Blackboarding Specials

I'm fortunate to live near 5 great specialty food stores, two within walking distance of my house... so I often stroll over to see what's doing.  One shop I walk to uses one of those A-frame blackboard signs to promote the specials at the deli counter inside the store. It had the same specials on it for weeks so I suggested to the owner a little update was in order.

"I bet you get the same customers in day in and day out who buy the same sandwich," I opined.  "Yes, you are right about that!" she said.  "Why not promote something else besides the deli– say your latest arrival of locally grown asparagus, a new shipment of figs or chocolate, maybe a cheese sampling."  Brie for free?

The idea is that passersby (and regular customers) do read the sign and will ignore something that isn't interesting or obviously outdated.  At the same time the sign educates the strolling public about the variety of merchandise you offer.  Changing it daily provides a reason to look and can invite someone in who otherwise might have ignored your shop.

Well my friendly shop owner did indeed change her sign and she said people do ask for the things she puts on the board.  In fact the staff also got into the groove and they suggest some really bizarre items just to see if people will inquire… and the upside is that regular customers now are into reading the sign before they enter.  With more than 5,000 items, my magical merchant will need ten years to tell everyone about them--- and that’s OK with her!

If you try this, keep the offers simple, change it daily, list up to three items from different categories/departments and seek suggestions from your staff.  And don't be tempted to repeat or skip a day.  Your public will soon be in on the concept and they'll notice.

Ron Jakubisin

jakubisin.com

 

2020 Lessons

After spending two information packed days with retatilers, industry experts and vendors at Retail2020 in San Francisco last week. I have a billion takeaways, but here are a few quick lessons I learned that you might also implement in your lives/stores. And to anyone else who attended event - let's start talking here and let us all know what you garnered from attending.

From Phil Lempert's consumer panel - Consumers don't always identify with brand names in the kitchenware arena as I thought they would. It was interesting to see the struggle they had naming cookware brands, but still they knew the uses for cookware and what they wanted.

From Harold Lloyd - Visit 26 stores a year to keep my retail knowlege fresh and insightful. Also be sure those stores aren't simply specialty food and kitchenware stores, but stores that cater to specific consumers. Watch the trends and pay attention to how they are merchandising and talking in those stores.

I also learned some working habits from Harold - splitting my week into 55 hours for work, 55 for sleep, 55 for family and 3 for me - does that math work out? Yes, but perhaps it doesn't apply to the publishing industry. But it's certainly a goal for the year 2020!

Another thing is to divide my periodical reading amongst my staff and have them report back to me their findings - great story ideas, new trends, and for me publishing design trends. This works for consumer magazines as well. Another great idea was to pay your team a bonus for vacations - that is while they are on vacation to pay them a bonus or reward if they come back with a great idea from a specialty food or kitchenware store. I love it - I have some ideas how to implement this with my own staff.

If you were at The Gourmet Retailer's Retail2020 Conference, let me know what you learned. If you weren't and have great business or management tips to share with other retailers, sound off now!

And here are some photos from the event I wanted to share. Cheers!

   

A Chef's Choice

Chef's Choice, a leader in the small appliance marketplace, with tea kettles, slicers, sharpeners and waffle irons, has two products that have changed my ideas of manual and electric sharpeners. First, the PRONTO Manual Diamond Hone, a small, hand-held, draw style sharpener, which, as a chef, I am normally not a fan, but this light, non skid body with a long ergonomic handle, is a pleasure to use.

 

The dual port, diamond discs quickly and easily sharpen/hone all blade styles, including serrated. A top attribute of this manual, is the lack of “bone chilling screech,” normally associated with manual, wheeled sharpeners. It’s a great, economical addition to any tool box or kitchen drawer for quick sharpening tasks.

As a chef/restaurateur, I’m also drawn to the electric Chef’s Choice 1520; a most versatile sharpener that can restore and recreate both, a 20 degree edge for European and American style knives and a 15 degree edge for Asian style knives.

The 1520 is a small countertop sharpener with 100% diamond abrasives, precision angle guides, and  multi-stages that include  stropping discs for a sharp and polished edge. It applies the prefect angle and pressure to insure a clean sharp blade, without distempering the steel. The powerful motor, carrying a 3 year warranty, can easily transform old or new dull blades into a microscopically flawless polished edge. The design of the sharpener, produces a much stronger, 15-20 degree angled, concave edge than the old- fashion, but highly utilized, brittle, “hollow” ground taper.

 Once again, this sharpener is up to the rigors of regular sharpening and maintenance of a bevy of knives and blade styles, for the homeowner that loves to cook and a favorite of chefs.

Something…since it is a home use sharpener vs. commercial kitchen.