advertise like crazy (sometimes the company will help with funds for that), keep track of your sales, sign people up to win prizes sometimes offered by the company, sometimes subvented by our own funds.
Cross fingers and hope that you get a large group of people who not only attend, but make purchases.
From the consumers' point of view, the Trunk Show is a win-win. The store brings in merchandise which isn't always carried on an everyday basis. This way the consumer can check out the particular piece, handle it, compare it to other pieces and decide to buy or not to buy.
Why order online when you can pick the pieces you can see and handle? Sometimes ordering online is a catch-as-catch-can experience. And what if the item you ordered doesn't meet your expectations? You have to return it, wait for a refund, etc.
In addition, consumers are rewarded most of the time for attending the Trunk Show: gifts with purchase or an opportunity to sign up for a drawing of free merchandise, occasionally discounts. When purchasing, stores usually gift wrap or provide a nice bag or box for the item.
Many times consumers get to meet with the Sales Representative from the company. They can ask questions, get insider information and really walk away feeling that they know more about the product and the store and the manufacturer really does care about their customers.
So....we are off and running, planning at least 3 jewelry Trunk Shows from now til December, as well as a Holiday Party and perhaps some last minute promotions.
Buyer Beware: Seasonal candy, Seasonal Gift Items are exactly that.....they are SEASONAL and most of the time cannot be re-ordered. So if you pass on the opportunity to purchase early, there may be no coming back closer to the holiday date and finding the choice of exactly what you want.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Remember Those Beanie Baby Days?
We have been owners of Sweet Tooth for over 20 years. During that time we have seen fads and trends come and go.
One of the biggest and most exciting products available during this time was BEANIE BABIES.
I have no doubt that most of you remember those Beanie Baby years. Remember the mad rush to get the latest Beanie Baby? Remember people fighting over certain Beanie Babies in stores and even at Woodland Hills there were times when stores selling Beanie Babies had to shut their doors and just let a few people in a a time?
I remember telling the florist in The Farm that she had one of the greatest selling items in her front window and she didn't even know it. As a florist she would purchase inexpensive plush to attach to a floral display. Beanie Babies in those days were wholesale priced at $2.50. That's why it was incredible when people would pay $150.00 for a Beanie Baby and remark that some day they would go on Ebay and finance their children's education by selling off their plush collection.
Ah, if only retailers could experience more exciting times like those.
Well today I received an email newsletter and the top story was about Ty Warner, the CEO of Ty, Inc. designer and distributor of Beanie Babies.
Currently Mr. Warner has been found guilty of federal tax evasion, to the tune of $53.6 million . It seems Mr. Warner had secret off-shore accounts for which he did not report income and now owes a bundle of back taxes on those accounts.
In fact, this has been going on since 1996 and those found guilty of federal tax evasion usually go to prison for a 5 year term and owe a fine of $250,000.00.
Wow! This is certainly one of the biggest, most explosive stories in retail history.
And in case you weren't aware of it, Beanie Babies are still around and you can find them in some local stores. We occasionally get a question about whether we are carrying them. Truthfully, I am glad we got out of that line.
I can't help but wonder what Mr. Warner will do if he ends up in prison. Maybe bring along a few special Beanie Babies to keep him company??
One of the biggest and most exciting products available during this time was BEANIE BABIES.
I have no doubt that most of you remember those Beanie Baby years. Remember the mad rush to get the latest Beanie Baby? Remember people fighting over certain Beanie Babies in stores and even at Woodland Hills there were times when stores selling Beanie Babies had to shut their doors and just let a few people in a a time?
I remember telling the florist in The Farm that she had one of the greatest selling items in her front window and she didn't even know it. As a florist she would purchase inexpensive plush to attach to a floral display. Beanie Babies in those days were wholesale priced at $2.50. That's why it was incredible when people would pay $150.00 for a Beanie Baby and remark that some day they would go on Ebay and finance their children's education by selling off their plush collection.
Ah, if only retailers could experience more exciting times like those.
