facebook 
twitter 
email 
plusone 
linkedin 
January is a very busy time for us. Which is odd because the bricks and mortar part of the business is closed so you’d think we were lazing around on some sunny beach far south of Cape Cod, or at the very least curled up in front of the fireplace at home with a good book.
But, no.
January is the month we analyze the previous year and go do the buying for the next year.
I secretly quite like the analysis stuff and consequently spend more time on it than I probably should but it’s also useful to be armed with solid information about what sold and what didn’t, what made us any money and what didn’t, what we have a lot left of and what is sold out, what costs a lot to ship and what doesn’t… That type of thing.
And because people ask us all the time what are our best sellers, and which artists do we enjoy dealing with, and what is the best item we carry (along with how old is the dog, 15, and where is the closest bathroom, Whalers’ Wharf, and where can I buy an aspirin, the Little Store though they closed this year so now Adam’s Pharmacy) I thought I’d share a few of the tidbits that I gleaned from all the number crunching. But there won’t be any trashing of the companies who were difficult to deal with, or the products that kept breaking, or the ones that just didn’t sell. This is about all those great selling items and the wonderful companies and artists we deal with. It’s about the positive side of the books. So…
1. What is the best seller?
Two answers really. Best selling single item by a long, long way goes to the climbing men, as it has for the four years we have been carrying them. I keep thinking there can’t be anyone left who hasn’t bought one and we did sell fewer this year than in the past, but it was still an awful lot of them. The best selling whole line was the Tokyo Bay watches which have been in our top 5 every year since we opened the store. And best selling watch within that line was Gaucho Brown which we couldn’t keep in stock until I got my act together and started ordering them 6 or 8 at a time.
2. What other lines have been consistently strong sellers over the years?
The switchplates have always been great, probably because we carry such a lot of them and do special orders for configurations and designs we don’t have in stock. Many people tell us it’s the biggest selection they have ever seen. The Acme line of pens, card cases, cufflinks and the rest have always been strong too, and again I think that is because we carry a lot of their designs. and with the launch of their new Beatles Collection I think they will only get better. And the cufflinks, wallets and the like made from old transit tokens, used baseballs, vintage globes and a host of other interesting materials have done well many years in a row, but especially this year as we expanded the line considerably.
3. What was the best new line?
Another multiple answer. Strictly on overall sales the fish made from license plates and old street signs by NC artist Tripp Gregson is the clear winner. But another excellent new line was the birdhouses which were one of the lowest priced items in the store but we sold hundreds and hundreds of them. And the best part is that they were in a space that previously had nothing. Literally a dark and dingy corner. But their bright colors attracted people from the other side of the room and the dark and dingy corner suddenly paid it’s way, and then some. And another winner that was in a space that didn’t really have anything before was the coasters and journals made from discarded books. People went wild for them, as did I. Oh and the peel and stick wall decals. Mustn’t forget them. (Check out this post about using them in kids rooms.) They were awesome too. We actually did particularly well with almost all of the new lines this year (small pat on back).
4. What other factors besides sales/profit margin makes you keep a line?
Small storage space and low shipping costs are always a plus but bad customer service and always being out of stock are two things I can’t be doing with. We have a very short season and if a company takes weeks to get something to us then it doesn’t work and we drop them. And if they are unpleasant to deal with? Well, life’s too short really for that kind of thing.
5. What isn’t coming back in 2012 that you are sorry to see go?
The kids 3D backpacks were a great seller for us this year. Plus they shipped very quickly and were always so helpful with rush orders and stuff like that. Unfortunately they have decided to take their company in a different direction and we won’t be able to get any more backpacks. Luckily we do have a decent stock of them so we will be able to sell them, online at least, for a while.
6. What is out because it didn’t sell or the company was a pain to deal with?
Didn’t you read the beginning? I’m not trashing the bad ones. They just won’t be there next year.
So, on to 2012. Next week we hit the trade shows, armed with all the facts and figures plus lists of what we are looking for. What was your favorite item of last year? And what would you like us to bring in this year?