February Newsletter

• In-line With Online
  - Ecommerce know-how and can-do,
• All Aboard
  - Beating the winter blues with games and puzzles that offer innovative play.
• Lets Be Crafty -
  - What’s hot in DIY arts and crafts.
• Just for You
  - Mother’s Day Inspirations.
• Soft Furnishing Trends for the Year Ahead
  - 2011 and 2012 seasons are expected to explore new beginnings.

Just for You

Mother’s Day Inspirations.

Sourcing a line or two about just how special women are isn’t a hard task, so neither should the act of finding her a special gift – be it for Mother’s Day or any other special celebration.

However, despite many customers’ great intentions, choosing a meaningful and well-thought-out Mother’s Day gift doesn’t always amount. And considering that many one-day celebrations like Mother’s Day are steeped with more commercialisation than ‘true love and affection’ nowadays, it’s no surprise that many dads and children are forgoing the trip to the shops to buy something nice for mum.

Nevertheless, stocking quality and special items for mums, sisters and female family members instore is still essential, especially those items that are destined to make perfect gifts all year round, say gift specialists. Belinda Kropach, sales manager of Methven, says encouraging customers to buy gifts of wellness and functionality should be top of the list. “Many women nowadays have forgotten what it’s like to indulge themselves in beauty rituals like spas, massages and even long aromatic baths,” she says. “Instead of treating themselves to a new skincare product or regime, they’ll seek comfort in food – which isn’t always the best, or healthiest, option.”

Therefore, making the luxury affordable and dedicating their products to everyday use for everyday-busy Kiwi women are two of Methven’s key missions, says Kropach.

With the aim of encapsulating the benefits of aroma and hydrotherapy – whilst remaining time savvy – Methven created a Homespa shower infusion range, complete with an infusion pod which attaches to a slide shower or shower head. “A shower isn’t just a functional thing for standing under,” says Kropach. “It’s one of the first things many people will step into in the morning, or after work, to invigorate the senses. And as much as we’d all like to have long, luxurious baths every day or indulge in a spa treatment once a fortnight, the reality is that not everyone can afford the time or money.

“Customers can simply choose one of our four infusion oils: Green Tea & Peppermint, Grapefruit & Pomegranate, Rosemary & Lemon, and Jasmine & Ylang Ylang, pop it into their infusion pod, and as the water runs through it they’re bathed in a luxurious stream of essential oils, vitamins and fragrances.”

However, offering affordable luxuries to customers – especially female – like those of the Homespa range, doesn’t mean you leave product to do all the talking for you, says Kropach. “With product like ours, it’s essential that retailers know how the product works completely and understands its benefits, so they can then successfully educate their customers,” she says. “Our products sell well for retailers who have a sound customer base and work really hard to foster a great relationship with their clients and take the time to demonstrate and communicate the product’s benefits with them.”

Communicating is the key to successful selling after all, says Christine Novak, product development manager of Australasian wholesale company Artique Designs – especially when it comes to Mother’s Day and the like. “We (Artique) offer free Mother’s Day display material (header cards and shelf talkers) to retailers to allow them to create a great display in their stores. This helps to showcase the product on display and creates great impact when customers walk in,” she says. “As the season runs for only approximately four weeks, many of our customers try to display the range in high-impact areas – window displays, counter tops etc. We’ve noticed that many of our larger retail clients also create Mother’s Day catalogues to reach a wider audience, and this helps them sell their products before the customers even reach their stores.”

Signage or no signage, Gayleen Washington, buyer and manager for retailer Redcurrent, believes maximising Mother’s Day appeal across the entire store is of utmost importance. “We never colour-block – narrowing down our colour and product choices to a select few at the front of the store doesn’t work for us, as we want to appeal to all mums and customers, so we display gifts across the board, ranging from $10 to $300, with plenty of colour options,” she says. “We ensure that our staff are completely up to date with product knowledge, and have fine-tuned their customer service skills, because our expertise and willingness to help customers are essential.”

For those on the go, pre-packaged gifts are also a top choice for Mother’s Day buyers, says Novak, as they appeal to time-strapped dads and those sending overseas. “Most of our products are gift-boxed, making it easier for stores to display the items,” she says. “With all our Mother’s Day ranges there are usually three to four designs in the stories; in our ‘With Love’ range there are multiple designs. This helps to create a story and makes a fantastic display instore.”

Kropach echoes similar packaging sentiments. “With our infusion pod range, we’ve packaged the pod with two infusion oils so that customers don’t have to buy them separately first time – it’s all there, boxed, beautifully presented and ready to gift.”

Offering customers something a little different for and around Mother’s Day is a must, says Novak, but without overstepping the mark. “A large proportion of our everyday products are tailored for the female market, but we do like to offer a few extra-special products to our customers so they can create instore displays tailored to the season,” she says. “We never actually note ‘Mother’s Day’ on any of our products. This allows our customers to continue selling the items after Mother’s Day if they weren’t a sellout before. However, we have noted that, for Mother’s Day, pink-toned products outsell all other colours – it’s definitely the dominant colour across all ranges for this celebration.”

Presenting your customers with a complete package, especially male shoppers, is a sure way of attracting Mother’s Day buyers and repeat business, says Washington. “What got us (Redcurrent) through the worst of the recession was the fact that we lowered our prices, we upped our customer service skills – for example, chasing products for customers and one-on-one personal shopping – and we kept our free gift-wrapping service,” she says. “So when customers come to us for Mother’s Day gifts, they know they’ll get great service, a huge diversity of gifts to choose from, free gift-wrapping, and they will be able to pick up a card to pop on top. Mother’s Day is like Christmas for us: we can nearly triple our takings a day or two before – it’s a great ride.”

And for those opting for smellies on Mother’s Day, you can’t go past tried and true fragrances, says Anne Ross, director of Capulet. “I think Mother’s Day is largely about disposable and personal gifts like perfumes, candles, lotions and flowers – and things that mum would not usually splurge on herself,” she says. “Fragrances that are always popular and safe are fig and rose, and packaged gift sets seem to sell well.”

Ensuring that your store is well staffed on and two days prior to Mother’s Day is also a smart move, says Ross. “People don’t shop for Mother’s Day gifts weeks in advance like Christmas, and in most cases I think they are bought on the Saturday for presentation on the Sunday,” she says. “My advice would be to make sure you have your stores well staffed and stocked on the Friday and Saturday so you catch every customer who comes in – don’t miss any opportunity to make a sale.”

Sales are created for special people, when the buyer feels content and taken care of, says Washington. “I think many Mother’s Day customers crave the hands-on shopping experience and want to feel valued. It’s really off-putting for many shoppers when they walk into a large department store and see 50 foot spas plonked on the ground with a Mother’s Day sign in front – those sorts of displays scare people. People who want that sort of thing are often quite happy to shop online,” she says. “But there is definitely an abundance of customers out there who do value the true-blue gift-buying experience – it’s our job to make them feel special and important.”