An Untapped Market

Dear Retailer,


Americans in their 20s and early 30s are continuing to consume more wine. The businesses that have recognized the expanding demographic are trying to capitalize on young adults finding their way into the world of wine. By attempting to reshape wine’s image from “your parents beverage”, groups like Wine Riot are attracting large groups of young people by putting on wine tasting events designed for the younger consumer. See this article in the New York Times discussing the success of Wine Riot events in New York.

The younger demographic is an untapped market for wine sales as they are often written off as the beer drinking age group. Consider creating events targeting this age group. Whether it takes live music, free food, or some well placed advertising particularly calling out to your younger customers, consider events designed to grow and solidify your relationships with this customer base.

As a company made up of young people and the young at heart, we like the idea of wine being accessible and fun for everyone (21+ only please). When asked what our company does for wine, I like to say “we make drinking wine better”. Or, “we make wine more fun”, whichever you prefer. A wine event designed for young people is also the perfect time to up-sell wine accessories. As a member of this gadget driven generation, we want a gadget for everything, and we want it to be newer and better than the person sitting next to us. At True Fabrications, we’re always trying to come out with new and different products you can provide for your customers. Check out our New Arrivals section for all of our latest products. Some of them are so new, they aren’t even in our catalog.

Cheers,

True Fabrications

Wine At The Ballpark

Dear Retailer,


Last week, I attended a Seattle Mariner’s game and was pleasantly surprised by the choice of beers available. Instead choosing between regular macro lager and light macro lager, I was offered a host of local and imported beer featuring many different styles. While beer has long been the traditional beverage of the ballpark, wine has made its way into the offerings.

This summer, we have been highlighting wine’s presence in places traditionally dominated by beer. As America’s consumption of wine continues to increase and wine consumers continue to become more diverse, wine continues to appear in new places. We thought we would share an article with you in honor of the MLB playoffs being just around the corner.

Cheers,

True Fabrications

Increase Your Sales

Dear Retailer,

We recently received a newsletter e-mail from Wines & Vines featuring some interesting tasting room statistics produced by The WISE Academy. We thought we’d pass them along to you as you will probably find them interesting and relevant to your store or tasting room. From 500 anonymous tasting rooms and shops surveyed, “only 40% of tasting room professionals ask for the sale”. This means 60% of visitors are slipping by. Consider how many missed sales opportunities are occurring due to a lack of closing on sales.

The newsletter also included four interesting sales ideas. 1st: Focus on local items. Customers love items that are specific to a region, especially if they are traveling and feel this in the only place it is available. 2nd: Make stock look abundant. According the newsletter, thin stock looks picked over and abundance of products will pull people in. 3rd keep track of sales performance by non-wine items and clear out the poor sellers by lowering prices and consider moving the top sellers up a dollar. After all, accessories are a great way to gain a 100% return on your investment if you have a good seller. Finally, if you want to move accessories, foods and other non-wine items, make a display in the middle of a walk way that slows people down. As the article said, “items in the shadows, stay in the shadows”.

Consider these stats and ideas as you plan for the fall and winter. Have a great weekend!

Cheers,

True Fabrications

Changing Seasons and Holiday Preparation

Dear Retailer,


Greeting and Happy Labor Day weekend. Although summer doesn’t officially end just yet, this weekend marks a psychological end of summer for many. Schools start back up, college football kicks off and September begins the transition into the fall months.

Now is the perfect time for final summer sales and the advertising of new fall items. Offer deals this weekend that mark the end of summer or the beginning of fall.

Here at True Fabrications, we’re preparing for the holidays and think you should too. Consider space in your store that you want to turn into a holiday section and start planning what you want to carry now. Also, consider ordering your holiday items as early as possible. Early orders mean more time for selling and a reduced risk of out of stock items. Planning now can help prevent missed sales and headaches later. Have a great weekend!

Cheers,

True Fabrications

A Toast To Gary Vaynerchuk

Dear Retailer,

For the past 5 1/2 years, self made wine giant Gary Vaynerchuk has been entertaining wine lovers and educating those new to the world of wine through the power of social media. On August 23rd, Gary announced his retirement from his very popular web-videos.

Turning his father’s liquor store into a $50 million a year wine business called Wine Library, Gary harnessed the power of social media and created a story that is truly inspirational. Since 2006, Gary has been posting videos on the web via Wine Library TV and his newer video site Daily Grape.

Vaynerchuk entertained and educated people through colorful descriptions, and sometimes zany antics, all while trying to make wine more accessible. While promoting wine, Gary also became a model for both entrepreneurship and branding via social media. From the 10s of thousands of people who watch his videos to his almost 900,000 twitter followers, Vaynerchuk has created a personal brand that has translated to book deals and speaking tours. We would encourage those who do not know about Gary to do some reading and consider the benefits social media might have for your business.

Cheers,

True Fabrications

10 New Products We're Excited For This Fall and Winter

Dear Retailer,

Although we’re still in the middle of August and much of the country is still gripped by 2011’s unrelenting summer heat, it’s never too soon to start thinking about fall and the upcoming winter/holiday season. On the subject of the changing seasons, True Fabrications would like to announce that our winter catalog has been printed and shipped. Please let us know if you do not see it by the end of August. Our new catalog will have close to 200 new products and everything you need for the holiday season.

We’re very excited for the new catalog and we hope you are too! In honor of the new catalog’s departure from our warehouse, we compiled a list of 10 new products to get excited about this holiday season.

1. Glacier Rocks

2. Truetap Corkscrews

3. Our New POP Displays

4. New Cork Holders

5. New Candles and Candle Holders

6. Our best selling cocktail Shaker now comes in Red

7. Cork Trivets and Coasters

8. New Decanter Designs

9. New Wine Charms

10. New Holiday Bags

Let us know if you have any questions about these products or any others. We’re always here to help.

Cheers,

True Fabrications

Looking For Something?

Dear Retailer,


Like any market, the wine, liquor and beer business sees trends driven by consumer demand. Here at True Fabrications, we've seen trends from our customers. These trends are ultimately driven by your customers. From aeration and wine charms, to our upcoming Glacier Rocks, we’re always looking for the next great idea to offer our customers.

While our customers’ main point of contact is our sales team, the people behind our company’s products are the Product Development team. We have a very creative and proactive group that is always looking for new ideas. If you can’t find a product that you need, let us know. We’re always looking for new ideas and the product team loves your suggestions. Is there something you’ve been looking for?

Cheers,

True Fabrications