Outstanding Retailers
June 30th, 2006 at 12:48pm Lorie Obernauer
Specialty Food Magazine, June, 2006, includes an article showcasing outstanding retailers of 2006. Full Story
I recommend that you read the story because it’s inspiring. It details how these retailers capitalized on their strengths and created highly successful businesses, not afraid of their biggest competitors.
I especially liked a suggestion offered by one of the business owners from The Epicure Market. Their shelves are stocked “with high quality items that are both unusual and adventurous, yet can be sourced on a regular basis.” According to the owner, there is nothing worse than “to find a great product, have a customer fall in love with it and not be able to get it again”.
This is great advice for our gift basket businesses. Make sure you buy from reliable suppliers who will have the products your customers want. Find several sources for the products that you use most often. If you buy from a new supplier, ask for some references and find out if other buyers have been satisfied with the company’s service.
At Apex Gift Foods,we make sure we know where to buy our most popular products if our regular suppliers are out of stock. We also keep a list of “substitutions”: other products we can suggest if a popular item is temporarily not available. You can go a long way to create customer loyalty if you can supply those gourmet treats that your customers love!
Entry Filed under: Business Tips
2 Comments Add your own
1. Flora Morris Brown | June 30th, 2006 at 9:41 pm
I agree that one of the most important things to consider when planning designs is selecting products you can reorder from reliable sources. But since we nor our distributors can control when manufacturers will stop producing given products, it’s critical that gift basket retailers post a statement regarding substitutions in catalogs and on their websites.
2. Shirley George Frazier | July 3rd, 2006 at 9:19 am
I also agree with this assessment. It’s great to find products perfectly suited for customers, but it’s not wise to count on one supplier to always keep the product in stock.
Sometimes a supplier must terminate an arrangement with the manufacturer, and there are other situations that occur. Designers must be aware of as many sources as possible. That’s the name of the game to keep clients happily purchasing.
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