True Fabrications

An Untapped Market

2011-10-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

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?

2011-08-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

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

1 More Reason To Enjoy Wine This Summer

2011-08-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

Greetings Retailers,

With all the studies discussing the benefits of red wine consumption, people hardly need one more excuse to enjoy a glass this summer. However, a new study now draws links between wine consumption and protection from UV rays. This very timely summer related study can be seen here.

As wine grows closer and closer to becoming a super food, we wanted to draw attention to more good news for wine lovers everywhere. While we don’t suggest replacing SPF with your summer red of choice, take solace in the fact that your picnic wine might help protect you from the sun’s damaging rays.

When it comes to picnic season, True Fabrications has everything you need to make your summer outings a success. From our new collapsible carriers, to our three bottle tote with glassware, a bottle opener and other supplies, check out True Fabrications’ newest arrivals for all the best summer items. Finally, no picnic would be complete without picnic stix. Have a great weekend and take advantage of summer's last month.

Cheers,

True Fabrications

Happy Friday, Its Almost Football Season!

2011-07-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

For those who haven’t heard, the pending NFL lockout that would have delayed the upcoming season is over! America’s beloved fall pastime will begin on schedule. This is a great time to focus on merchandise for the tailgating season.

Have you considered offering tailgating suggestions in your store? Create a list of wines that go well with tailgating foods. From malbecs and cabs for red meat to Riesling for brats, offer suggestions that can fill the beverage hole that beer usually fills. Although wine might not be the traditional football season drink, the right wine might just set your tailgate apart.

Along with wine paired for tailgating, football season can also be a great time to focus on tailgating merchandise. For those who don’t want to bring their stemware to the parking lot, the takeya swirl and the acrylic wine glasses can be great replacements for enjoying pregame wine. For customers who like watching football from their living rooms, Mr. Beer gives weekend couch potatoes the opportunity to easily make their own beer to share with friends. In honor of the lockout ending and this being a Friday, check out our facebook page to see our first Fab Friday deal of the day!

Cheers,

True Fabrications

Economy Wines

2011-07-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

Since 2008, many industries have had to shift their focus to keep up with consumer needs. While wine has managed to weather the storm better over the last three years than other industries, the price points and goals of the consumer have changed. In pre-recession times, there was a large focus on brand names and expensive labels. While this market still exists, the recession also developed a new niche for enterprising wine makers. As the recession set in, a need for less expensive, drinkable/enjoyable wines developed. Many winemakers have taken up the challenge of trying to create the best bottle for the consumer’s dollar.

Check out this story about a wine importer that adjusted it's portfolio in order to keep up with the changing market. These affordable bottles can actually be turned into a great marketing tool in your store. Many stores have offered “recession specials” and highlighted or added lower priced, high quality wines. A wine shop in my neighborhood has a section that offers 100 wines from around the world for $10 or less. This is a great way to try different and very affordable bottles. Have you considered promoting a lower price point section in your store? We would love to hear about it.

With over 800 products, we try to provide our customers with options at every price point. No matter what you’re looking for, we will do what we can to get you the right product to satisfy your store’s needs. Also, if you ever need something that we don’t have, please share your ideas; we’re always looking for new product ideas and suggestions.

Cheers,

True Fabrications

Creative Cork Ideas

2011-07-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

How many times have you opened a bottle of wine either in your store or on your own time and not known what to do with the cork? With 784 Million gallons of wine consumed in the US last year alone, there are a lot of corks to go around. What are we to do with all the removed corks?

A number of companies both large and small have created cork recycling programs. Even larger stores like Whole Foods have started their own recycling stands. Recycling wine corks not only reuses a rare wood, but can also be used as an incentive program in your store. Consider creating a program where customers can return a certain number of corks to your store (maybe 24), and you provide a discount on their next purchase in return.

While wine corks have been a popular craft material for quite some time, reusing wine corks for both utility purposes and decoration is growing more common. From Trivets for hot pans, to furniture and flooring, cork is being used in more places. True Fabrications would like to introduce their new cork holders for the summer season. Now you can you use your old corks as a great decorative piece on tables and bars.

Cheers,

True Fabrications

Recyclable and Reusable

2011-07-06T16:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

To combat the ever increasing use of raw materials and the subsequent rise in prices for wine, one group in California is taking a page out of history. Returning to days past when milk bottles were collected, cleaned and reused, Wine Bottle Renew in Sonoma is trying to take the same approach by sanitizing and reusing wine bottles. The reuse of bottles is already practiced in other countries around the world. Both Canada and Denmark, among others, have adopted the process for their beer industries. For more on this story, see the following article.

We at True Fabrications have found recycled products made from wine barrels and wine bottles to be extremely popular. Our line of glassware made from recycled wine bottles (including a wine glass, beer glass, and tumbler) are a fantastic opportunity to cross sell with organic wines. True Fabrications also has an exquisite line of handmade recycled wine barrels products including serving plates, cheeseboards, candelabras, wine racks, and even our newest dog bed!

As recycling and reusing items becomes more fashionable, businesses have found great success in carrying recycled or reused products. Whether you’re making something new out of recycled material, or rebuilding something out of an old product, recycled items are an easily marketable line of products that every store should take advantage of. From lower prices, to environmental benefits, we think recycled and reused products are great for the retail floor.

Cheers,

True Fabrications.

Flash Sale Websites for Wine

2011-04-13T00:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

Consumers shopping online over the past couple years have discovered a variety of websites offering wine at spectacular deals. Wine.woot.com comes to mind as probably the most popular site offering daily wine deals (while woot.com provides deals on a variety of electronics). It's hard for traditional wine retailers to provide such deep discounts since these online retailers can clear out inventory quickly and in huge volumes. This interesting New York Times article points out that as much as 25% of total online wine sales are generated through these deep discount wine websites. As the economy improves and wineries no longer have excess supply, these discounted wines and the variety that these flash websites offer should predictably decline. However, with $100 million in annual sales, it's a trend all retailers should pay close attention to if only to get some insight into the overall surplus (or lack there of one day) in the wine industry.

Cheers!
True Fabrications
www.truefabrications.com

Selling More Housewares

2011-03-10T00:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Retailers,

True Fabrications recently attended the International Housewares show in Chicago (in case you missed us there, you can also see the other wine related shows we are going to around the country). We met some fantastic people within our industry and also picked up a great deal of knowledge about helping retailers increase their overall housewares sales. Housewares sales, for the most part, are dominated by mass merchandisers or super centers. Wine stores, grocery stores, liquor stores, etc. don't seem to do as well as they should with housewares considering they enjoy more frequent visits from their customers. There seems to be two important reasons for this.

The first is that these types of wine/food/liquor stores are used to high velocity items and don't like the idea of dedicating space to slower velocity housewares items. The second reason is that housewares are not appropriately or effectively cross merchandised with these high velocity food/wine/liquor items to maximize their sales. These are easy obstacles to overcome especially within your wine and liquor departments. As wine has grown in popularity, so too have wine accessories and wine homeware. Appropriately merchandising these products throughout your stores and departments is the key to success in generating increased velocity of these high margin items. We have discussed in the past simple cross merchandising by using for sale wine racks, gift boxes, and cheese boards within your wine displays. .Or creating space within each wine aisle that features some functional and fun corkscrews or wine accessories to provide a visual break from the rows of wine labels. There are several ideas and I'm sure as retailers, you have millions more. We encourage you to try and test out new approaches. And while you are at it, read this blog article in the Supermarket News about why generating housewares sales is a trend you'll want to keep up with.

Cheers!

True Fabrications

Relaxing the Liquor Laws?

2011-02-15T00:34:00.000-08:00

Dear Retailers,

As state and local governments continue to deal with budget shortfalls and a high unemployment rate, discussions over relaxing age old liquor and wine laws have become more prevalent. New York generates the most attention as they continue their long debate over allowing grocery stores to sell wine and liquor. New York is not alone. Tennessee, Kansas, and Oklahoma have discussed similar options for expanding the number of wine/liquor outlets. The Pennsylvania government started hearings to discuss privatizing the huge state monopoly on liquor and wine while Texas and Connecticut deliberate over allowing alcohol sales on Sundays. All these discussions for expanding brick and mortar licenses continue while a host of states ponder changes to their cross border wine shipment laws to deal with growing online wine sales.

In any case, these discussions are not new, but they have taken a new tone as every municipality struggles to generate revenue they need desperately. We feel that 2011 will be a very interesting and productive year in terms of legislative changes that may fundamentally change the way wine is sold throughout the United States (both on and offline). It's hard keeping up with all the changes but we look forward to updates from our customers around the country and from great industry resources like the newsletters from the ABL.
We love talking about these issues so don't be shy to bring them up and give us your perspective anytime!

Cheers!
True Fabrications

PLCB Wine Kiosks

2010-12-26T23:52:00.000-08:00

Dear Retailers,

By now you have probably heard about the wine kiosks in the state of Pennsylvania that aim to provide a tad more convenience to wine consumers in a limited number of grocery stores. If you haven't heard of them, sit back with a nice glass of wine and imagine this. You provide your ID to a large vending machine, a camera operated by a live agent confirms that the ID is in fact you, a built in breathalyser ensures you aren't drunk, and after you sign and provide payment it dispenses a bottle of wine from a limited selection of 50 bottles. Just recently, a few problems with these machines that this article outlines resulted in a temporary shut down of these kiosks during the holiday season.

