The Gifted Retailer: Dazzle!
GDA Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 9/7/2010 10:50:29 AM
Gifts & Decorative Accessories: What do you like best about being a retailer?
Janet Holt: I enjoy interacting with new and regular customers. I really enjoy trying to anticipate what customers are going to want to buy.
G&DA: What was the most valuable piece of business advice that you ever received?
JH: "You can't be all things to all people." As a retailer, you naturally want to try to have what your customers would need for any occasion. But unless you have unlimited space and money for inventory, you just can't.
G&DA: What is/was your most successful promotion?
JH: The most successful promotion is our annual "You Choose" Sale. It begins the day after Christmas and most of our regular customers come prepared. If "you choose" to pay with cash or check, you receive 50 percent off all winter and holiday items; if "you choose" to pay with credit or debit card, you receive 40 percent off. We advertise this several weeks prior to the event so customers will be ready. We're actually considering doing this semi-annually to make room for autumn merchandise!
G&DA: What three products/lines are your best sellers?
JH: In general, the collegiate section is a big seller year-round. While we carry a number of the ACC schools, we also do well with other large universities (e.g., University of Florida and Alabama).
Tervis, both in the collegiate and in stock patterns, is very strong for us. The addition of the colored travel lids has really helped increase our sales.
Although monogrammed items have slowed some, we continue to do very well with our glass polka-dot initialed wine glasses. These are made locally by one of our favorite vendors, It's So Personal.
Just recently, we have been selling the silicone crystal watches originally seen and worn by Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side. We sell the white and black best, but we advertise "collegiate colors" for our customers to wear for their team's game days. Also, with school back in session, we are selling many of the waterproof-lined, zippered reusable snack bags by Itzy Ritzy. We even have adults coming in wanting the bags for themselves! They're great for the office.
G&DA: What are you doing to attract new customers?
JH: We recently held a "Retail Therapy" Sale, and advertised with the shop next door. It definitely helped traffic by offering customers two places to shop.
In an upcoming fall promotion, we are joining forces again with the shop next door. We have hired a saxophonist to play on a Saturday afternoon and evening to kick-off fall and breast cancer awareness month. This musician does multiple walks for breast cancer awareness and we are donating 10 percent of our sales that day to his walk.
Our customer reward program continues to be a big draw for us. It is a free thank you for being such great customers. They receive one point for every dollar spent and, when they reach 250 points, they are rewarded with $10 credit towards their next purchase. They also receive 20 percent off of one item during their birthday month.
G&DA: What was your most effective display?
JH: Our collegiate section is our best display. It is 14 linear feet along one wall and is divided by college. New customers are always excited to see their school displayed.
Also popular is our wine and bar accessory section. Located near the front of the store, it immediately draws customers to it when they enter the store.
G&DA: How do you find your best employees?
JH: I don't have to do much looking! My employees tend to stay until they move or go off to college. My first hire just left because she graduated college and got a full-time position. I have been fortunate to have the same weekday help since we first opened. It's become a tradition for the high school juniors to tell me who they think would be a good replacement for them when they go off to college. My girls are also always welcome to come back for the holidays, and they usually do!
G&DA: What was your biggest retail problem and how did you solve it?
JH: I am assuming it was the same as everyone else's...the economy. We made a big decision to revamp the store, close down the expansion we did in 2006, and start getting more creative with our marketing.
Lastly, in searching for the next big thing, I found a new jewelry line to compete with the ones currently selling sterling silver bracelets with beads. I will be the first retailer in North Carolina to carry Lovelinks and see this becoming a big seller since it is the first to offer both bracelets and beads that universally fit all competitors' products and vice versa.
We would love your feedback!
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