.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;} &>
 

Friday, October 28, 2005

Craftspeople talk about how sales are doing

I've been talking with craftspeople interested in the ANCA sponsored group booths and with others that I'm calling about copresenting with me the How to Establish and Maintain Wholesale Workshop in Glens Falls at the Shirt Factory on Nov. 5.

Here's what I'm hearing about how sales are doing. Two of the six vendors from the ANCA group booth at the NY Souvenir Show, Oct. 17-20, at the City Center in Saratoga Springs picked up, in one case, 2 new accounts, 1 really old account and enough reorders to make it worth going back again. In the other case, it was 4 new accounts, 1 really old account and enough reorders to also make it worth going back next year as well. There were less buyers. Onc vendor said that the buyers are telling them they still have inventory (I've heard this three years in a row!) and that the under $10 items are not turning over as easily. Shop customers who typically buy in this price range may be more impacted by the increase in gas. Higher end items are selling well - these shop customers are not impacted by the increase in gas.

All the craftspeople are flat out going to as many shows as they can on weekends now until Christmas. Why I scheduled that Nov. 5 workshop on a weekend day is beyond me! Got to remember to schedule mid week next year and a few weeks earlier.

In the Glens Falls - Saratoga region, a high end hand forged jewelry maker, who I was hoping could copresent, said he was doing well because he had found a good rep recently. Another one, original illustrations on clothing and other product, said he was doing as well as last year, and would easily be doing more sales if he was actively following up and calling new and established accounts. Another said that retail was doing well but that wholesale accounts were flat.

One retailer in Saranac Lake said she had done well this summer, despite a very slow June. July, she said, had been even better than August! She has heard from other retailers in Saranac Lake that their high season sales had been flat.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home