Now that you've read more about them, we would love to know your opinion next time you call in. We can't decide whether the we should think of the machines as absurd or at least a small progressive step towards a more reasonable wine policy in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has some of the strictest control over wine sales in the US with the largest state store system (the PLCB). If the PLCB has decided that consumers do need more convenience or locations to purchase wine, why would they insist on developing and deploying a high tech vending machine manned by real people that offers only 50 bottles rather than offering off-premise licenses to retailers?

We are all baffled and would love to see how this plays out.

Cheers,

True Fabrications
www.truefabrications.com

Black Friday Might Be Changing

2010-11-24T12:12:00.000-08:00

Dear Retailers,

We all know the growth in online sales continues to be phenomenal. I have read reports that all sales online are increasing by 20% a year. This type of growth continues to change the holiday season from introducing Cyper Monday's as a new shopping holiday to encouraging more people to shop from the comfort of their own home. Although Black Friday remains popular with all kinds of deals and hours of operations at retail stores, online retailers are started to create new strategies that you may want to get involved in or be aware of.

I read this article recently introducing Thanksgiving Day, when most retailers are closed, as a day where online retailers are pushing deals to purchase before consumers go out on Black Friday to shop. If you have a website, this might be of interest for you to try to generate revenue on your website on a day your retail store is closed. Similarly, if you don't sell on your website, you may want to try new and fun marketing ideas on "Cyber Monday" to encourage people to come into your store rather than shop online such as emailing them a coupon or deal to bring into the store. With multi-channel shopping a big part of larger retailer's strategy, it's time for everyone to get involved in the evolving retail world.

Read Full Article Here

Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday!

True Fabrications
www.truefabrications.com

Retail Sales this October, November, and December

2010-11-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

For those of you like me that watch the retail numbers like a hawk, you've by now read that the September retail numbers edged up compared to last year. You can read an in depth article about it here.   Although we don't have all the answers, we do have a good perspective on the wine accessory industry as we work with retailers around the country.   Sales of basic accessories such as corkscrews, wine bags, and aerators continue to show growth year over year with our customers.   A new trend this year is the growth of entertainment products generally used for home and dinner parties perhaps because consumers are spending more time cooking and entertaining at home.

As you prepare for Thanksgiving and the holidays, we would encourage you to create store displays that promote wine and home entertainment. Show your customers how they can combine wine with the art and decor of their homes to create a really great atmosphere with a variety of products.   Consider displaying a dinner table with cheese plates, wine charms on each glass, and fun cocktail napkins to spruce up the occasion.   Or decanters as a way to present their wines in style.

What we also found interesting is that retailers are ordering much more earlier than last year. This tends to show us that optimism for the 4th quarter is high, and that sales before the holiday season in December will remain at least steady through the year.    Traditionally, we find that about 40% of our customers that order in October, end up reordering merchandise in November and December.   We are starting to see a similar trend this year as retailers.

Let's all hope together for a great holiday season!

Cheers,

True Fabrications

Wine on Tap

2010-11-01T23:41:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

I went into my first wine bar recently and asked for a glass of wine.   The bartender then turned around and from a tap, poured me a great glass.   Yes, I said it, from a tap. When I asked the bartender if it's coming from a bottle of wine, he further shocked me by telling me its coming from a keg of wine. He showed me the system and it works almost exactly like beer on tap except it uses nitrogen to push the wine out instead of carbon dioxide in beer taps. That was the first time I had ever seen a wine tap and once I hopped onto the internet, I noticed that it seems to be a growing trend.
High end restraunts and wine bars are taking to the concept of wine on tap.   We posted about this concept in 2009 but this is the first time I have seen it in use.   You can go back and read an article from the NY Times here which brings up all the benefits of the system.  As the article points out, it not only successfully preserves the wine, but with a keg system, it does prevent unnecessary waste created through bottles in a restaurant/bar setting.  Preservation of bottles has always come in all shapes and in sizes from vacuum pumps to spray bottles.   So the fact that it preserves and reduces waste is not what strikes me as interesting. Although I assume if you go through lots of bottles of wine, this would be a great space, time, and money saver for you.

What's more interesting is that if this concept catches on, it might change the way I order wine in bars. As an simple example, I typically think of beer on tap and beer in bottles as slightly different.   For some reason, I enjoy tap beer more when I'm in a bar setting.   I always perceive tap beer as colder, fresher, and just tasting better.   I asked a few friends and they agree with that. Tap beer just feels more refreshing in the end when compared to the same beer cold out of a bottle.

Just a thought, but when offered a wine pour from a bottle or from a tap, do you think people will begin creating distinctions?   Do customers feel a little weary when getting poured a glass from an already open bottle of wine?

Cheers,

True Fabrications

Decanters and Aeration

2010-10-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

2010 continues to show strong sales of all wine accessories related to aeration, decanting, and breathing. Wine retailers continue to indicate that their customers are interesting in learning more about when to aerate, when not to, and what what the differences are between between products.

As you are probably well aware of now, the Red Wine Vinturi Wine Aerator continues to show strong sales even after a very strong 2009. The White Wine Vinturi Aerator, although not as popular, has great growth potential but requires more hand selling as consumers aren't aware that white wine can be aerated. Show and educate your customers that certain white wines can benefit from it.

Similarly, Decanters have shown tremendous growth in sales as they both aerate, separate sediment, and provide a better aesthetic to serving wine. There is no substitution to the beauty of being served wine in a decanter (or from my perspective the fun of actually pouring wine into a decanter). The variety of shapes and sizes of decanters screams at the notion that art and function mix well . One suggestion we always have had is to serve wine during your tastings in decanters to allow customers the opportunity to see the aesthetic they provide. This is an essential product as consumers prepare for more house guests and parities during the fall and winter months.

One added note is that as decanter sales continue to grow, so to do the decanter accessories such as decanter funnels, cleaning brushes, and cleaning beads.

Cheers,

True Fabrications

Internet Wine Sales

2010-09-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

As ecommerce sales continue to grow (by some estimates up to 15%), it brings up new challenges and opportunities for brick and mortar stores who can leverage both online and physical presences. Of course, the internet provides convenience that no one can ignore.  The best example of this is Netflix. The online rental giant completely transformed the movie business, contributing to the closing of many video stores. With more wine and liquor websites popping up everyday and changes in the legal landscapes for inter-state shipments, how can retail stores work to stay competitive?

One way is to begin shipping wine yourself and becoming an option online for your customers. Many of you have websites and might be thinking about selling online. If you are thinking about it, you'll have to do some research to navigate through the various laws for shipping wine to different states.   One of the best sources to help you navigate through this are the Fedex and UPS websites which lay out some of the restrictions and opportunities for sales in different states.  This is a great opportunity to start shipping within your state and then expanding outward. It allows for customers the option of purchasing from your physical store or your webstore while also increasing your customer base beyond your geographical limits.

Don't forget that as a retail store, you do play a special role in your customers selection process of wine. Selecting wine can be a daunting process for any consumer. Of the thousands of bottles available on the internet, your store probably does not have the space to carry every wine on the market. Your competitive advantage lies in your ability to have dialogue with your customers. The internet's wide selection offers variety, but very little in helping navigate through all the choices besides point ratings and some reviews.  It's hard to ask google or wine.com what would my mother like to drink if she loves eating meatloaf? Study the wine and other products your store carries and make sure you and all of your employees are experts on your products. Your team's knowledge can be the difference in convincing a potential customer on a sale and establishing a trusted relationship over the long run. People appreciate guidance when it comes to wine as it's a complicated product and are willing to pay a premium for it.   Of course your high volume wines will always need to be priced competitively and a good way to gauge your pricing is using wine-searcher.com as we discussed in our previous post.

We read an interesting article in the NY times recently that talks about how restaurant are posting their wine to be used on the new Apple Ipads. The additional information of tasting reviews by wine critics, notes by wine makers, and search aids have made people feel more confident, inspiring them to spend more money on a bottle with dinner. The Ipad takes an intimidating black and white list of wines offered on the spot at a restaurant and make them user friendly.   You can provide this same service for your customers on your selection of wines as a way to supplement your staff. Take the stress out of buying wine by helping your customers with your multi-faceted and personal knowledge. To aid in this process, consider taking notes on your customers. Notice what a customers likes, dislikes, and their price range to help you aid them. Keep track of what they purchase over time if your systems allow to alert them to something they may like in the future.

Another service you can offer are hands on activities like tastings. We probably don't have to tell you that this is a great way to sell wine. This is a service the internet cannot and probably will never be able to offer. If you don't do tasting events, consider this a good way to get a leg up on the internet.

We don't have all the answers, but hope we can inspire you to tackle some of the growing opportunities that the internet and your store can take advantage of.

Cheers!

