Established in 1999, GreatRep.com is the premier Internet directory for the wholesale giftware, home furnishing and furniture industry.
Monday, January 30, 2017
Trends at AmericasMart January 2017 show
http://www.giftsanddec.com/article/539462-direct-market-trend-spotting-americasmart
Monday, October 20, 2014
GIFT SHOW SCHEDULE
The most comprehensive and up-to-date schedule of major gift shows worldwide is at http://www.greatrep.com/TradeShows.aspx. It is also available on the greatrep mobile app.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
YOUR IMAGE IS EVERYTHING!
Today, everything on the Web is image driven. Putting a funky image on Pinterest or your GreatRep.com directory listing won't cut it. Logos are the worst! What you need is a WOW shot that will grab eyeballs in the blink of the eye. I bring up Pinterest because it gives you images, images and more images. Take a look at http://www.pinterest.com/greatrepsupport/ and you will see what I mean.
Monday, August 13, 2012
RETAIL REVOLUTION
Monday, February 27, 2012
THE ROAD SAMPLE ISSUE
The issue of road samples often becomes a contentious problem between companies and their reps if not handled properly. For our discussion here, we'll address road samples apart from showroom samples.
In my repping agency days, our line package became a matrix of approximately 100 lines being sold nationally through 30 independent road reps. Yes, that's a lot of road samples! And the key to making it work is to organize a system that insures that the reps have the right samples at the right time to go out on the road to sell.
We came up with the term "road kit" which spelled out what samples to send to the reps. In the case of new companies, the rep needs to take the lead in working out the details of the road kit. For the lines that have been around block for some time, the road kit is usually well established.
Without an organized approach to road samples, you'll end up with either a too little or too much situation. Yes, road samples represents a considerable expense for the company. Therefore, it makes sense to take a conservative approach to the number of samples in a road kit. Having said that, I want to stress to companies that, despite all the wonderful catalogs out there printed or online, the retail buyer wants to see and touch the product. So don't be stingy. As a minimum, put best sellers in the road kit. After all, you want immediate sales.
With new reps, companies should have a "starter" road kit that, if possible, is packed and ready to ship out immediately. Buyers love new, and so do reps. The excitement level is high at the onset and companies often lose momentum by dragging their feet getting out samples to new reps.
Road kits need to evolve, i.e. they need to be updated, refreshed, and account for seasonal/new introductions. Getting Christmas samples out to reps after September 1st won't cut it. By that time, many buyers have already ordered for Christmas. Companies should also build a feedback loop with their reps whereby reps can tailor their road sample needs for their customers and time of year.
Paying for samples may come up in the conversation between a rep and a line when starting out. Unless we're talking big ticket items like Lalique Crystal, I strongly advocate reps never pay for road samples. (Showroom samples should be negotiated separately.) Reps are reps; they are not dealers. Companies need to adopt the attitude that, once they ship out road samples, they will likely not see them again. They take a beating being transported, and it is unrealistic to expect their return. Get with your accountant and write them off.
In my repping agency days, our line package became a matrix of approximately 100 lines being sold nationally through 30 independent road reps. Yes, that's a lot of road samples! And the key to making it work is to organize a system that insures that the reps have the right samples at the right time to go out on the road to sell.
We came up with the term "road kit" which spelled out what samples to send to the reps. In the case of new companies, the rep needs to take the lead in working out the details of the road kit. For the lines that have been around block for some time, the road kit is usually well established.
Without an organized approach to road samples, you'll end up with either a too little or too much situation. Yes, road samples represents a considerable expense for the company. Therefore, it makes sense to take a conservative approach to the number of samples in a road kit. Having said that, I want to stress to companies that, despite all the wonderful catalogs out there printed or online, the retail buyer wants to see and touch the product. So don't be stingy. As a minimum, put best sellers in the road kit. After all, you want immediate sales.
With new reps, companies should have a "starter" road kit that, if possible, is packed and ready to ship out immediately. Buyers love new, and so do reps. The excitement level is high at the onset and companies often lose momentum by dragging their feet getting out samples to new reps.
