Candle Coordinates

There's no question that candles continue to be an indispensable part of almost every retailer's merchandise mix. For most, the question isn't whether or not to carry candles, but which ones. Some choices are easy: either high end or impulse price points, jar or taper styles, funky pink or cool beige hues. Those options depend mostly on your customers — unless, of course, the answer is all of the above. But one question you may not have considered is whether to pick and choose candles from a number of vendors or buy candles as an integrated part of a larger home decor line.

Candles from exclusively — or primarily — candle-manufacturing companies offer a number of obvious advantages, including experience and expertise in candle making, scenting, shipping, and packaging. When candles are the main thrust of the business, buyers can be relatively sure that the wrinkles have long been ironed out. Such companies also give you the ability to buy deep, and make a statement with row upon row of shapes, sizes, and scents.

However, candles from home decor companies also have advantages worth considering. First among these is a bevy of cross-merchandising opportunities. Carrying a given color palette all the way from pillows to vases to candles makes it far more likely that a customer will take home the whole set, creating an instantly accessorized room. The alternative — matching pieces from one vendor to the subtly different hues of another — can be an exercise in frustration for busy customers.

Home decor company Tag has been manufacturing candles for 20 of the company's 27 years in business. Candle colors that match with other products are key to filling out a basic home decor line, according to Johanna Hatfield, Tag's product manager, who cites brights and pastels as popular color themes for coordinated lines. For fall, Hatfield suggests a palette of berries, cinnamon, sages, and "taupey" tan — warmer earth tones that have "a little bit more punch to them than your typical brown and olive."

She says that customers are willing to pay up to $20 for the basics, depending on size and scent. "We have a palette of candles and a matching palette of textiles," explains Hatfield. "It brings the [color] story together and helps the consumer understand how to display the merchandise."

In addition, graphic motifs — such as distinctive shapes or figures — can carry through different types of decor, making cross-merchandised displays a breeze. And customers who have trouble visualizing new items in their home are far more likely to buy a candle if they see it doing double duty as a centerpiece for matching china.

Home decor manufacturers also tend to perceive up-coming trends from a slightly different angle than candle manufacturers. Where candle companies are first on top of new developments in scents and shapes, home decor companies have their finger on the pulse of furnishing and home accents trends. In short, they know what kinds of items customers will be looking to complement with candle purchases.

This year, Tag predicts increased interest in larger candle sizes with simpler shapes to decorate today's bigger homes.

Other popular items for Tag include giant Christmas trees, which Hatfield describes as, "Simpler, but on steroids."

Another reason that customers might gravitate to candles from home decor manufacturers is brand recognition. Consumers inevitably establish an association between brand names and certain qualities — whether it's timeless elegance or cutting edge design.

Designer Christian Tortu, for example, first made a name for himself in the floral market with arrangements that mix flowers, plants, and vegetables in ways that strip away artifice, getting "back to nature." Tortu then translated this trademark look into a collection of vases and other gift and home accessories that embody the same principles.

Now Tortu has extended his signature style to a collection of candles. Made from organic ingredients and essential oils, with scents including forest, fresh grass, tomato leaf, lily of the valley, grapefruit-rhubarb, and olive branch, they are exactly what lovers of Tortu's work have come to expect — totally fresh and unexpected.

Besides Tag and Tortu, other decorative accessories companies that have candles lines include Austin, Pacific Rim, 18 Karat, Torre & Tagus, and Jamie Young. By tapping into the candle lines of such vendors, you also tap into the design aesthetic they are known by.