True Fabrications

Self-Service Wine?

2010-09-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

You should definetely read this article on talking about self service wine stations in French grocery stores. Much like water filling stations in U.S. grocery stores, the self service station allows for reusable containers to be filled by the shopper. Do you think this idea of self-service and personal containers could work in the U.S.?

The benefits of a machine like this are clear. Wine can be packaged for less money (no bottles and only one large container has to be shipped). By using less packaging and reusing personal bottles, this device could be marketed as good for the environment and better value for consumers. This would make wine far less cost prohibitive. The availability of inexpensive wine might introduce more people to the joys of wine that would have seen it as too expensive, prior to the self-serve tanks.

I'm not sure if a device like this really could succeed in U.S. stores? Americans like variety as is obvilus with the number of wineries now offering their own vintages. These machines are limited in selection and likely quality. At the same time, a specialized, smaller store might be able to put this into use (think Trader Joe's and two buck chuck). But, with all the varying laws and restrictions from state to state, this would take a long time to hit the stores.

Whether you think its a silly gimmick or the way of the future, we would be curious to know what you think as a retailer? Would you put this in your store?

Cheers!
True Fabrications

Wine Searcher for Retailers

2010-09-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

No doubt the internet has changed the way we all sell our products. But as a wine retailer, what tools do you use to help you purchase the right inventory for the right price? And equally important, what tools are your customers using to hunt down the right retailer to find the right wine? You may have heard of http://www.wine-searcher.com/ and if you haven't, you should check it out.

Wine Searcher allows both merchants and the public to see listings of wine prices all across the country. Consumers can find their favorite or rare bottles anywhere and contact the vendor (which could be you). Because of this information availability, wine-searcher's results not only offer the lowest prices to consumers but allow companies to keep in tune with the going prices for certain wines. It's a great way for you to keep your prices in tune with the market.

While wine-searcher might be convenient, like any web phenomenon, it's not without a dark side.
Critics of the website say that competition may under or overvalue a bottle of wine. While Wine-searcher prevents under the table sales, companies have also been known to game the site to affect prices. Finally, businesses can purchase sponsorships that will have their results appear more often when someone searches for a bottle of wine. People have complained that this creates a competitive edge where local shops now have to compete with the entire country.
There is a great article from the LA Times on this website that you should check out when you have time. (Read Article)

Love it or hate it, websites like wine-searcher.com can be great tools for your business.. From sites like snooth.com where anyone can publish a wine review, to more number based sites like wine-searcher, the internet is changing the wine industry and the knowledge available. It is important to figure out how to utilize these resources for your benefit and perhaps even how to differentiate yourself from becoming just a place to find the best price.

Cheers!
True Fabrications

Trader Joe's - A Neighborhood Store?

2010-08-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

I recently read this article on Trader Joe's and I would encourage you to do the same. For those who have shopped at Trader Joe's before, you know that there is something different about this grocery store. It's smaller, it's happier, it's generally more fun, it has interesting signs, the sales staff is knowledgeable, and you always end up buying something you never expected to or never knew existed.

No matter what anyone says about their product offerings (especially it's wine offerings), there is something to learn from Trader Joe's as a retailer. The company's attraction goes far beyond it's product offerings. It's unique in how it displays their products, trains it's employees, and even lights the store. I must admit, before reading this article I had no idea how large a company Trader Joe's is (it's as big as Whole Foods). It made me very interested in how they manage to make a national retailer still feel like a neighborhood shop. I'm now curious as to what makes a retailer a neighbhorhood store? Also, what aspects of them do customers love? Any thoughts?

Read the Trader Joe's Article Here

Preparing For the Holidays Now

2010-08-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

While its only August and you're probably enjoying the summer weather, its not too early to begin thinking about the holidays. For most of you, the holidays are probably your busiest time of the year and since it spans only a few weeks, every day is important.

By having a plan, you can increase sales and reduce the number of product availability issues (lost sales) that can occur during the holiday season.   Here are just a few ideas to consider to help your business prepare for a successful holiday selling season:

1. Pre-order: Not only will you have your products ordered before your manufacturer/distributor has run out, knowing your product line ahead of time allows you to do some early advertising and prepartion of displays. Nothing is worse than trying to place an order for a hot holiday item, only to find out that it may not be available.  By knowing what you're ordering for the holidays, you can also market a product early. This lets you create anticipation around an item before it hits the shelves.

2. Create a look for your store: Remind people what time of the year it is. Have a few well thought out decorations to help put your customers in the holiday mood. A warm holiday display will also help invite people into the store. Decorations will advertise the fact that you have good items for gifts. If you have the time, turn your decorations into a marketing tool. Have your decorations suggest a gift idea or two by strategically placing products throughout your store that offer creative mixing and matching thoughts. For instance, put some wine stoppers or corkscrews into a stocking or two!

3. Give customers gift ideas: Everyone knows how difficult gift buying can be. So, if you provide easy, creative gift ideas for your customers, they will be both thankful and likely to purchase what you have created. For example, if you sell wine, offer a six bottle package themed; " wines around the world". Pick 6 bottles (1 from each wine producing continent) and sell it as a gift set. You can do regional groupings as well. Try an old world wines European nation tour. Feel like grouping fewer bottles? You can also create a three bottle west coast tour (California, Oregon, Washington) . If you tend to sell more accessories, make a wine accessory gift pack. Feature a corkscrew, a foil cutter, a stopper, a pour spout, or any other accessories packaged together to make a low stress gift for a wine drinker. Do you like games? Check out Corks Jester's Wine Teasers game. This trivia game for up to 20 players makes a great party gift.

4. Create a gift giving center: Around your POS area, make space for ribbons, paper, and holiday themed gift bags. Have your salespeople ask if a customer's purchase is for a gift. Then, offer either complimentary or for purchase packaging to help make gift giving for your customers that much easier.

If you can offer both gifts and gift packaging/wrapping, the ease of a one stop shop will bring customers back again and again. While not every idea above is feasible for every store, applying these suggestions will help your company during the busy holiday season.   For all of us in retail, we have to remember to try to take advantage of every day during the season to generate additional revenue.

Cheers!

Inventory and Backstock

2010-07-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

One of the most commonly asked questions from our customers is "How much backstock of your wine accessories should we carry?"

As a teammate working with your company to run a more profitable business, we offer several services that you may or may not know about that might help you with this age old question of what to buy, how much to buy, when to reorder, etc. We see it as our job to help you find the perfect product mix that sells and to assist in making sure you don't have stale inventory.

Here are a few ways we believe you can help keep your inventory levels lean and efficient.

Have You Ordered Online Yet? - Ordering online makes keeping track of previous orders (and thus what has sold) very easy. When you visit our site, you can view what you have purchased in the past and reorder any products that have sold quickly. Also, when you order online, you will receive an e-mail 50 days after the purchase. This email will list all the items with their photos and purchased quantities so you can quickly check your system or visually scan your store(s) to see which products have either run low or sold out. If you have ordered online in the past, login and click on the View Previous Orders and you'll see what we are talking about.

Low Minimum Orrders - Because certain products naturally sell faster than others, True Fabrications always has low minimum orders. We would hate for you to have to wait to restock all your accessories while a top selling item has been sold out for days. So, instead of turning customers away, give us a call whenever you need to restock that top-selling accessory. We ship our products to you via Fedex. As one of the largest shipping companies in the area, we pass on our rates to our customers. So, you’ll find savings even with your smaller orders.

We Are Experts - As with most product sales, we find that our line of wine accessories tends to follow a 70-30 rule. This means that 70% of your wine accessory sales will come from just 30% of your product categories. Our sales team has years of experience to help you find the top selling products in your industry and geographic location.

Fast Shipping - Whether you place your order online, call one of our sales team, fax us, email us, or even text us, we will ship your order within 2 business days. This means you can expect your orders to arrive within 3-7 business days depending on your location.

Try New Items - Don’t ever be afraid to try new items with us. We believe that sampling is the best way to really figure out how a product works. We test our products and believe you should too. Give an item a try and if it doesn’t work out, we will exchange it. By working through this kind of trial and error, your business won’t end up with a backed up inventory that you can’t sell due to an unpopular product.

Know What You Need? - Preorder your items with us! Yes, we know this may seem like a counter intuitive idea. But, preordering items (especially during the holidays) allows you to begin selling and marketing products before you even have them in stock. By creating a buzz around hot new products, you will find the response from your regular customers to be outstanding. Creating anticipation can help turn the new items into must have purchases.

All of these ideas are to underscore the fact that we want to be your teammate. We want to help you find the exact product mix that works with the right order schedule for your business. Also, we work hard to offer the best prices and customer service available so that the wine accessory part of your business is as efficient and hassle free as possible.

Cheers!
True Fabrications

New Items!

