This year's biggest hit is Doctor Who mugs, ornaments and scarves.
Who IS Doctor Who?
Thank goodness Sabrina clued me in on this whole thing, since I have attempted to watch one episode a few months ago and was totally lost.
All I know at this point is that the final actor is playing the final Doctor Who and those who are big fans are following every little thing which happens. There were some marathon t.v. shows this past week on BBC television and since we don't get that channel, I couldn't take a look to see if I could figure out Doctor Who is.
My friend's son is a big fan and when we went to the June Market, she told me that her son wanted me to look around for Doctor Who items.
As we were walking around at the Market, I did attempt to find any Doctor Who items, but it wasn't until I got back home and was checking out a catalogue from a large Christmas ornament company, that I saw "the light": the Doctor Who Tardis and Dalek ornaments from this company were numbers 1 and 2 most popular ornaments being ordered for this Christmas.
As a contrast, I asked my sales rep from this Christmas company about Downton Abbey ornaments....me being a big fan of that series. I was told that us mid-Westerners were not big Downton Abby followers....in our neck of the woods Doctor Who is out numbering Downton Abbey.
What I did, of course, was put in a substantial order for Doctor Who mugs and ornaments. My mom didn't raise a fool....as someone says....and I didn't order Downton Abbey anything.
But next year...watch out!! It could be the year of D.A. and I, for one, will NOT be asking Who is Downton Abbey?
Can't wait until January for that series to return!! 30 days until Christmas.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Are We Going To Be Black Or Red?
34 days and counting until Christmas. And only 9 more days to purchase your Advent Calendar if you are a follower of that tradition and don't want to gobble down 5 pieces of chocolate because you started your Advent Calendar on December 5. Of course there are those people who would adore gobbling down a bunch of chocolate!!
We are winding down from our Obsidian Trunk Show and our 2 day Holiday Party. And at the same time, we are gearing up for holiday gift baskets and other gifting ideas which our customers bring to us.
The days actually go by so quickly that we hardly realize how time slips by when you are busy and thinking about a dozen things at a time.
In the middle of the night I am liable to wake up and remember something I need to do, or a person I need to call, or an email which didn't get sent. If there is no piece of paper on my night table, I repeat over and over to myself what I need to remember. Do I always remember it in the morning? Who are we kidding?
Somehow though one of our staff reminds me of what needs to get done. What would I do without the constant interchanges with our staff? I have found that delegating is the very best way to assure myself that everything will get done and will look perfectly wonderful.
Guess what? We are also receiving phone calls from sales reps whose holiday selling is done and they are ready to sit down and look at Valentine's Day or Easter or just the new collections of gifts or candy which are coming out the minute we hit January 1.
Some of the clever sales reps, realizing that there is no time in December for retailers to think ahead to the spring, take their vacations, their cruises or simply their time off during December.
You might wonder about personal time? There isn't a lot of that to be had at this time of the year. You know, that is a good thing....it means that our end of the year will be black and not red!.
We are winding down from our Obsidian Trunk Show and our 2 day Holiday Party. And at the same time, we are gearing up for holiday gift baskets and other gifting ideas which our customers bring to us.
The days actually go by so quickly that we hardly realize how time slips by when you are busy and thinking about a dozen things at a time.
In the middle of the night I am liable to wake up and remember something I need to do, or a person I need to call, or an email which didn't get sent. If there is no piece of paper on my night table, I repeat over and over to myself what I need to remember. Do I always remember it in the morning? Who are we kidding?
Somehow though one of our staff reminds me of what needs to get done. What would I do without the constant interchanges with our staff? I have found that delegating is the very best way to assure myself that everything will get done and will look perfectly wonderful.
Guess what? We are also receiving phone calls from sales reps whose holiday selling is done and they are ready to sit down and look at Valentine's Day or Easter or just the new collections of gifts or candy which are coming out the minute we hit January 1.
Some of the clever sales reps, realizing that there is no time in December for retailers to think ahead to the spring, take their vacations, their cruises or simply their time off during December.
You might wonder about personal time? There isn't a lot of that to be had at this time of the year. You know, that is a good thing....it means that our end of the year will be black and not red!.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Have You Heard About Thanksgivukkah??
This year the first day of Chanukah and Thanksgiving are on the same day ...November 28. This coincidence will not occur again for 70,000 years. Wow!
Since the date of Chanukah is based on the Jewish calendar, a lunisolar calendar, the days of Chanukah seem to jump around every year. Yet Chanukah is always on the same lunisolar calendar date each and every year.
Because of the coincidence of these 2 holidays some vendors are having a wonderful time thinking of how to combine the symbols of each holiday into one symbol.
What we have is a new name for this occasion: Thanksgivukkah. There will be lots of turkeys on spinning dreidles, new holiday greetings like Gobble Tov (which means Good Gobble) and a semi-feeble attempt to mix turkey and dressing with potato latkes and sour cream.
I just point this out not only for your edification but just to let you know that retailers are hustling to figure out what to do about all of this. This is exactly what retail is always doing. I think these 2 holidays coming together has caught many retailers off guard.
In addition, we are now at 43 days until Christmas.
Sweet Tooth will be attempting to provide some fun goodies for all 3 holidays. Check out our Facebook page or come into the store and see what's cooking!!
Since the date of Chanukah is based on the Jewish calendar, a lunisolar calendar, the days of Chanukah seem to jump around every year. Yet Chanukah is always on the same lunisolar calendar date each and every year.
Because of the coincidence of these 2 holidays some vendors are having a wonderful time thinking of how to combine the symbols of each holiday into one symbol.
What we have is a new name for this occasion: Thanksgivukkah. There will be lots of turkeys on spinning dreidles, new holiday greetings like Gobble Tov (which means Good Gobble) and a semi-feeble attempt to mix turkey and dressing with potato latkes and sour cream.
I just point this out not only for your edification but just to let you know that retailers are hustling to figure out what to do about all of this. This is exactly what retail is always doing. I think these 2 holidays coming together has caught many retailers off guard.
In addition, we are now at 43 days until Christmas.
Sweet Tooth will be attempting to provide some fun goodies for all 3 holidays. Check out our Facebook page or come into the store and see what's cooking!!
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
49 Days Until Christmas
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.
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.
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.
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