Hey there, We wanted to tell you about some good friends of ours over at Forward Convenience Stores. They’ve been around for 95 years in central to Northern Michigan and are known as THE stop when people are heading up north to the woods and water. In addition to all the Snickers bars and Mountain Dews and Natty Lites they offer, they also sell a lot of apparel and souvenirs to travelers. And I bet you’d never guess who they buy it from…Spoiler alert: it’s us. But we just wanted to share a few tips and tricks from their merchandising manager, Kelly Hughes, on some things she does to help create a great shopping experience for their customers:

• Less is more – Variety is great, but people can become overwhelmed by it. Since space is at a premium, you’re better off picking a few of your favorite things and displaying them in a way that make them really stand out than packing as much stuff in as you can.
• Get creative – merchandising is all about having fun and thinking outside the box. Do people fish a lot near you? Work in a tackle box and pole around your favorite fishing t-shirt design. Get a lot of campers in your store? Work in some old gear in your display to catch their attention!
• Pair it up – The only thing better than a customer who buys something is a customer who buys two somethings. Find themed items and merchandise them together. Just like that you can sell a hat, shirt, postcard, and mug in one fell swoop.

We want to thank Kelly for providing these great tips and hope it gave you some ideas on what you can do in your store. And the next time you’re in Michigan, be sure to stop by a Forward Convenience Store and be one of those people who buys two somethings.

Candles! That’s it, that’s all you need to know. Kidding! But we really do need to tell you about our seasonal candle collection. Your customers LOVE candles and you’ll get three scents per season –four seasons – of seasonally-themed awesomeness. Plus, Christmas is right around the corner and who doesn't love receiving candles as a present? Anyways, why not lock in a year’s worth now so you don’t have to worry about it later? If you order by Nov 23 we can have them shipped out to you and on your shelves before the snow flies. Unless you live in the U.P., in which case it’s probably been snowing since late August. Did we mention that you don’t have to buy and store everything at once? If you go with the seasonal fragrances, we’ll hold on to them for you and just ship them out and charge you as the season gets close. That way you’ll have more time to yell “Hello spring!” out of your “Open Windows” while “Drinking too much wine right after work.” Ok, that last one isn’t a seasonal scent. At least not for this year. Anyhoo, email us if you like us to send you more information! Yours in memory making, T.R.

 

Just wanted to drop you a line and show you a design we just released. We call it design #27696, but you can call it Diamond Crisp!

Clean and simple, you’ve got your destination and then seven icon options to choose from that take you from the woods to the water to the campground.

Oh, and there’s a bear. Never forget the bear.

This iconic design really pops on pastels and we recommend bringing in four colors with a different icon on each. This gives your customers some options, but also allows for a family of four to get one of each to look iconic themselves in those photos they’re posting to Facebook of their trip.

Give us a jingle and let us know how many you’d like.

Yours in memory making, T.R.

 

It's Thursday morning, things are looking a little dull - it's time to add a little POP of color in your life!

Everyone loves a good buffalo plaid pattern. It's bold and it's timeless. Our Plaid Works collection is filled with that classic buffalo plaid pattern of red and black. We know red isn't everyone's color, so we dropped a black buffalo plaid design in there too (design #27185). The collection has THE coolest up north themed designs in it too. A bear, a campfire, a moose - SURPRISE we even dropped a mitten hand in one of the designs!

All your LumberJack friends will be asking, "Where'd ya get that git up?".

Be sure to contact your sales rep to place an order!

Sometimes a design is created and you just know the PERFECT garment for it! Check out this 'Peace Love Mackinac Bridge' embroidery design on our Women's Glitter French Terry Full-Zip Hoodie in Oxford/Maui Blue. A dynamic color with just enough sparkle to catch the eye!   We have skilled in-house artists available at any time to create custom artwork tailored to your specific needs. We love to take your ideas and make them come to life!