2010-06-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

We recently launched some new wine accessories and over the next 20 days will be launching another 40 new summer items! It is no coincidence that when we advertise our new products, sales of those items increase as customers want to give them a try. When we send you our catalogs in the mail, we alert you to what new items we have added as well.
In the same manner, retail stores benefit greatly by featuring and advertising new wines and products. I walked into a grocery store the other day and was in the soup aisle and noticed that there was a sign that said "new item". It caught my attention and I checked it out. It's that simple. Retailers can capture the attention of customers a few ways - good displays, price drops, and featured items. Dont' forget new item signage can really enhance sales of products and encourage your customers to purchase a broader range of items.
With our new products, we want to encourage you experiment with them. Some will work, some won't, and some will be incredible. Our goal is and always has been for you to find the right product mix that works in your store. If you ever find yourself purchasing a product form us that just doesn't sell, let us know and we'll give you credit to try something else. We have our 100% satisfaction guarantee to inspire you to try new products. After all, without constantly changing your wine accessory product line, you'll never come across that one product that just happens to fill your customers needs.
Speaking of new products, take a look at what they are doing in England. It's bound to make its way to our shores soon.

Add on Sales at Check Out

2010-06-06T14:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Wine Retailers,

By the time a customer arrives at your checkout, they have made the decision to purchase something and the sale is all but guaranteed. At this point, creating the right situations to add on to this sale is an important part of your business. Many retailers ignore the opportunity of add on sales at the point of checkout and we consider this a lost opportunity. By providing the right product mix, the right display, and the right prices, you can generate extra profits without much work. This is is where accessories become important for your business as they have low retails but great margins.

We think there are two great opportunities to offer additional sales. The first and most obvious is at the checkout counter. It is important here to experiment and figure out what products will work. Often, retailers will put products that are under $10 and small in physical size. These properties are vital since for an add on sale to be successful, the customer must think they aren't spending much more. You can offer a variety of products that might capture your customers interest or need. Our most popular product at the point of sale is our waiters corkscrew that you can purchase in bulk and put out in any display near the register. Our second most popular point of sale item is our pocket corkscrews that retail for $1.99. And just like grocery stores that put candy near the registers, wine chocolates and truffles have also been a very succesful add on sale in many stores.

The second important aspect of a successful program is training your customer service team to mention the items that are in front of the customer at the time of checkout. Have you been to a Walgreens recently? If so, you notice that they have 5 different items (rotating items) that sell for $0.99. Whenever I purchase a product, the cashier will always ask me "would you like one of our $0.99 products of the day?". I always look through the products really quickly and although I don't buy one every time, I must say I've bought them at least 10% of the time. Equally, you can get your team to ask your customers one quick question such as "would you like a gift bag with that" to offer the chance for those taking a bottle of wine as a gift to wrap it. This is particularly powerful during a major gift giving season like Father's Day.

As with anything, maximizing your add on sales is a numbers game and requires consistency both in terms of your team reminding your customers as well as offering a good range of affordable products all the time.

Cheers!

New Yorker Wine Bags

2010-06-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailer:

Our staff really loves the cartoons. We often share our favorites because they quickly hit the funny bone without requiring watching a two minute youtube clip or reading an article. Perhaps its the sign of the times and our dwindling attention spans.

In any case, that was the inspiration for teaming with the New Yorker Magazine and using their wine related cartoons to create our exclusive wine bags. We are very proud to have 4 new wine bags with cartoons from the New Yorker featuring some hilarious wine related funnies!

Customer Loyalty

2010-06-01T14:29:00.000-07:00

We value every one of our customers as I'm sure you do. So does the coffee shop I visit every morning and they have a small but effective way of showing it. They provide me with a punch card where after every 14 coffees I purchase, I get the 15th free.   They also keep the card for me in a box by my last name which makes it really easy every time I walk in.

Loyalty programs are a part of lots of industries. Think of airlines that provide you a free ticket after traveling a certain distance. Or casinos, if you have had the pleasure of losing enough money at the tables, that comp a hotel room or two.   But in retail stores, customer loyalty programs are typically offered only by small, local shops.  Sure grocery stores have their club cards that offer you discounts while shopping, but it is more instantaneous discounts and doesn't reward you for coming back.   Or rather, it doesn't reward your loyalty. Things are changing however as technology allows for personalized discounts. Take a look at this recent article of things to come.

But those go far beyond what most stores have the capability to do.   The loyalty programs I am part of are my local coffee shop, music store, and bakery. They don't offer anything huge, but they do at least acknowledge that they've noticed me coming back over and over again.   And that, I believe, is all people need sometimes.

If you've purchased from us over the past few years, you are well aware we don't have an official loyalty program, but we always go out of our way to provide you with small, unofficial perks with your orders that hopefully shows you we really do value your business.   If Alanna, Bart, Ben, Audrey, Susan, Kristine, or Henri haven't done that for you recently, make sure you bring it up next time you order and give em hell!

We thought it would be interesting to see if any wine stores have a loyalty program.   Do you offer more long term discounts for customers? Often, we see case discounts or 6 pack discounts, but we have never seen something like, purchase 15 bottles a month and get one free.   If you have tried this, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Cheers!
True Fabrications

Summer Decor and Products

2010-05-17T13:04:00.001-07:00

Summer weather inspries lifestyle changes in all of us. It's the sun really, and it starts making us act, feel, and do differently! We take more trips, play outdoors, wake up energized, go to ball games, cook different foods, and in general, relax a bit more. I have alwasy been slightly baffled by retailers who don't change their stores' offering even slightly to cater more towards summer activities.

Along with a little decoration that can go a really long way in making your store feel summer equipped, it is important to offer products that will compliment your customers' warm weather activities. Decorate a small section that caters towards the local crowd and what they might be doing this weekend (i.e. hiking the local mountain range, fishing at the lake an hour away, etc.).

For instance, sales of travel products like ice chests generally increase during this time. Have available products your customers might not have thought of such as our PlatyPreserve that serves as an ideal way to picnic/hike with wine. Or how about our new GoVino Acrylic Wine Glasses that are perfect for multiple use during barbecues. Or perhaps offer hiking or winery maps to inspire travel through America's wine growing regions in California, Oregon, and Washington.
Whatever products you suggest for the local getaways, it's important to make an effort to decorate and provide product suggestions that will make summer activities more fun and exciting.

Cheers!
True Fabrications

Newspapers and Flyers

2010-05-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailers,

I arrived home today to find in my mailbox our local community newspaper, some bills, my netflix movies, and a handful of flyers. While flipping through all the flyers, I noticed that all them advertised a local restaurant. In all the time I have gotten flyers in the mail, I can't recall the last time one came from a local retail store. Yes, I often receive them from larger retail chains and grocery stores. But local retail shops haven't seemed to try this method of direct advertising to consumers homes.

I immediately thought that if these flyers work well enough for local restaurants to advertise with, there must be untapped potential for a wine stores to do the same. Yes, there is a certain stigma attached to flyers (think pizza delivery), but like with all marketing pieces you can always design them to be different. Imagine mailing out a flyer that has a food and wine pairing tip or a schedule of wine tastings they can post up on their refrigerator as a reminder. Direct marketing of this type is very affordable and very targeted. You can even partner with your local community paper to test out the effectiveness of the flyer.

I'm not sure it will work, but like all things in marketing, it's worth a try. Remember when testing a new marketing method, you always want to entice a customer to mention where they heard about your store through a direct/unique offer.. In the case of the flyer, give them a reason to bring the flyer into the store and keep a tally of how many are used.

I would love to know if anyone tries this out and I hope to see my local wine stores doing this the next time I come home and look in my mailbox.

Cheers!
True Fabrications

Spring is in the Air

2010-03-26T18:41:00.001-07:00

Here is our blueprint for the perfect Spring Tasting that you can pass on to your customers to put them in the mood. No one wine is the best companion for any time of year. The fun part is tasting, matching and trying different wines of the season. If you inspire your customers to do so, they'll be forever grateful. Spring is so dynamic and invigorating it's the perfect time to explore new food & wines!

Start with Prosecco a friendly sometime sweet, sparkling wine from Italy (Grandma will love it!) which is a great match for your brunch. Prosecco is typically low in alcohol (you see we told you grandma would love it!) and energizes your wine tasting with the nuances of spring: fresh cleansing renewal. Easily quaffed and convenient with food, yet still serious. To showcase your Prosecco serve in our elegant Champagne Flutes to highlight the sparkling bubbles and make sure to keep it fresh with our Champagne Stopper.

An off the beaten path wine that deserves more respect then it garners is Rosé. When featuring a Rosé remember when people see that pink-orange hue they think "sweet". A true Rosé is not a frilly, fruity, fiasco. Rosé wines provide an "out of the box" flavor experience and fragrances that require atmosphere. You begin with a slight chill, an array of food and interesting conversation. Since food and warmer weather are the theme of the season accent your Rosé choices with beautiful Spring infused flowers. Our Spring Assortment is a great gift for the Sunday brunch hostess and the perfect accent for this under rated wine. If you are lucky enough to enjoy Spring outside Pinic Stixs are sensational spiral shoots reminiscent of the flowers of Spring and will brilliantly display the special notes of Rosé. Remember...atmosphere is key.

