3 Types of Gift Businesses

August 14, 2009

Yesterday I visited an old friend and former customer of mine. She was accepting 13 pallets (yes, 13 pallets) of new product from a Gift manufacturer that afternoon. This company is now her primary vendor while I know very well who used to be.

So what happened? The original vendor who put her into this category was sold and new management has since lost its way. Well, maybe that’s not the best way to describe it. What really happened is that they never developed a passion for their core products and spent their energies doing other things. And the results are; weak designs, poor (and costly) representation and neglected customers.

So who took the business – a company who is passionate about their products, devotes themselves to good design and has stuck to what works. And they fawn all over this customer.

But there is a third part to this story – the new entry; A well established company with deep pockets who moved into her main product category. The company had an inside track to the retailer and her opening test order was $1,300. Not bad. But they goofed it up and she cancelled the order.

So in a tough economy the 13 pallet order goes to the folks who do the basic good work every day. How tough is that?

Here’s the question for both retailers and wholesalers; are you heaping love on your largest customers? Are you “sticking to your knitting” and doing what works? In turnarounds I find that every business has a profitable core somewhere and often, it is really just basic stuff. Perhaps not big, exciting and fancy things but things that pay the bills and protect your business.

There is still good, full-priced business out there but it’s no longer knocking on our door.

–

Besides the obvious, there are a few secrets to ramping sales quickly in the Gift Business and we’re working on a new booklet to share that information. If you’d rather not wait, give us a call. www.DorsetPartners.com

Posted by Jeff Sands on August 14, 2009 | Comments (6)

February 28, 2013

In response to: 3 Types of Gift Businesses
Damian commented:

for Sewing :Sewing can mean the following tnghis: embroidery, hand sewing, punch needle embroidery, needlepoint, machine embrodery,cross stitching, dress making, etc so to get what you want of sewing you will have type one of the above in the search box of the follow websites : Msn,Yahoo,Google,Info.com and barnes and nobels website For books on the subject :All book are available in any bookstore or libraryHow To Sew Leather, Suede, Furby Phyllis W. Schwebke, Margaret B. KrohnTailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacketby Staff of Creative Publishing InternationalSew Fast Sew Easy: All You Need to Know When You Start to Sewby Elissa K. MeyrichStart to Sew: All the Basics Plus Learn-to-Sew Projectsby Creative Publishing International, Creative Publishing International (Manufactured by)Complete Photo Guide to Sewing: 1100 Full-Color how-to Photosby Creative Publishing International, Creative Publishing International (Manufactured by), Creative Publishing InternationalVogue Sewingby Vogue, Sixth Spring Books (Manufactured by)99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim, and Tie Your T-Shirt into Something Specialby Faith Blakeney, Ellen Schultz, Justina Blakeney, Anka LivakovicBasic Sewing (101 Essential Tips Series)by Chris Jefferys, James Harrison (Editor), DK Publishing (Manufactured by)Its A Wrap: Sewing Fabric Purses, Baskets, and Bowlsby Susan BreierSimplicity's Simply the Best Sewing Bookby Anne Marie Soto (Editor), Simplicity Pattern Company (Editor), Martha Vaughan (Illustrator)Sewing for Dummiesby Janice Maresh, Janice S. Saunders, N. Graf (Editor)Amy Butler's in Stitches: More than 25 Simple and Stylish Sewing Projectsby Amy Butler, Colin McGuire (Photographer)Complete Guide to Embroidery Stitches: Photographs, Diagrams, and Instructions for Over 260 Stitchesby Jennifer Campbell, Reader's Digest Editors, Ann-marie Bakewell a execellent bookMary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitchesby Mary Thomas, Jan Eaton, Jan Eaton, Jan Eaton (Compiler) another execellent book on the subjectEmbroidery Stitchesby M. E. Wilkinson a very good book The Embroidery Stitch Bibleby Betty Barnden, Debbie Bradley (Editor) Get this book. It the best book I know on the subject for you to have. I own one. well worth your money to spend on it.Embroidery Stitches: Over 400 Contemporary and Traditional Stitch Patternsby Mary Webb (Editor) a very good book read it. Encyclopedia of Embroidery Stitches, Including Crewelby Marion Nichols a good book for a beginner to have.Stitches of Creative Embroideryby Jacqueline Enthoven Royal School of Needlework Embroidery Techniquesby Sally Saunders, Anne Butcher, Debra Barrett, Anne Butcher (Illustrator)The Embroiderer's Handbook: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Creative Stitches and Versatile Techniquesby Margie BauerBasic Stitchesby Katie Ebben, Chris Tubbs (Photographer)Silk Ribbon Embroidery Bible: The Essential Illustrated Reference to Designs and Techniquesby Joan Gordon another good book to have. Needleweaving and Embroidery: Embellished Treasuresby Effie MitrofanisFor Machine embroidery ( or sewing machine sewing) :Sewing for Dummiesby Janice Maresh, Janice S. Saunders, N. Graf (Editor)Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobeby Wendy Mullin, Eviana Hartman, Beci Orpin (Illustrator), Beci Orpin (Illustrator), Agnieszka Gasparska (Illustrator)Encyclopedia of Sewing Machine Techniquesby Nancy Bednar, Joanne Pugh-Gannon, JoAnn Pugh-Gannon, Joann Pugh-GannonABCs of Serging: A Complete Guide to Serger Sewing Basics(Creative Machine Arts Series)by Tammy Young, Lori Bottom, Naomi Baker (Foreword by)Machine Embroidery with Confidence: A Beginner's Guideby Nancy ZiemanEmbroidery Machine Essentials: How to Stabilize, Hoop and Stitch Decorative Designsby Jeanine Twigg, Lindee GoodallEmbroidery Machine Essentials: Basic Techniques: 20 Designs and Project Ideas to Develop You Embroidery Skillsby Jeanine TwiggEmbroidery Machine Essentials: Fleece Techniquesby Nancy CornwellMore Embroidery Machine Essentials: How to Customize, Edit and Create Decorative Designsby Jeanine TwiggEmbroidery Machine Essentials: Applique Techniquesby Mary Mulari, Jeanine TwiggSew with Confidence: A Beginner's Guide to Basic Sewingby Nancy Luedtke Zieman101 Ways to Use Your First Sewing Machineby Elizabeth DubickiEverything Sewing Book: From Threading the Needle to Basting the Hem, All You Need to Alter and Create Beautiful Clothes, Gifts, and Decorationsby Sandra DetrixheMaking an Old-Fashioned Patchwork Sampler Quilt on the Sewing Machineby Andrea L. ShedletskyFine Machine Sewing: Easy Ways to Get the Look of Hand Finishing and Embellishingby Carol Laflin AhlesSewing Machine Guide: Tips on Choosing, Buying, and Refurbishingby John GiordanoSewing Basics: All You Need to Know to Begin Sewing Clothes and Home Furnishingsby Wendy Gardiner, Mary Senechal (Editor), Kate Simunek (Illustrator), Martin Norris (Photographer), Paul Forrester (Photographer)Encyclopedia of Sewing Techniquesby Wendy GardinerHopely this will get you started in the right direction.Hope this helps