Road kits need to evolve, i.e. they need to be updated, refreshed, and account for seasonal/new introductions. Getting Christmas samples out to reps after September 1st won't cut it. By that time, many buyers have already ordered for Christmas. Companies should also build a feedback loop with their reps whereby reps can tailor their road sample needs for their customers and time of year.
Paying for samples may come up in the conversation between a rep and a line when starting out. Unless we're talking big ticket items like Lalique Crystal, I strongly advocate reps never pay for road samples. (Showroom samples should be negotiated separately.) Reps are reps; they are not dealers. Companies need to adopt the attitude that, once they ship out road samples, they will likely not see them again. They take a beating being transported, and it is unrealistic to expect their return. Get with your accountant and write them off.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Etailing
I received an email from Maureen the other day concerning etailing. Maureen has three storefronts on the Web, but she is frustrated because she has trouble finding vendors that will sell to her at true wholesale and also offer to drop ship. Here's my response:
Maureen,
First of all, I don't have a lot of personal experience with e-tailing using drop shipping. But I'm the first to recognize that it's a direction we've already taken in today's e-world.
There are problems, however, with this channel. Right at the top is pricing. To buy something at wholesale, sell it at on-line at retail, and have the vendor ship it to the consumer, is a dramatic departure from the way we have done business in this industry. The traditional channel has brick and mortar retailers buying from vendors at wholesale, paying shipping and using a 100% markup to price items at retail.
To complicate matters further, you have vendors that want to have their cake and eat it, too. In today's world of the Web, many vendors have websites that are retail; therefore, they are competing with you as an e-tailer and have little incentive to sell to you. Meanwhile, they are also desperately trying to keep their brick and mortar wholesale business. As a result, they can easily end up confusing and infuriating store owners who pay rent, pay employees, etc. And I'm sure their sales reps aren't happy to have you competing with their store accounts.
I feel the solution, if there is one, has to come from the vendors. Maybe, after I post this to my blog, and you find out more when you attend the New York show in January, we'll have a better handle on this way of doing business.
Thanks,
dale@greatrep.com
Maureen,
First of all, I don't have a lot of personal experience with e-tailing using drop shipping. But I'm the first to recognize that it's a direction we've already taken in today's e-world.
There are problems, however, with this channel. Right at the top is pricing. To buy something at wholesale, sell it at on-line at retail, and have the vendor ship it to the consumer, is a dramatic departure from the way we have done business in this industry. The traditional channel has brick and mortar retailers buying from vendors at wholesale, paying shipping and using a 100% markup to price items at retail.
To complicate matters further, you have vendors that want to have their cake and eat it, too. In today's world of the Web, many vendors have websites that are retail; therefore, they are competing with you as an e-tailer and have little incentive to sell to you. Meanwhile, they are also desperately trying to keep their brick and mortar wholesale business. As a result, they can easily end up confusing and infuriating store owners who pay rent, pay employees, etc. And I'm sure their sales reps aren't happy to have you competing with their store accounts.
I feel the solution, if there is one, has to come from the vendors. Maybe, after I post this to my blog, and you find out more when you attend the New York show in January, we'll have a better handle on this way of doing business.
Thanks,
dale@greatrep.com
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
DON'T HAVE A PRINTED CATALOG?
Thanks to the advent of the Web, you don't need a printed catalog. But, if you don't have a printed catalog, then it's a must that you have a website/catalog online. But don't stop there!
Your website should include a Contact page that details how you may be contacted, which nowadays is mostly via email. When you respond to email inquiries, it is vitally important that you prepare a well written response that explains how you present your catalog and other information that will make the a potential buyer feel welcome and comfortable with working with you online. As an example, see http://www.greatrep.com/response_example.htm. You can modify this example to fit your situation. And make it appear to be personal, i.e. not some canned auto reply response.
Your website should include a Contact page that details how you may be contacted, which nowadays is mostly via email. When you respond to email inquiries, it is vitally important that you prepare a well written response that explains how you present your catalog and other information that will make the a potential buyer feel welcome and comfortable with working with you online. As an example, see http://www.greatrep.com/response_example.htm. You can modify this example to fit your situation. And make it appear to be personal, i.e. not some canned auto reply response.
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