Big reds are in the rearview mirror so we can now focus on the full yet accessible flavors of Burgundy...this means Pinot Noir. Whether it is freshly harvested shellfish, the first runs of spring salmon or the annual feast of lamb, Pinot Noir is a formidable and spectacular Spring wine tasting favorite. Choose your selections from a variety of regions to provide value, tradition and the best vintages they have to offer. Cheeses and meats from throughout the world are traditional matches for the great red grape of Burgundy and our Slate Cheese Board is the perfect presentation for these food pairings. Great food & wine coupled with our Bamboo Buffet Plates will allow you to keep one hand free while you enjoy your Spring infused fare!

Share your ideas and thoughts with us on what you think go best with the season of re-birth and awakening...Happy Spring.

Oscars!

2010-03-08T23:36:00.000-08:00

With the Academy Awards now behind us, we thought it might be fitting to get you up to speed on the increasing number of celebrities making wine or owning their own labels. A quick Google search returns some interesting celebrities making wine ranging from rapper Lil Jon to Nancy Pelosi to Jason Priestly of Beverly Hills 90210 fame. For a fun and informative list of celebrities who own wineries, you should really click here.

After reading the large and growing list, we at True Fabrications had to wonder if celebrities do in fact sell more wine? We dug around a little and found a quick review of Nielsen data online that says:

“The Nielsen data, which do not reflect the impact of the current economic crisis, indicate that grocery store sales of celebrity wine grew by nearly 19 percent in 2007, albeit from a low base (the celebrity wine category is still a small market segment - less than one percent).

The average price of the celebrity wines, $8.50, is higher than the supermarket average of $5.75, according to Nielsen. Unsurprisingly, the Nielsen report focuses on marketing and distribution (not the quality of the wines themselves) as the key factors driving sales growth.”

Has your store created a section in your wine store dedicated to celebrity wines? We would love to hear your feedback on whether celebrity wines sell or if customers ask for them in your stores to pick up as fun and novel wine gifts? Email us back if you have any comments on this topic as we would love to hear from you.

Cheers!

Marketing and You

2010-02-23T11:00:00.001-08:00

We are all in the business of selling. While our interests and main focus might be different, at the end of the day it's about the sale. "Coffee's for closers," is a famous monologue from the movie and play, Glengarry Glenn Ross. If you aren't familiar with this quote, it suggests that the fruits of our labor will be deemed necessary only by the final result. Now, I don't necessarily agree with all of that, however, it strikes a good point.

The current economic climate promotes a very competitive market in almost all fields of business. This day in age you must have a creative business mind to keep your head above water. I ran across a recent article in The New York Times that spoke to the recent epidemic currently affecting Napa and many other California wine growing regions. Many vineyards and grape producers have an overwhelming amount of fruit on their hands and no one to purchase it. Wineries have been seeing a drastic drop in sales, which hasn't happened in nearly 15 years. What used to be considered almost gold is now an overgrown commodity. What you're seeing now is saturation in a particular market. The businesses that are able to stay afloat are the ones that continue to harness creativity and stay ahead of the game. These are the businesses that that continue to sell.

The social media scene has reached an inflamed level to a point where even a Gen Y'er like myself has trouble keeping up. It's sad to say, but if you're not on the social media train, you're way behind. Many of you have probably dabbled with Facebook or Twitter, which means you've gone as far as to create a Facebook page and a Twitter account, but not much else. I'm here to tell you that it works! I have seen many examples in our industry where companies tweet or broadcast on their Facebook fan page about sales, promotions, etc. All of which have seen great success.

If you're lost in the world of social media, and unsure on how all this "Facebooking" or "Tweeting" works, there is an excellent resource on the web called Mashable (www.mashable.com). A fellow True Fabrication colleague introduced this site to me, which has opened up a whole new world in social media. This site offers a lot, so it might take some time to sift through the rich content to find exactly what you need. One tool that I found very handy was the Facebook and Twitter Guidebooks. They offer -- in laymen terms-- set up instructions, social media terminology, social media optimization, and a whole lot more. Because not everyone has the budget to hire a social media expert, this is a good place to start. So the next time you want to run a special, promote a new product, or let the world know your employee just had their first baby, try one of these social media tools. It offers great exposure, and the best part of it all, IT'S FREE.

Happy Tweeting!

Henri Schock

Inventory Woes

2010-01-27T20:55:00.001-08:00

One man's trash is another man's treasure. That quote came to mind after reading this week's article about a company that collects and sells wine with blemishes on the bottle or the label. Every business that holds and orders inventory is familiar with the problem of damaged, blemished, or stale items. Should we throw it away, give it away, sell it at a discount, etc.? We know that it's a problem that needs to be deal with but gets ignored because it's usually time consuming to handle.

Since we are grateful that you have chosen us as as supplier for your wine accessories, we wanted to remind you that when it comes to our products, you shouldn't worry about problem inventory! We never want you stuck with damaged or stale products. If you have experience with us, you know that if a product arrives damaged to you, give us a call and we'll fix the problem right away. Similarly, if you find that after a few months, you can't sell a product of ours, we don't want you stuck with it! Call us and talk to your representative to figure out how we can freshen up your line.

Our goal is to make the wine accessory part of your business really easy so you don't have to worry about the small details. In short, we take supplying your company with wine accessories seriously and you can count on us to work with you to solve those little nagging problems of inventory whenever they may arise. And so, our sales tip for the week is, never feel like you are stuck with blemished or old product with us!

Read the Full Article Here

Everyone's Getting into the Wine Business

2009-11-11T00:49:00.000-08:00

The wine retail landscape continues to evolve all around us. Just this month, Amazon, the online giant, recently got out of the wine business (again) due to the variety of legal regulations surrounding interstate wine shipments. And as that happened,Twitter, yes, that Twitter, decided to sell their own branded wine from which the proceeds will benefit the Room to Read non profit. And then 7-11, the large chain of convenience stores, made news when they announced a proprietary wine under the Yosemite Road label to retail for $3.99 to tap into the growing market for wines under $5.00. These retailers are offering their wines to a a very broad, massmarket audience and, as you can probably guess, the wines they offer aren't claimed to be the best or of much variety.

As daunting as this might be for retailers, if you've read my past blogs, you know I am excited by these non-traditional retailers offering wine to the mass market. A mass market wine consumer is more likely to become a wine lover than a consumer that never experiements with wine at all.

It sounds obvious, but the demographic scope of wine drinkers is changing and growing thanks in part to these non-traditional retailers who are able to reach a new population who haven’t taken the time to choose a bottle of wine from their local wine retailer or grocery store. But for many of these people, that first bottle they pick up offhand at the convenience store piques an interest – they began to explore and experiment with different labels, varietals, vintages, and so on.

That’s the basic process of becoming a wine lover and the reason why your retail stores have such a diverse group of people buying wine. Everyone from the discerning connoisseur to the person pairing wine with their dinner for the first time can benefit from a guide through the endless varieties of wine. Wine retailers that provide good variety, good value, interesting information, teaching tools/merchandise, and a friendly/inviting atmosphere are the ones that will benefit most from the changing landscape. Even if the 7-11’s of the world sell lots and lots of their $3.99 wine, they won't ever want to or be able to compete with you in providing wine to those more adventurous and discerning customers. And that is why variety, good prices, and constant education of yourself and your consumer is key to your success.

Cheers!

Wine Clubs - Here and Everywhere

2009-11-03T23:46:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that wine clubs are a growing phenomenon -- a simple web search reveals that all kinds of organizations now have wine clubs, from newspapers to political groups and schools Just this week I received an invitation to join my alma mater's alumni wine club, and saw a similar offer in a magazine. You can read this interesting article to get a little bit more information.
This trend, perhaps daunting in terms of competition, is an exciting one for the wine industry and all retailers. Most important is the notion that these clubs could never have existed without a fast growing and diversifying population of wine lovers and drinkers. We all know that the wine industry is growing in production (think of the number of wineries), consumption, and population with benefits us all. Now, these organizations are casting a net to even a larger group that will grow into full-fledged wine lovers.

This is where all wine retailers can really take advantage! As the wine population grows and becomes more discerning, wine retailers will be there to offer these new customers with new tastes, pairings, adventures, accessories, and more. It's the retailers role to continue to provide customers with new tastes and variety so that can continue to fulfill the consumers need for adventure and exploration. And wine clubs are great for business -- they offer great margins, consistent revenues, and opportunities to connect with customers. It's an exciting and fun world and one that should continuously excite your customers when they walk into your store.

Cheers!
True Fabrications
www.truefabrications.com

Where's my Wine From?

2009-10-22T20:09:00.001-07:00

This week's article focuses on a consumer backlash of wines labeled as "B.C. wines" when in fact they were bulk imports from abroad that were just cellered in B.C. The companies did the right thing and agreed to change the label to make it more clear to their customers. This will be even more important when the Olympics begin in Vancouver and the world begins to newly discover BC wines!

The article points out a growing issue of labeling for everything from toys to food (what's organic mean?) to wine. Consumers no longer simply care about the end product - they want to know where it is made, who it was made by, what it is made of, what conditions it gets produced in, and how it was transported to their city.

