ETD: 891 Supply & Demand?; How to get traffic; From Gifts & Dec
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Tue May 31 11:45:21 GMT 2005
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0891 May 31, 2005
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem at gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] Supply & Demand?
[3] How to get traffic
[4] From Gifts & Dec
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
I hope our US members enjoyed the Memorial Day weekend - the kickoff of
Summer. And I hope you did honor those who gave their lives in defense of
our country. Yesterday at 3:00PM local time was the National Moment of
Remembrance to ensure that the nation remembers the sacrifices of
America's fallen from the Revolutionary War to the present and a
recognition of those who served and those who continue to serve our nation
and reminding all Americans of their common heritage. Very touching.
Today we have some interesting material. I was in Boston over the weekend,
and got to wondering what drives price? Is it really supply and demand?
Are you ready for lot's of traffic? Maybe you should consider what Carl's
Jr did last week. They got so much traffic it crashed their server.
Our friends at Gift & Dec Direct - Quinn Halford and Matthew Kalash, have
some interesting information in the gifts & dec world of retailing.
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, Ltd.
mailto:georgem at gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] Supply & Demand?
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How prices are determined has always fascinated me. This weekend we were
in Boston, and learned:
1. We went to two shows which cost $38 vs $75 in NYC.
2. One of the top hotels in Boston (Boston Park Plaza) cost at lease half
what it did in NYC and probably 1/3 less than Chicago.
3. Boston does get a lot of traffic from Europe, where the dollar is down
and travel here is cheap. And it is the first major stop on East
Coast. So, it's not like it doesn't get visitors.
4. Condos which would go for $1 million on the "Gold Coast" of NJ
(Englewood area) are $400k there.
5. Top restaurants with an excellent dinner for two were less than
$80. The same thing in NYC last week cost $150.
So what drives price? Is it supply and demand or something else?
Real estate drives me nuts. A realtor will price a house/condo low in
order to sell it quicker. They use "comps" i.e., comparative sales in
surrounding areas, to calculate the price. I have sold a lot of houses,
and always use a simple plan:
1. Get comps from the realtors (try to get three bids) .
2. Pick the top price determined, and add 5-10% to that price and select
the realtor who will accept that price.
3. Tell the realtor that I will reduce the price x% each month that it is
on the market (if not sold) until it comes down to the price determined.
Using that logic, I have never had to reduce the price, since the houses
were sold within one month.
So, what drives price?
George
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[3] How to get traffic
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Last Week, Carl's Jr unleashed a racy TV commercial featuring Paris
Hilton, wearing a bikini, who cavorts with a garden hose, soaps up a
Bentley and then takes a bite of the burger (Carl's Jr product, in case you
didn't know). The ad was so racy that it generated an outcry from
watchdog groups such as the Parents Television Council (PTC), which, of
course, caused it to be the hit of the news and talk shows.
While the ad garnered complaints from some, which the company quickly
dismissed, the real problem CKE had was SpicyParis.com downtime. All the
publicity had done just what the company wanted, it drew traffic to the Web
site -- more traffic than the company was prepared to handle.
The explosion of streaming media and rich content -- such as 60-second TV
commercials -- increasingly strain bandwidth. But how could Carl's Jr. have
predicted that kind of traffic on the first day the site was up? The key is
not in predicting the amount of traffic, but in having a plan that can
accommodate a spike such as the one SpicyParis.com experienced.
The company admitted in a press release that the site was unequipped to
handle the surge in Web surfers trying to watch the ad. The servers
crashed, taking the site down for about four hours. Carl's Jr. said the
site is now hosted on more robust servers.
Although Carl's Jr. may be able to turn even this downtime into a plus for
its campaign, it's a good bet that the company would much rather have had
the site stay up.
Details at...
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/43420.html
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[4] From Gifts & Dec
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1. Enesco to Give Up Precious Moments
Itasca, IL — Enesco Group Inc. and Precious Moments Inc. (PMI), Elgin IL,
agreed to transfer product development, sales, and distribution of the
Precious Moments Collection from Enesco to PMI, the family-owned licensor
of the Precious Moments name. The transfer will take place between July 1
and December 31, 2005. “Enesco and PMI will partner closely in this
transition, whereby PMI will utilize Enesco’s sales force for the remainder
of the year, and will work closely with Enesco to transfer marketing
efforts,” said PMI president Michael T. Gillen. Enesco chief executive
Cynthia Passmore-McLaughlin said, “This is an important positive step for
Enesco because it allows us to focus on our future growth in our gift and
home and garden decor business.” Former Enesco chairman Eugene Freedman,
who ushered in the phenomenal success of the Precious Moments Collection,
will serve as a goodwill ambassador for Precious Moments and PMI.
2. Stationery Show Names Best New Products
New York — The National Stationery Show presented five companies with best
new product awards on Sunday, May 15, during the run of the 59th edition of
the annual event. Winners represented one of five product sections at the
show. They were: Presents — Exotic Accents (Somerville, NJ) for its Genie
Bottle Wishes; Celebrate — Name Maker (Atlanta) for its Get Personal Gift
Wrap; Take Note — Up With Paper (Bridgeport, CT) for its Pop-Up Globe
Greetings; Home Work — Silver Bay Trading (Torrance, CA) for its Kung Fu
Kids Desktop Accessories; and Indulgences — Bluedogz Design (Quebec,
Canada) for its Mini Clipboards. “The entries represent both the creativity
of the industry as well as the outstanding quality of product represented,”
said show manager Lori Robinson.
3. USA Announces Rep Training Boot Camps
New York — United Sales Association (USA) is running two Boot Camp training
sessions for sales associates with less than one year’s experience. The
first takes place June 16 at the Columbus Mart; the second at the Seattle
Gift Center on August 23. Registration deadlines for the one-day sessions
are June 1 and 15. Forms are available at www.unitedsalesassociation.com.
Quinn Halford, Editor In Chief
Matthew Kalash, Managing Editor
Gifts & Dec Direct
www.giftanddec.com
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