Green Paper Company

It might seem there’s no safe haven in retail right now, but those of you selling paper know that green is gold these days. If you’ve got great recycled options, you’re ahead of stores who don’t.

Enter Green Paper Company.

Joan Schnee, owner of GPC in Chicago, got a big thumbs up today as the only line mentioned by name on the Good Morning America segment “Just One Thing,” featuring quality recycled stocks and holiday cards. Not a bad endorsement to have on the resumé...even when the resumé is already crowded with lots of great endorsements and placement requests.

Green Paper Company is about more than just holidays, though. Their line of blank and printed stock is expansive, and truly green. Offering both consumer packaged stationery and blank bulk stock, there’s plenty to choose from, regardless of whether you sell only boxed goods, blank stock to DIYers, or provide in-house design and production services.

Joan’s done a lot of homework about what is--and is not--good for the environment, and knows more than just about anyone I’ve ever met. As a retailer (her store, On Paper, has been a Columbus, OH destination for more than a decade), she “gets” what stores want, need, and rely on from vendors. If there’s a better combination out there, I haven’t found it.

Don’t wait until the winter shows to look for GPC; check out their site, give ‘em a call, and get your hands on this...now.

I’m just sayin’....

RetailSpeaks newsletter recipients have heard me hint at how 4Q will be built on tradition, home, and hearth. Well folks, don’t doubt it. This morning, Good Morning America did a piece about the surge in Christian themed product purchases. True, some of the stuff is kitsch-—as dearly as I hold my own faith, odds of a Jesus Christ bobble head doll landing on my shopping list are slimmer than none. Same goes for the Bible themed power bars (seriously...I couldn’t make this stuff up.) But make no mistake-—faith based gifts are on the uptick. Big time.

Don’t mistake this for an anomaly. As world, political, and economic jitters continue to encroach on their lives, consumers continue to pull back to a safer, saner, quieter time...and that’s childhood. To adapt, retailers need to embrace what I call “Mashed Potato Marketing,” built on documented human behavioral patterns rife with comfort food, tradition, and “all things home.”

For the full write up and buying advice, visit the RetailSpeaks newsletter archive (specifically the June/July issue).

Retailers who figure this out and buy accordingly will hold their own-—or better yet, do really well this holiday season. Those who buy like it’s 1999, though...good luck. This isn’t the year to bet on edgy trends or hipster brown and blue. It’s gonna be all about Christmas, Christ, and that guy in the funny red sleigh.

Now...pass the homemade ostkaka and a spoon, please?

Counting coins

Here we go...the start of the Chicago show, with two (jam packed) speaking gigs tomorrow and my mom by my side. It’s Liz’s first time to the Mart here, as well as her first stay on Michigan Avenue. Should be a fun weekend.

The market season‘s officially into high gear. Today, one of my consulting clients asked how best navigate all the show specials popping up as vendors find themselves carrying the weight of excess inventory. Here’s my advice:

1. If an opening order is more than you need/want, it’s not a good deal. Walk away.

2. If a show special requires more product than you need, it’s not a good deal. Walk away.

3. If bumping a bunch of addition product into an order for the sake of getting free freight, do the math. If the additional product costs more than the freight would have, it’s not a good deal. Walk away (or simply lower your order).

4. If you’re required to buy really deep instead of really wide-—when the price tag would be the same-—explain to the vendor, the more shelf frontage they have, the more customers they’ll snag. If they still insist you order deep, walk away.

This year, it’s more critical than ever that you buy smart. There are a lot of offers and programs out there, many of which look great on the surface but may end up robbing you blind in the end. In the next couple of months, you’ll see me address several of the dealer programs in my Gifts and Dec column, “Retail Enabler.”

It’s a complicated market season, folks. There’s old math...new math...and retail math. Time to brush up on the latter.