As a retailer, you can benefit from more discerning customers by providing them with more information of your products when available along with more interesting options. Let's take the example of wineries. Many wineries have really interesting stores - the wine maker and how he/she started, how they grow their grapes, any special history, etc. You should tell the story when you know it and are excited about it.

Similarly, every state in the US now has a winery (and a lot of countries that you wouldn't expect grow their own grapes now too). Yes everyt state. For an interesting chart of wineries by state, click here. Of course California dominates, but the growing number is a testament that there is a market out their for both local and variety. We're sure your stores carry local wines but what about picking and offering your customers wines from vineyards from smaller states and even from countries you wouldn't expect? It would be a fun and a great way to do a tasting. Just like you can take a "trip around the world" at many bars with beer (since so many countries have their own beer), it's now possible to take a wine "trip around the US" or even the world. I gotta say I would love to try a wine from Romania. Perhaps your customers might be interested in a wine "state or country" of the month in your store.

And speaking of this, our six bottle box is a perfect gift set to create this holiday season - six bottles from around the world in a nice wooden box.

Cheers!

Wine Blogging and New Rules

2009-10-13T18:00:00.000-07:00

This week the FTC passed a law outlining rules for bloggers that write about a product after having received a sample. Basically, bloggers have to tell their readers they received a sample when covering a product. Here is a good quick read and opinion about it that we agree with.

I'm sure many of you do maintain a blog, and if you don't, we recommend you do for your customers to enjoy and learn. It's quite easy to set up and we recommend creating a free one at www.blogspot.com. By the way, no, we didn't get anything from blogspot to say that! We just like it.

I'm sure these rules won't be enforced for bloggers like us, but it's a good principle to follow anyways. If you are talking about a product and have somehow been given the product to try out, it's probably not a horrible idea to mention that. That's only because with amount of information out there on the internet and in social media, it's really hard to discern what is honest feedback or a planned plug for a company.

This is why, no matter how big the internet gets, there will always be a role for a local, physical place to buy your wine and get recommendations from actual people on what goes well with what. If only because talking to someone in person feels more geninuine and it controls the amount of information you get without fear of overload. Try typing in "wine pairing with steak" into google and the recommendations are endless. What website to trust, what blog to trust...who knows? I do know, rightly or wrongly, that when I go ask that same question at my local wine shop, I feel I get an honest and sincere recommendation.

I think what's most important about running a business is that you always provide honest feedback and answer their questions as best you can. The internet will always win out as the place for selection and possibly even price. But physical locations will always win out on proximity (hop in a car or a bike and come on over) and more importantly, the geninune feeling you get from the person helping you. Physical retailers need to leverage that aspect and experience for their shoppers.

If you care, you can read the full FTC press release here.

Cheers!

Death, Liquor, and Taxes

2009-10-06T17:34:00.001-07:00

As local and state governments grapple with the budget shortfalls, which in all likelihood includes your own city or town, the one place they historically look to for revenue generators is the alcohol industry. The theory goes that a "sin" tax does little to reduce demand and so its the best way to increase tax revenues. This week's article provides some interesting tidbits about what some legislatures are proposing as it relates to increasing tax revenues from alcohol - my favorite being to make a "dry" town no longer dry to take advantage of the potential taxes.
Fourteen states are proposing increased alcohol taxes and some have already done so and some are opening up sales on Sundays or major holidays. As these changes continue to appear, I would recommend you stay in tune by signing up for information with your local alcohol or package store association. An incomplete state list of associations can be found here.
Secondly, since we know far in advance when law and tax changes and also since often they aren't huge increases (except in certain states), we can come up with creative marketing approaches that can take advantage of or simply use as a reason to have a promotion. They prove to be good marketing devices since the media does tend to heavily cover up tax increases to the public.
For instance, we heard of stores facing tax hikes that created big promotions on purchasing before the tax hike went into effect. Just a random thought, but would a "tax free" day in a wine store work like with those furniture sales? I haven't seen it before, but it sure does sound fun. This one is a tough one to work around but since I'm sure as a retailer you are always coming up with ideas, you can come up with some creative ones too that I would love to hear. In any case, stay tuned with your local trade groups at the very least and get involved!

Read Full Article

Tastings All the Time

2009-09-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

Once in a while a new technology comes along that reminds me that the way we buy everything is changing - and that translates to wine as well. For instance, have you come across a DVD rental kiosk in the grocery store that offers rentals at $1.00 a day? You just pick your movie, slide your credit card in, and out comes your movie. For those of you who haven't seen it, you will soon and for those of you who have, you can quickly realize why they have become tremendously popular in just two years. No need to go to a video rental store or no reason to get a netflix account. They are convenient and affordable.

There is something strangely attractive about a sleek metal box that provides you with instant gratification for nominal amounts of money. And that is why i was impressed when first hearing about the WineStation Machine from a couple of customers. This machine allows your store to have dozens of bottles available for customers to get a taste of wine for a small fee. It just pours out a taste, preserves the wine, and waits for the next patron! The effect could be huge by allowing you to generate revenue all the time from small tastings without having to tend to it while also exposing customers to a larger selection of wine. $1.00 a taste anyone?

Machines like this opens up the variety of wine you offer in your store and provides an affordable way for your customers to explore more before committing to the right bottle. The bottles are even preserved with argon gas so they can store for a long time. By the way, if you need a great preserver, you should check out our regulated and patented argon preserver called the Hummingbird Ultra. This is handheld for more traditional tastings!

If anyone has a good story about this machine, we would love to hear it (just reply to this email).

Good luck with all the new technology out there...

Cheers!

Bring Your Customers Back to Have Fun

2009-09-21T15:26:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago, we spoke a little about how much we love corks. The article of the week today shows how a store offers a cork recylce program that allows customers to bring back corks that in turn helps the environment and generates funds for the local community.
What is equally important here about this cork recylce program is that it offers a great opportunity for a retailer to bring customers back to their stores. We all know how important foot traffic is in a retail environment and special events, promotions, and clever marketing ideas are a great way to increase revenue by increasing foot traffic.

Over the years, we have heard many brilliant ideas that connect your customers back to your stores. Have you ever thought of ways to bring customers back after purchasing a product? For instance, one customer from years back used to use sports as a way to bring customers back in. During March Madness, he would set up brackets for his customers to come by to fill out offeirng the winner a free bottle of wine. Do you have customers that like to create art projects with wine bottles or corks? Have a day where they can all come and show them off in your stores. One of the best ideas we heard of was during Earth Day, a retailer offered to donate 5% of revenues to an environmental cause that his customers voted for prior to the event. Once you talk to your customers, you can get a sense of what makes them unique and generate a marketing campaign around that. Your retail store can serve not only as a great place to purchase wine, but to bring the community together for causes they care about or just to have a good time.

Cheers!

You are What You Drink

2009-09-08T20:21:00.001-07:00

What kind of wine do you fancy? And what does that say about you? Do you prefer Champagne or a Pinot? According to our favorite article this week, it speaks volumes about your personality. Well, that is not exactly what the article says, but we do think it says more about your personality than just whether you are impulsive or not. In fact, we can think of a host of personality topics - how serious you are, how organized you are, how much sass you have, etc based on what you drink.
While it might not be true and you shouldn't be judging people anyways, it's still a fun game to play. We have heard of wine stores play around with this type of theme with their customers before and we think there are many fun ideas to be had. For instance, ask your customers what their favorite wine is and how it relates to a specific personality trait - if you hear something good, put it on the description of a specific wine along with it's score and history. You can also create fun "wine personality" tests that your customers can take home, fill out, and bring back for a discount. During your next wine tasting, instead of having people describe what they are tasting (hints of cherry, etc.), ask them what personality does the wine represent. What do they think the wine screams? There are sure to be some hiarious comments that will make the crowd laugh out loud.
In fact, many of our products go along the lines of personality in wine. Our bag, "You Are What You Drink" is a top seller and I think it is because lots of people like to identify with what they eat, drink, and do.

And better yet, our What's Your Vine? t-shirt line does just that - attaches funny personality quotes to a specific varietal of wine. "Mysterious, Seductive, and Difficult to Manage" is of course a Pinot Noir. If you take a look at page 94 and 95 of our new winter catalog, we have added some great new shirst with personality! Pick some shirts up and if you do, have your staff members where them to so customers can enjoy and hopefully purchase one too.

Read Full Article Here

Corks - We Love Them

2009-08-21T16:43:00.001-07:00

This article of the week is short and sweet! I think we all inherently know this, but survey data shows that consumers in the US prefer corks as the best enclosures for wine (as oppossed to screw top, synthetic cork, etc.).

As retailers, we all understand the importance of packaging. The article speaks specifcally about wine but when thinking about your retail concept, are you putting enough thought into product placement? Are you experimenting with different product types and placement to generate the most sales?

We won't dare talk about how to sell wine because we know you are the experts. But when it comes to wine accessories, we at True Fabrications have done a lot of a lot of research on retail packaging and placement. It is safe to say our product line is considered an impulse purchase. Most corkscrews, wine bags, and other tools generate additional sales as consumers walk around the store when looking for other products. They don't come in thinking too much about them.