Well today I received an email newsletter and the top story was about Ty Warner, the CEO of Ty, Inc. designer and distributor of Beanie Babies.
Currently Mr. Warner has been found guilty of federal tax evasion, to the tune of $53.6 million . It seems Mr. Warner had secret off-shore accounts for which he did not report income and now owes a bundle of back taxes on those accounts.
In fact, this has been going on since 1996 and those found guilty of federal tax evasion usually go to prison for a 5 year term and owe a fine of $250,000.00.
Wow! This is certainly one of the biggest, most explosive stories in retail history.
And in case you weren't aware of it, Beanie Babies are still around and you can find them in some local stores. We occasionally get a question about whether we are carrying them. Truthfully, I am glad we got out of that line.
I can't help but wonder what Mr. Warner will do if he ends up in prison. Maybe bring along a few special Beanie Babies to keep him company??
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Event Planning: Just Another Day at Sweet Tooth
For a few weeks now we have been planning an event in our store. The event is centered on the release of a new Mary Engelbreit sponsored cookbook: 120 Fantastic Desserts and will take place on Saturday, September 21. 3 Tulsa cooks have recipes in the book and Oklahoma is well represented with people whose recipes are published.
A few years ago Mary Engelbreit sponsored another cookbook and 2 Tulsans were featured then. We had a tasting of their recipes and a cookbook signing event in the store. It was a lot of fun and well worth the effort to show off some of the special people who live in our city.
Event planning is just one other aspect of retail merchandising. More and more, events in stores are becoming the norm and a way to introduce potential customers to what a store has to offer.
It takes a lot of time and effort, though, and we never know what the outcome will be.
This time we sent out press releases about the cookbook and the event. Both KOTV and KTUL responded as did Scott Cherry and Jason Ashley Wright from the Tulsa World and Judy Allen from Tulsa People magazine. Wow!! we were totally excited about the enthusiasm they all showed for our event and for the 3 Tulsa cooks.
So Jeff went on KOTV morning program with Anna Marie Penix, one of the cooks, to talk about her recipe and our event. To prepare I baked her carrot cake and Amy Dodson brought us a plate of her Pinwheel Cookies.
Lee Ann Taylor at KOTV was a wonderful interviewer, asked all the right questions, gave all the right information and even ate a piece of the carrot cake during the break! I imagine the Pinwheel Cookies and the carrot cake didn't last too long after the show was over.
What did I have to do with all of this? Well, I am now becoming an expert in baking Mimi's Carrot Cake, Baked Fudge from Denise Rounds and being a real cheer leader for the whole thing. For each appearance we are bringing a cake and some cookies. Jeff has practically memorized the recipes and has picked out just the right jacket, shirt and tie to go with his appearance.
Our friend Eric Himan who is a good cook and has made numerous appearances on local television demonstrating recipes is going on KTUL Thursday morning with Jeff to tell the television audience how to make the cake.
That's a lot of preparation and work on everyone's part!!
But you know what? Doing all this is a heck of a lot of fun!!
A few years ago Mary Engelbreit sponsored another cookbook and 2 Tulsans were featured then. We had a tasting of their recipes and a cookbook signing event in the store. It was a lot of fun and well worth the effort to show off some of the special people who live in our city.
Event planning is just one other aspect of retail merchandising. More and more, events in stores are becoming the norm and a way to introduce potential customers to what a store has to offer.
It takes a lot of time and effort, though, and we never know what the outcome will be.
This time we sent out press releases about the cookbook and the event. Both KOTV and KTUL responded as did Scott Cherry and Jason Ashley Wright from the Tulsa World and Judy Allen from Tulsa People magazine. Wow!! we were totally excited about the enthusiasm they all showed for our event and for the 3 Tulsa cooks.
So Jeff went on KOTV morning program with Anna Marie Penix, one of the cooks, to talk about her recipe and our event. To prepare I baked her carrot cake and Amy Dodson brought us a plate of her Pinwheel Cookies.
Lee Ann Taylor at KOTV was a wonderful interviewer, asked all the right questions, gave all the right information and even ate a piece of the carrot cake during the break! I imagine the Pinwheel Cookies and the carrot cake didn't last too long after the show was over.
