ASD/AMD Marketplace - Summer 2008 - (Page 47) Feature: Merchandise A guitar pick might seem like a very narrowly targeted novelty item, but Hot Picks were created with universal appeal and are not just for the musically inclined. In fact, guitar players “usually don’t want to wreck them by using them,” according to Key. Merchandise with the area’s favorite national and college sports teams is a natural fit for many c-stores. LSU (Louisiana State University) merchandise, including hats and T-shirts, is the best-selling “inand-out” merchandise at Friends “We can’t compete on price with Wal-Mart year-round for items such as batteries, flashlights and tape, but during our hurricane season, from July to September, but especially August and September, we make sure we have ample supply of that stuff,” O’Neill said. “And there lies the key to novelty merchandising — changing it up.” That’s because Hot Picks have what many successful novelty items have — the collectible factor. They are presented six to a pack (retailing for about $3.99), and each pack has a different theme (gothic skulls, classic monsters) or a movie/ character license (“Cars,” Tinker Bell). “They’re obviously not going to replace soda. We’re add-on dollars for stores like 7-Eleven,” Key said. “But they’ve told us they’re very pleased with how fast they’re turning over and as long as we change it up, we have a spot.” And there lies the key to novelty merchandising — changing it up. “It’s one of those categories that if you work at it, there’s always growth,” stated Randy Bates, vice president and general buyer of Hutchinson Oil Co., based in Elk City, Okla. “We see lots of novelty opportunities, but you have to stay on top of it all the time. There’s so much out there — there’s always something coming along that’s a new concept that no one else has seen — you want to be the first out there with something like that.” Enterprises, according to John O’Neill, president of the Morgan City, La.-based chain. “The football season is the main driver, especially this year after the National Championship,” O’Neill said. “January and February were our best months with it. Now, it’ll die down, but we’ll pick it back up for the next football season.” A category manager at Circle K reported doing well with “winning” sports team memorabilia. This year, during the playoffs particularly, Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys merchandise was popular. “Believe it or not, the hottest items were slippers and Santa hats,” he said. “They sold out in November, December — I pumped in as much as I could, but stores were screaming for more, and I couldn’t get any more. Those are two items we’ll make sure we have a lot more of for next fourth quarter.” Up in Oregon, the chain has a lot of stores in fishing areas that reportedly do well with novelty fish T-shirts —the category manager calls them “hilarious” — and fishing memorabilia. The hurricane season presents another local opportunity for the general merchandise at Friends. Happy Holidays The drug store trade is notable for using holiday and seasonal merchandising to draw more traffic into stores and increase the basket ring. Many c-stores are catching the holiday fever too, only on a smaller scale — through their novelty and general merchandise offerings. This past Valentine’s Day, Hutchinson Oil sold a lot of cards, teddy bears and even women’s panties shaped like a rose for $3.99 each. “We made a 60 percent margin on those and they sold out,” Bates said. “It’s an in-and-out holiday deal. You want to bring it in for the holiday period, and blow it out.” The chain does a little bit with most of the holidays — Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. For Mother’s Day, Bates reported that it will often get into the highest dollar-ring items, such as ceramics and crystals in the $29.99 to $39.99 range. He always has a display of holidayappropriate greetings, especially since “our novelty company guarantees the cards 100 percent,” Bates said. Local Yokels Being on top of the novelty curve often includes catering to a local clientele with targeted buys. Summer ‘08 47
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