Is The Giftware Category Dead On Arrival For 2010?

Recent comments from buyers coming back from the B to B Atlanta Gift and Orlando Product Fundraising shows illustrate selected micro trends in the 2010 hard goods category:

*“Giftware that is a “dustible” and just sits on a shelf is dead and won’t sell”.

*“Green is important, but it still must show value" i.e. cork and Bamboo giftware office supplies (pencil holders, etc) are selling through well.

*“Giftware must do more than sit and be pretty”. Yankee Candle was a big discussion at both shows, the brand is strong, is a consumable (When it melts down the consumer will buy again), and it sells through because the retail prices are affordable and carry a positive value equation. Strong Brands actually do increase sales in today's enviroment, Yankee is a classic "steward" of it's brand and the per store turns are very much up in a down economy.

*"Interactive and animated Giftware/toys are hot and the sell through is very strong”; i.e. Zhu Zhu’s, Webkinz, and Interactive pet tags (IDtag.com) are great examples.

* "Jewelry is offered by many of the “brands” now". This category is a logical line extension of well know images. Jewelry is more than a dustible, it is an emotional connection, a “little luxury” in hard times that carries value well.

A quick recap is no, giftware is not dead. Buyers beware the tired legacy brands that are still trying to keep the good old days alive by slapping new art on old products, they will be close outs. Those buyers that are watching this micro trend will be fine and have a great year if they combine brand, value, function/animation, and green into the items. JMHO

Yes, Kemo Sabe, This Company Is Succeeding In Today’s Economy!

Want real positive simple answers to why this giftware supplier company is making it?

1. Products people want to buy are offered for sale at fair, affordable retail prices. Simple as it sounds many companies today have beaten to death tired old product lines because they get a big mark up or they don’t have the monies to develop new designs. Most old giftware today is in the "dollar store" graveyards and competes directly with the "Brand" offerings at rock bottom prices. The perceived value is still there on this new companies products, they sell thru and the "Brand" retailer gets great turns because it is priced right. Many giftware companies are still slapping new or licensed art on old tired junk, this is not 2010 product development, those days are gone....

This "new" company understands that impulse products must do more than one thing in the market today. Being a “dustible” (A giftware or Collectible that now or in the future collects dust on a shelf) doesn’t sell in today’s economic environment. Products today have 3 seconds to stoke the emotion of a buyer, cruel as it sounds. This company positively pushes specific targeted responses and connects with the individual buyer’s “emotion button.”

2. Internal systems are state of the art, outsourced, and yield variable overhead at low cost. VOIP Phones, Cloud email, I.T., accounting, HR, customer service infrastructure, and web services, etc, are all outsourced and the savings are given back to the end customer in lower prices, again giving the products high perceived value and high turns for the retailers.

3. Interactive consumer mindset. One of their top selling “Giftibles” is designed for today’s and tomorrow’s buyer enlisting the capability to have the product interact with a personalized live website as an ongoing ROI service.

4. Aggressive marketing that finds the customer and supports the brand for its retailers. Infomercials, Permission email marketing, Direct Marketing, and a number of innovative techniques that are proprietary all support their retailers and drive end customers to their dealers in an ongoing effort. They are playing offense, not defense with their marketing and sales in conventional and unconventional ways!

Who is this company that “get’s it” in today’s challenging marketplace? The company is called Little Gifts (http://www.littlegifts.com/) and is one of the top giftware companies listed on this year’s best seller list by Giftbeat magazines 2009 charts (Pet gifts) (http://www.giftbeat.com/ ). One of its hot items? IDtag.com (http://www.idtag.com/ ) is a non evasive, privacy protected pet system that invokes a gift and interactive web solution for finding lost pets. Great sellers are breed specific targeted affordable impulse items for owners of specific dogs, cats, etc.

The owner’s did not drop out of the sky with their innovations, rather learned the gift marketplace after being highly regarded consultants (for some of the “big Dog” brands back in the day). Growing up in the new interactive world Little Gifts owners took the entrepreneurial path and combined their business know how and consulting experience with their own money to create this vision of what works. This product line and company is gift, collectible, and decorative accessories circa 2010. They have reinvented the successful gift company model for the next decade.

So Kemo Sabe, better to light a candle than curse the darkness of this consumer economy, lessons learned from today’s buyer are showing the way. This is one case study with a happy ending, these folks are adapting and being rewarded for creating a new business model; they should be congratulated!

You might want to take a page from their book and forget about all those Indians that are swarming around your present situation.......