Cultivate a relationship with your novelty supplier to build

March-April 2010
RINKSIDER
23
INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY
Cultivate a relationship with your novelty
supplier to build business
Americans. While they have considered
other suppliers in the past, Caffee feels
that the loyalty that he has with his curhile novelty sales might not
rent supplier and her excellent customer
make or break a rink, that
service trump the novelty of switching.
glittering countertop nevBuilding a good relationship with
ertheless can be a significant profit
his supplier is a big part of what
center. When people skimp on other
Caffee attributes to the success
expenses, young skaters will always
of his novelty counter. He looks
respond to the lure of shining plasto her for what he has come to
tic toys and the trendiest candies.
recognize as high quality product,
Redemption games can assist sales
and appreciates strongly the fact
even further by creating a sort of
that she is willing to take back
feedback loop in which a kid wants
the defective items within a bulk
to play a game, earns tickets, wants
shipment – something that not
more tickets for a better prize, and so
every novelty company is willing
wants to play more games.
to do, and that many rink owners
To keep this novelty counter
accept as a cost of doing business.
successful, the rink owner has to
“She brings in good, quality
keep it looking different and exciting
so that the young people who are its The novelty counter at Skate Town in Racine, Wisc. products. Lots of items will look
the same or similar, but her items
primary customers remain interested. is clean and eye-catching.
are generally of a higher quality
According to Lynn Caffee of the
Skate Town rink in Racine, Wisc., one rinks, whether they be rural or urban. with less breakage and fewer defects in
way to maintain interest is to rotate the She has an idea of what’s going to sell things like light up items,” Caffee said,
better than anyone who isn’t that age,” reinforcing the fact that knowing and havtoys on a very regular basis.
ing a good relationship with your supplier
“We like to move bins around Caffee said.
The supplier he chooses to turn to is is very important. “You just don’t get this
to keep things looking fresh and
new, otherwise the kids get tired of Kris Wall Friesner of Funtastic Novelties. kind of beneficial, two-way relationship
the same old thing.” He also consis- Caffee loves that she comes from a family when you pick things out of a catalog.”
Caffee stocks new items regularly,
tently keeps his novelty counter “neat of rink owners, and that she has her pulse
and clean” to help attract customers. firmly on the pop culture trends of young consulting with his supplier when he does
By Dionne Obeso
W
Caffee relies on his supplier to keep him
informed of the hottest trends and of the
best new novelty items. “It’s always up
to us what we actually purchase, but
our supplier has her pulse on what’s
hot across the country at a variety of
so to find out what she recommends as the
best and hottest items. “There are always
new items coming in that may relate to
new movies or whatever is hot for the
kids at the time, and she keeps up to date
and advises her clients to help us keep
our novelty items fresh,” he said. He is
always grateful to learn that a certain kind
of novelty sunglasses may be the next big
thing or that there are new items out that
correspond to a teen blockbuster on the
horizon, and stocks accordingly.
His novelty counter is so popular,
that Caffee uses items from it to stock
birthday bags as an attraction at parties, and even has people come in from
time to time just to purchase things that
they know he stocks (like glow sticks
or whoopee cushions). To get this kind
of relationship with your own supplier,
place a call and find out who is in charge
of your account. You may need to switch
companies until you find a supply company willing to work with you personally, send updates of hot items hitting
the shelves, and what’s coming next.
Cultivated over time, a relationship with
a novelty supplier could become an excellent sales tool.
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