This is the primary reason why specific placement of the wine accessories as well as eye-catching packaging are so important. If you put some wine bags and corkscrews by the register or down specific aisles as a reminder, sales will increase by three fold. If you create a small and enticing "gift center" that is visible throughout the store, you'll be impressed by the results. And if you bundle items together (wine with a gift bag for istance), you'll increase sales as well especially during the holidays.

The best part is with little space and investment, you can do very well since all wine accessories generate great margins!

We realize the importance of these additional sales and with your help, have developed our packaging to be the best - modern, eye-catching, artisitc, efficient, and most importantly, something consumers like to grab! If you haven't seen our full range of beautiful packaging from True Fabrications, click here to get a gilmpse.

Thanks for all the help!

Read Full Article Here

Organic Food Sales and Wine

2009-08-10T21:22:00.001-07:00

We searched for a while to find hard data on organic wine sales but it was difficult to find. There is no doubt organic food sales are continuing to increase as people become more conscious of the environmental impact of food production (have you read "In Defense of Food") and what they put into their bodies. We assume the trend is similar with organic wine but we don't see much of it out there on the shelves. Organic wine has a wonderful story behind it as well in terms of how it's grown and what makes it different.

But of course, the biggest question is does it taste good and can you taste the difference? At your next tasting, play the game with your customers to see if they can taste the difference between wines with and without pesticides?

The article below explains how in Australia organic wine sales are up. What's interesting to note about the organic movement is that it hasn't quite caught on as much as natural foods. The big companies haven't gotten into it yet and so there are a lot of wonderful smaller producers out there. Prices for organic wine are bound to go down making it more accessible. But perhaps we can start making it accessible by having a few bottles for people to try out and see if they can taste the difference.

Read the Full Article Here

Price Drops and Tags

2009-07-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

I went shopping the other week and noticed an interesting trend at grocery stores over the last few months. They are making use of price drop tags more than before to entice consumers to buy multiple units of an item or just to spur interest. Specials like 10 for $10 or just simple price drops. As a wine section, you don't always want to have red or yellow price drop tags all over the store that make the wine section feel like a discount center. But it might not be a bad idea to have price drops on more popular items, overstocked items, or just items you want more people to get their taste buds on. Wine accessory product like ours provide high margins so they are the perfect type of product to do price drops on or multiple quantity sales. Try it out with a selection of bottles and some corkscrews to see if it spurs sales. The way in which you mark them to catch the consumer's eyes will be the most impotant so use colorful signage to catch the eye but not distract from the overall feel of the store. There is nothing better than testing out small pricing strategies to optimize the sale of any given inventory item.

Technology - Simple Ways to Help Your Business

2009-07-15T23:41:00.001-07:00

Technology is really driving so much of what consumer's do. We spoke a few weeks ago about social media and how doing a little can really generate some exceptional feedback from your best customers. Yes, I-Phone Apps aren't as easy to make but thinking about technology and how it can help your stores is critical these days. But there are a lot of simple things you can do. For instance, Yelp is a popular online store/retail guide and their I-Phone App is extremely helpful. Are you listed on Yelp? And if you are, are you following the ratings and the reviews people provide to learn more about what your customers value and don't?

That is just one of so many technologies that are taking place these days and while you don't want to build a software application for your store (other than a website of course), you'll want to consider the simple ways you can use it. For example, let your customers provide feedback on specific wines on a central computer in your store so other customers can click and read what others had to say while shopping. They don't need to be at home to use a computer and the data for you will be invaluable.

Join the traditional power sites like Facebook and Twitter if anything just to have a profile and easily send out simple promotions or event invites once or twice a month. Become an active community member on Wine 2.0 and other wine social networking sites. Yes, we know, it's quite exhausting keeping up but it's exciting too. Don't try to do too much, but pick and choose some of the ones you know your customers use. And to find the ones they use, the only thing to do is ask them. They'll lead you in the right direction.

Rose Wines - Really?

2009-06-18T18:33:00.000-07:00

So there are many articles going around about how popular Rose Wines are becoming. The thing Rose does so well when advertised and pictures is how it bulids the ambiance around it. The imagery of drinking a cool rosé wine on a warm summer day by the sea is something we can't escape. It gets us all wanting to leave work, make a picnic, grab a bottle of wine and enjoy it on a blanket strewn out over a nice grassy knoll by the water.

If words can do that much, just imagine what an inspiring summer scene might do for your store. They say pictures speak a 1000 words so imagine a display in your store! Put together a section of your store that evokes warm weather, picnics, and cool bottles of wine to go with it. It's powerful imagery and gets consumers into the mood to celebrate the warm weather without forgetting their wine. That cool and refreshing wine. Beer has generally done a pretty good job of setting the tone during those big holidays or sporting events. We can do the same with wine!

Cheers!

True Fabrications

And don't forget, when people leave with a cold bottle, they'll need some neoprene or insulated totes on their picnics to keep it cool!

The Ambiance of Wine and Oak Barrels

2009-06-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

We found this short article quite interesting since we love discovering the history of products and people. Finding exactly what country and vineyard specific grapes were grown is always a fun way to try to identify wines. So it seems equally exciting to figure out where all the oak barrels we age wine in come from as well? What forest and what country? For those of you interested, we'll try to hunt down the complete report and send it out as well!

And this reminded us that people love wood barrels! When going out to wineries, often the most amazing sight is the stacks of oak barrels patiently aging wine. The smell of the oak, the texture, and the ambiance of the barrel is an important part of the culture and image of wine. That is why when walking into a wine store, we think its important to recreate some of that ambiance by having hints of the process of wine production. You can always have a few barrels lieing around to use as shelves and displays. They add an important feel to your store! In case your looking, we carry a whole line of recycled wine barrel products for you to use as display pieces and to sell. We don't know what forest they come from, but we do know they were used in Napa to age wine for years and still have the smell of wine as if they were still in the cellar!

Ratings - Robert Parker versus Your Own?

2009-06-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard yet, you will. Wine critic Robert Parker is catching some heat for alleged violations that his writers accepted gifts and trips while tasting and rating wine.

The implications are large and we're sure the debate is bigger than just Parker. We've been debating this around the office and would love to hear your thoughts>

Do you think someone should have that much power to make or break a wine? Why aren't rating systems standardized? Do you think anyone with all the information in the world at their finger tips still pay attention to Parker and the like? Can you really rate something so personal?

The article above gave us pause when it came to putting so much value in one person to provide the ratings for a given wine. Wine in such a personal product that depends on the food you eat, your palate, your mood, the weather, etc. That's why we're big advocates of you, as a wine salesperson, providing your own rating systems. Give your customers a more unique way of "rating" wine instead of just the general scores anyone can Google quickly.You know your customers, you know the food they typically eat and the local favorites in restaurants and cuisine. Share a few tips with your customer to help them figure out the complexity of wine -- maybe tell them about a recent restaurant experience of yours: what you ate, and how a particular wine complemented it.

There are so many different ways to rate wine, so as a wine steward create your own "system" and share it with your customers.

Weddings - How they are changing and what your wine shop can do?

2009-05-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailer,

Wedding season is upon us which means lots of wine drinking and champagne toasting. To save money on their weddings, couples are now opting for venues that allow them to bring in outside food and wine. Several larger retailers have become a popular place to buy wedding wine because of their value. However, as we know, the impersonal approach gives you an advantage to help couples prepare for their big event in an equally cost effective fashion.

We advise you to get in touch with local venues that allow outside wine that hosts weddings and wedding planners to offer your expertise in pairing wine and offering great prices for larger purchases. Work with them to figure out what wine would taste best within their budgets.

You can also help finding affordable gifts for them and their guests. Couples do offer their guests wine with their own label on it that they can take home which you can definetely help find for them. We even get inquiries from couples asking to use our wood wine boxes as center pieces or to have wine bags to use to put in their favors. There is so much your store can offer these couples so make sure you get the word out there that you are hear to make the most memorable event of their lives just that - and affordable.

Cheers!

True Sales Tip: Creating More Relevant Wine Sections

2009-05-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Retailer,

The environment and eating healthy have all become something we think more about. Even when we go shopping at the grocery store, we take a look through the organic produce section or walk the aisles of the locally grown foods. We just can't help it anymore and grocery stores have helped us by making seperate sections and signs to steer us to them.

Wine sections in almost every store we go into are typically organized by varietal or by region (or both). This has always been the case since we started drinknig wine oh so long ago. But as times change, the primary reasons people pick up a bottle of wine may change as well or at the very least become more varied and nuanced.

Right now, food pairing has become incredibly more popular as well as locally grown or produced vintages. That is why we ask all of you to put on your creative hats and think about new sections you can create in your wine stores that can hopefully be more relevant to your customers. Maybe have a section that says "Great with Steaks or for Barbecuing" or a section that says "Produced within 200 miles of here" or a section that says "Newest Wine Makers in the US". I'm sure if you ask your customers and also watch how they choose their bottles, you'll get some insights on how to reorganize some of your wine sections.

We all have lots of ideas about this so ask us if you're curious!

