I caught up with a bunch of newsagents in Sydney last night and loved the stories of buying success at the Sydney Gift Fair and the Home & Giving Fair. Getting 20% off products that sell well from a supplier you already deal with is excellent. There were plenty of stories like these plus stories of good innovative product.
If you’re chasing gift sales, this has been the event to be at.
Went to the Melb Gift Fair in February and was disappointed at the exhibitors that were there in relation to what I was looking for. I had looked at the exhibitors that were going to be there but found their product wasn’t what I required. As this was only my 3rd Gift Fair it will be a matter of trial and error to work out which Gift Fair best suits our needs in an ever-changing environment.
Russell that’s where marketing groups help. They vet the suppliers, provide recommendations and can even buy to a budget foe you if you wish.
I am another Gift Fair disappointee.
Unfortunately, even units of 24 are a challenge for me to sell quickly enough (18 sales are to pay for the stock, the last 6 may make me a profit ) to be worth it.
Once I was approached by a rep from a marketing group and when we went through my figures, I calculated that if I doubled my stationery sales, I would be abe to afford the fees for the marketing group. So doubling my sales effort would reward the marketing group entirely and myself nothing. The prospect of doubling sales at that point in my mature demographic and the way retail has perfomed in rural situations since, I was right not to sign up to a marketing group (no doubt the marketing group would argue differently lol).
When every last dollar matters, some of us need to approach ‘Gift” Fairs with caution.
h,
If you need to sell 18 from a pack of 24 then you’re only making 25% margin. You should generally be making 50%+ on giftware (with the odd exception).
We often find large pack sizes difficult as well. Just avoid those suppliers. The majority of giftware suppliers we deal with (and it’s a relatively long list) all have small pack sizes (many allow you to order singles) and low minimum orders (usually around $200-$300).
Regarding marketing groups, I’m not sure why you would look at if from the POV of a single department. What would you have to increase sales by across the entire store to justify the commitment?
It’s also important to recognise that marketing groups don’t just help you increase sales, they increase your marketing exposure and lower the cost of doing so, they negotiate better margin with suppliers and introduce you to new categories, suppliers and opportunities that one could never attain by themself.
h, you;re not buying well if you need to sell 18 to pay for the sock. Gift margin should be at least 55%, usually more.
Groups help with buying since nearby members often buy together.