What did I have to do with all of this? Well, I am now becoming an expert in baking Mimi's Carrot Cake, Baked Fudge from Denise Rounds and being a real cheer leader for the whole thing. For each appearance we are bringing a cake and some cookies. Jeff has practically memorized the recipes and has picked out just the right jacket, shirt and tie to go with his appearance.
Our friend Eric Himan who is a good cook and has made numerous appearances on local television demonstrating recipes is going on KTUL Thursday morning with Jeff to tell the television audience how to make the cake.
That's a lot of preparation and work on everyone's part!!
But you know what? Doing all this is a heck of a lot of fun!!
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Chocolate and Scented Candles Are Not Good Neighbors
Scented candles are a no-no for stores like Sweet Tooth which sell unwrapped chocolates. Perhaps you haven't heard that chocolate obsorbs odors and mixing scented anything in the same store or gift basket assures that when you bite into your chocolate truffle, you will find an odd taste. It might not be so bad, but it won't be exactly what you expected.
We've heard of some stores which sell chocolate and at the same time are cooking other items in the store. We cringe!! We know that those chocolates aren't going to taste the same, that the chocolate will "bloom" because of the heat in such a place and customers will not be getting the best chocolate for their money.
"Blooming" chocolate occurs when the cream and butter begin to separate from other ingredients. Some people mistake that little white dust on the chocolate as mold. It isn't mold, but simply the separation of various ingredients in the chocolate.
Chocolates which don't require refrigeration do love a cool atmosphere (no more than 70 degrees or a bit less). Purchasing chocolate in a store which is not kept at that temperature may mean that the chocolate has aged quicker than normal and is already beginning to bloom.
Chocolates aren't sun lovers....so keeping them in their original boxes until you need to put them out is the best care and maintaining an atmosphere which does not have high humidity is also necessary. Chocolates which require refrigeration have shorter shelf life since they have no preservatives.
Sometimes people ask us to create a gift basket and they want to include some sort of scented candle or perhaps perfume which they have purchased elsewhere. We do our best to protect the chocolate, putting the scented item in a cellophane bag.
At Sweet Tooth we like to "baby" our candy and we are especially trained to watch for any changes in the chocolates. We rotate all of our candy when we re-stock in order to keep our candy as fresh as possible. After all, all of our staff are Quality Control experts....the manner in which they treat the chocolates and the other candies insures that our customers are going to be fully satisfied with their purchases.
In reality what we are selling is as much our customer service as it is the products in our store.
We've heard of some stores which sell chocolate and at the same time are cooking other items in the store. We cringe!! We know that those chocolates aren't going to taste the same, that the chocolate will "bloom" because of the heat in such a place and customers will not be getting the best chocolate for their money.
"Blooming" chocolate occurs when the cream and butter begin to separate from other ingredients. Some people mistake that little white dust on the chocolate as mold. It isn't mold, but simply the separation of various ingredients in the chocolate.
Chocolates which don't require refrigeration do love a cool atmosphere (no more than 70 degrees or a bit less). Purchasing chocolate in a store which is not kept at that temperature may mean that the chocolate has aged quicker than normal and is already beginning to bloom.
Chocolates aren't sun lovers....so keeping them in their original boxes until you need to put them out is the best care and maintaining an atmosphere which does not have high humidity is also necessary. Chocolates which require refrigeration have shorter shelf life since they have no preservatives.
Sometimes people ask us to create a gift basket and they want to include some sort of scented candle or perhaps perfume which they have purchased elsewhere. We do our best to protect the chocolate, putting the scented item in a cellophane bag.
At Sweet Tooth we like to "baby" our candy and we are especially trained to watch for any changes in the chocolates. We rotate all of our candy when we re-stock in order to keep our candy as fresh as possible. After all, all of our staff are Quality Control experts....the manner in which they treat the chocolates and the other candies insures that our customers are going to be fully satisfied with their purchases.
In reality what we are selling is as much our customer service as it is the products in our store.
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