Cheers!

True Sales Tip: More Interesting Ways to Review Wine

2009-05-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

As merchants, it's important for us all to remember that not only are people changing the way they purchase products (i.e. online), but they're also changing what they're buying. Consumers have a lot of information and a lot of choices -- the easier and more memorable you can make the process of choosing wine, the better. Figure out new and interesting ways to showcase different wines other than the just tags on the bottle showing the points and the score. Your store should be a whole different way of helping the consumer than what they can find online (notes, reviews, etc.) Make it fun and personable...what favorite novel does this wine remind you of? What quote reminds you of this wine? As a physical merchant, remember your competitive advantage is seeing, knowing, and engaging with the customer.
All this makes the consumer a little bit more relaxed, a little bit more engaged and little less overwhelmed with the choices...and much more likely to purchase your products.

True Sales Tip: Books and Knowledge - April 14, 2009

2009-04-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

We know that wine has been around for awhile, but we had no idea quite how long. Check out this article from Forbes about wine jars discovered in an ancient Egyptian tomb.

The True Staff chose the article above because although we all love wine, there is still so much to learn.

As a group, we also have decided to expand our collective knowledge by reading some books (fancy that) on the subject beyond. Some of our picks: The Billionaire's Vinegar - the story of the world's most expensive bottle (once owned by Thomas Jefferson), and Gary Vaynerchuck's Wine 101 - a lighter look at great wines of the world.

Like us, we're sure that your customers would love to learn more - and it's up to you to make it interesting (more than just tasting guides). Offer books in your stores (hopefully ones you have read) to further inspire your customers desire to taste, try, learn, and love wine even more!

True Sales Tip: Expand the Wine Loving Demographic April 7, 2009

2009-04-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

College students might not seem like your target customers , but wine is growing more and more popular with this demographic. Read just an example here.

These days we're all looking for new ways to expand our businesses, and given the economic climate we're looking further to find those budding wine lovers.

As you know, wine education has grown extremely popular over the last three years: wine tastings at local grocery stores, wine consultants, even board games (like our Winerd wine trivia game) have helped contribute to wine's success.

But let's take it one step further. Every wine tasting we've been too has been fun, yet sophisticated. How about loosening it up and making it more group orientated and active for a younger crowd (or even those just young at heart)? Consider hosting a wine education event at your store that combines trivia and tasting. Think about the trivia nights hosted by your local bars -- these are simple, fun events and everyone has a great time.

We think an event that offers prizes and blind tasting "tests" for the group would be fun. Wine is about tasting, but there are plenty of interesting facts about wine that we all would love to know more about. You can find a lot of such questions in our Winerd game or just search online for "wine trivia".

True Sales Tip: Team Up with Restaurants - March 31, 2008

2009-04-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

We frequently hear these days how retail wine and liquor stores are doing well as more consumers are changing the way they go out to eat at restaurants. Here is a great article to show you exactly what some restaurants are doing in this economic climate to bring in more patrons.

Pay special attention to what restaurants are doing with wine and we'll give you a tip below on how to increase your sales and traffic by this changing trend.

Click here For Article on Restaurants

So as restaurants try to create more dining deals and wine deals, your store can help them out even more. Restaurant prices for wine can often be high and as more restaurants loosen up restrictions on corkage fees, you can take advantage as a retail store offering good value on a variety of wines.

Team up with your local restaurants menus to match their dishes with some wines and advertise it to your local customers that visit those restaurants. If a certain restaurant is popular in your local community, it won't hurt to have their menu in your store (with their permission of course) and offer suggestions on what would pair well in your stores with their items.

Better yet, if you have a good relationship with the restaurant owners, give them a ring and make a deal with them to help their customers save some more money on wine by buying it in your store. Become a "recommended" wine stores that restaurant customers can pick up a bottle of wine from and have the restaurant waive the corkage fee (and give the restaurant a percentage of the wine sale).

We feel restaurants, as this article suggests, would love some innovative ideas to get more partons to enjoy their food within the monetary restrictions we all have right now. Help your customers have a fantastic meal at a local restaurant with some good wine without breaking the bank.

True Sales Tip: Celebrities and Wine - March 24, 3009

2009-03-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, we have to admit our "article" of the week was inspired by the news that Antonio Banderas is getting into the wine business. It seems that every month a new celebrity is starting their own winery or wine label. Click here to see what Alan Richman has to say about celebrities in the wine business.

Speaking of celebrities and wine, we thought it might be fun to dedicate a small section of your store to Hollywood or celebrity wines -- something fun that catches the customer's eye.
Or create a rotating section dedicated to your local heroes' favorite wines. If your customers love hometown sports stars, try featuring a Chicago Bear's or Kentucky Wildcat's favorite wine. If you can pull them into your store to have them sign some the bottle or a book or whatever else it might be, even better!

True Sales Tip: Wine Stores and Social Media - March 9, 2009

2009-03-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

It seems like everyone's using social media these days -- even us (we recently joined the blogosphere and Twitter).

Check out this article on how Gary Vaynerchuk used the internet and social media to grow his family wine business.

"Gary Vaynerchuk may sound like an all-American boy, but at 33 he is a successful, grown-up businessman who has put his enthusiasms - and his penchant for publicity - to work in achieving 15-fold sales growth in his family's wine business in the last decade, to $60 million ..." Read The Full Story Here

Communicating with your most loyal customers is a great way to generate repeat business and spread the word about your wine store. The internet offers a wide array of tools to help you stay in touch with those important customers.

What should you tell them about?

Many of our customers run specials (like a free corkscrew with any purchase), or day long promotions (like bring in a friend and get 25% off a second bottle). Tools like emails, blogs and Twitter are perfect ways to spread the word about these types of events.

If you're just starting, check out www.blogspot.com to start a free blog or www.twitter.com to start your own twitter page. Getting started is a cinch.

Good luck!

True Fabrications Happenings: Make a Wish Foundation Gala

2009-03-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

Henri and Nik had the pleasure of attending the Make-A-Wish Foundation Gala on Saturday as the representatives for True Fabrications. True Fabrications donated wine boxes and wine bags for their wine prize raffles and silent auction. The coordinators of the the Gala did a fantastic job. It was an amazing event both in its success as a fund raiser and also as a beautifully orchestrated event. The ballroom was gorgeous, the auction prizes were great, the volunteers were fun, and the children were inspirational!

One extremely successful silent auction event was their wall of wine. They deocrated a wall of wine with 150 bottles hidden inside some True Fabrications wine boxes. People that were interested would pay a fixed amount of money and pick out a box at random (without knowing what was inside). The wine was a surprise but it was a complete success. Both Henri and Nik got involved at the wall. Henri winning a very exciting 2005 Cakebread Cab, Nik did the same and won a less exciting bottle!

We just wanted to thank the Make-A-Wish Foundation for doing such great work in the community.

True Sales Tip: Larger Bottles and Extra Tools - March 9, 2009

2009-03-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

Packaging is changing everywhere in the wine industry. Everything from how to cork a bottle to how to store the wine. And now, how to sell it in a store. As you may or may not know, 3L bottles are increasing in sales during these times. But Red Truck is now taking it to another level.

"Consumers searching for high quality wine in a creative, striking large format need look no further than Red Truck Wines' new Mini-Barrel, set to launch early March, 2009 ..." Read The Full Story Here

As the article above notes, people still love drinking but are finding new ways to do it, like buying wine in bulk, and enjoying it at home over a longer period of time. As you sell more larger bottles, keep in mind that more and more customers will need ways to perserve it for longer. It's a great opportunity to introduce your customers to the functions of bottle stoppers and vacuum savers so they can preserve their wine longer.

True Sales Tip: Enthusiastically Teach your Customers - March 3, 2009

2009-03-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder why someone comes into your store to purchase a specific bottle of wine? Where did they get the recommendation? Who did they hear it from? Well you need to read this story as to one motivation below.

"Watching fictional characters drink alcohol may trigger an immediate desire to do the same (or drink the brand), Dutch researchers said after observing college men..." Read The Full Story Here

As the article above suggests, consumers are overwhelmed by the choices and sometimes just need a little help figuring out what works for them and what to buy. Don't let them get that help from the media, movies, or through advertising. Help your customers by choosing a wine once a week and telling them its story - where it comes from, who makes it, why it's special, why you love it, why its good, and what to drink it with? That way, you'll be teaching them and inspiring them to share the story with others who hopefully come to find it from you!

welcome!

2009-02-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

true fabrications is now blogging!

the new informational web source from true fabrications that will keep you informed on what is happening here and around the wine industry. our goal is to continually keep you up-to-date on the latest products, current trends, promotions, informational articles, trade shows, and anything else we feel will help you in your business. we are excited to share with you our knowledge and passion for the industry. in turn, we invite you share your thoughts, comments, feedback, etc. to help support this great source.

thank you, and happy blogging!

trueblog - your inside source to everything wine

True Fabrications 14 South Idaho Street Seattle, WA 98134
P: 800-750-8783 F: 206-299-9345 connect@truefabrications.com http://www.truefabrications.com/