December 7, 2012

In response to: 3 Types of Gift Businesses
Rosy commented:

What a great experience as a masasge therapist to have Joyce masasge and remove all the tensions, aches and paints away easily and with such knowing skills. After a workout, her masasge is the perfect treat! Or, really, any time is the perfect time for a masasge with Joyce.

December 4, 2012

In response to: 3 Types of Gift Businesses
Delila commented:

JVIt gives me no joy to point out that you have selected for Freshly Pressed a crdeuly biased post by Erika Earl [erikaearl.wordpress.com] titled A people called untouchable', which is not only a slur to Hindus and to India but misappropriates our culture, history and religion rather dubiously.The caste system is an age old phenomenon in India it had its uses and like all things given to Man, has been corrupted to exploit in many cases, but it is on the wane as the country evolves socially and integrates politically after the many years of Christian subjugation under the British. Since then we have had Dalit {untouchable, in Erika's language} Presidents, the Chief Minister of the largest state of India Uttar Pradesh is a Dalit. Central Ministers in the current cabinet are Dalits, and they are everywhere in India today in the famed IITs and IIMs of India and they excel in academics and business and in all walks of life. More importantly they are not untouchables' to the growing majority of Indians of this and the last generation, like me.India is a country of billions and the few hundred thousands of cases that Erika tries to dazzle us with withers in percentile terms even as the figures are themselves borrowed from history books. Yes, there are cases of persecution even now, but remember this is a democracy with an open press and that there are so few cases only proves the point of a drastically changed landscape.I am aware of your right to judge a post or blog and I do not intend to impinge on that privilege. But ref. Thom Paine's comment and your reply here earlier, I am disappointed [Pained?] that you have also not followed your own dictum in this case and pressed ahead without selecting a counter-point' post, although that would have hardly compensated for this, I believe, misjudgement.Be that as it may, a few other things about the choice of post and blogger bothers me just three posts ? And to solicit for donations openly against that quality of content. Could it be that the posts are tweaked to wring out the last dollar of our emotions so Erika could feel better about doing God's work while fattening her piggy bank? I mean, it's just plain bad manners to step into someone else's country with a view to teach them to worship new Gods, but now to order them around and want to get paid for it even if it's in the name of God. Jesus!Joy, we have a very huge problem here with missionaries and evangelists. My prayer is to avoid exacerbating the situation by feting tyros and nubile zealots who remind us in honey dripping innuendo of the greatness of their own Gods. Remember, we in India have just too many of our own. And, there's no reason to suggest they aren't working out our Karma, right now, right?Put simply, that post was offensive. More offensive, my Hindu friends here in New Delhi are sure, than the itty bitty nudity you were sanctimonious about in some other case below.Please consider taking this off your preferred list.Many thanks.Sanjay Kaul

March 1, 2012

In response to: 3 Types of Gift Businesses
Sania commented:

rw113 Of cosure, it has nothing to do with helping the economy or others it is simply to advance control for the totalitarians. Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a political system where the state, usually under the control of a single political person, faction, or class, recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible.[2] Totalitarianism is generally characterized by the coincidence of authoritarianism (where ordinary citizens have no significant share in state decision-making) and ideology (a pervasive scheme of values promulgated by institutional means to direct most if not all aspects of public and private life).[3]Totalitarian regimes or movements maintain political power through an all-encompassing propaganda disseminated through the state-controlled mass media, a single party that is often marked by personality cultism, control over the economy, regulation and restriction of speech, mass surveillance, and widespread use of state terrorism.In short -Communism, Marxism, Stalinism, Socialism, Obamaism are all forms of a Totalitarian government.June 5, 2011 | 7:53 pm

February 29, 2012

In response to: 3 Types of Gift Businesses
Kristabelle commented:

Why does this have to be the ONLY reliable suocre? Oh well, gj!

September 5, 2011

In response to: 3 Types of Gift Businesses
Cade commented:

BION I'm irmpessed! Cool post!