I love Darrell Lea product. Top sellers like liquorice allsorts, plain liquorice and rocky road sell well. Where they miss sales is in not letting selected stores carry just the top sellers. By having to carry a minimum range some good potential outlets pass on the opportunity. I understand Darrel Lea will say they need the minimum range to pitch their brand appropriately. I suspect a trial in a group of stores would prove that with as few as, say, ten products the brand could be well represented and strong sales achieved.
A B-grade shopping centre newsagency needs to achieve sales of at least $8,000 per square metre of floorspace annually to cover costs. The more expensive the centre the higher this benchmark. Brands which want retailers to take a broader range drive down the per square meter return.
This is why I’d like to cherry pick by Darrell Lea product – so I can maximise my return rather than just serve the Darrell Lea needs.
How many products do they currently consider a minimum range at present. Speaking as one who has never dealt with the Darell Lea from a commercial perspective, Ten sounds extremely reasonable.
While I understand Darrell Lea’s need to maintain a certain level with their brand i dont think that maximising range is key to that. Their product sells not because everyone talks of how big their range is, but because of its quality. Instead of focusing on range they should place more emphasis on the quality of the stores they allow the product to be sold – this reflects more on their brand than the range being offered.
I’d need to check but I think it is around 40 items. Takes two stands each about 1.2m wide, 40cm deep and 1.5m high.
I am confident that I could sell enough product at a counter in a store where there is no other Darrell Lea product to justify a commercial relationship with them.
Mark
In keeping with our recent corespondence i thought it pertinent to respond to your blog.
If Darrell Lea were to compromise our unique retail offer, and avail retailers the opportunity to cherry pick range it would ensure that we could not support our current operating model.
The consequence of availing this alternative to retailers would be the requirement for Darrell Lea to seek mutliple points of distribution for our seasonal and non seasonal lines.
This effectively negates one of the key components of our offer, something a majority of our customers feel very strongly about.
There are a plethora of confectionery wholesalers willing to sell a limited range of products.
We believe our offer is unique, offering quality confectionery and gift lines adds significant value to quality retail businesses.
This is no better represented than by the market interest currently being shown in our new “Store in Store” concept which increases the Darrell Lea retail footprint to 15 -20sqm in suitable third party environments.
Graham Wright
Commercial Sales
& Franchise Development
Darrell Lea Chocolate Pty Ltd
Graham, You won’t know if cherry picking works if you refuse to try. What I want is what you should want – to sell more Darrell Lea product. Other correspondence between you and I is private. Mark
Having dealt with Darrell Lea on a personal level and being a previous owner/operator of a newsagency, I can see both sides of these issues. Personally, I tend to agree with the image Darrell Lea is portraying.
Having lesser floor (and marketing) space for the Darrell Lea product, lessens the image Darrell Lea has worked hard to maintain.
My newsagency was an A shop, but with small floor space, we were unable to fit the Darrell Lea stand elegantly. We opted to go without offering Darrell Lea products.
The other option, I guess, would be to have a specialised Darrell Lea counter stand or lolly shelf insert. In my opinion, however, Darrell Lea products are draw-cards, not impulse buys. If a customer is looking for Darrell Lea, they look along the shop walls for the highly recognisable Darrell Lea stand. The same is true for any gift a customer is looking for in a newsagency.
Being Australian, I am proud to have a company such as Darrell Lea, that is still owned and maintained by Aussies. I’m personally happy to help them maintain their elegant appeal. I can go without the small annual profit that a selection of ten products would offer.
Just my humble opinion, of course. I am no way affiliated with Darrell Lea.