Gifts

We are enjoying good success with this range of delicious Christmas treats from The Pudding Lady in Newcastle.

We have Christmas cake, shortbread, Christmas pudding with Brandy sauce and White Christmas.  We also have some nice salad dressing packs and marinating packs.

The range is very different to what customers see in a newsagency. While priced at the high side, the product gives off a feeling of quality – worth the reasonably high (for a newsagency) price point.

I first discovered the range at the Reed Gift Fair in Sydney a few months ago.

Who would have thought that newsagents could sell measuring cups at the counter as an impulse line five or so years ago?  The M-Cups are going great … with shoppers off all ages.  They connect with the foodie interest right now.  We are promotting them with our food titles as well as at tthe counter.  The counter position is the winner.  Christmas gifts under $20 are selling very well this Christmas.

The range of digital scrapbooks we have from Hallmark are generating good interest.  They have been on the shop floor for a couple of weeks and we have sold some already.  This is good considering the uniqueness of the products. It will take a while for us to learn how to help sell them …while some will purchase on impulse, others will need help.

I like that the digital scrapbooks are themed, like the baby one in the photo.  This gives us a unique gift to offer for this occasion.

Interactive gifts are certainly in.

Customers are loving these recordable memory albums from Hallmark.  They make a terrific gift – an easy sell for someone wanting to inject something of themselves into the gift.

In our stores serving an older population, the idea of recording more of your memories takes on a special meaning. I’m glad we got access to these products on their first round launch – we are out there competing with the majors and loving it.

We have placed a small graduation display at the counter to  promote the start of the 2010 graduation season. With space in our temporary location limited, we are focusing on small plush items which have been successful for us in the past.  We are using a couple of graduation cards as a back drop.  Most of our customers are in the grandparent age range. Other newsagencies serving a broader age range have success with albums, photo frames, books, larger plus and other items as graduation gifts.

We have sold out of some of the Father’s Day gifts we purchased especially for the season.  That’s a nice result a few weeks out from the big day and encouraging for expanding the gift department outside of major seasons.

The gifts which have performed best so far are wine related – carry bags, kits, bottle holders.

Our range of plush rabbits is selling well as Easter gifts.  Besides a good display, sales are helped by regular promotion on our in-store radio and by marketing collateral – both of which are promoting healthy Easter gifts.  What is interesting is that chocolate sales have not been affected by this – indeed, they are strong.  The growth in plush sales is a bonus.

We are about to sell out of these Easter ducks in all of our stores. The entire stock will be gone after just two weeks on the shop floor. They’re a good deal – a sound toy for under $10. The margin is healthy too. They make for a different Easter gift.

The key with a success like this is to not get too greedy next time. We are better off selling out than taking on too much stock and being left with that. We all know that story.

The ducks are like so many successful gifts in our stores, a value-priced gift targeting kids.

I am not sure how I feel about this Steve Irwin limited edition collectible which we are offering in a few of our stores.  I guess it will appeal fans of the Crocodile Hunter.  It is raising funds for his Zoo and that’s a good thing.  We the statue in the window and it’s certainly drawing attention.

We added Darrell Lea Easter eggs and a range of Easter gifts this week to the Easter cards we put out last week.  We have these at the front of our dance floor on our lease line.  Click on the photo for a larger version of the image.  While it is early to be selling eggs in volume, we know that having the range out now lets customers know we are in the space – so they think of us when they are ready to purchase.

Close by the egg display and the gifts (to the right in the photo), we have our Easter cards in front and out of shot.  This creates a nice Easter area which can be easily shopped – important for the shopper it attracts.  This placement drives efficient sales across the three categories.