A Retail & Wholesale Success Story

December 26th, 2011

Check out Via Trading’s latest Customer Success Story!

A Community’s Needs Met Leads to Increased Profits: A Retail Success Story

One of the key factors that contributes to the success of a new business venture is the ability to identify an opportunity and fill an untapped niche. Glen Rundell of Specialz Outlet in North Carolina embraced this idea, and here is his story.

Until about a year ago, Rundell had spent several years in the real estate industry, dabbling in both the sale and construction of residential and commercial property. As the economy and housing markets continued to decline, he began looking for other opportunities in late 2010. A life-long entrepreneur, Rundell wanted to provide a product or service at a great value when people were most concerned about how they spent their hard-earned dollars…

Read more on our website!

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Customer of the Month, Resources | No Comments »

Via Trading Partners with the Watts Labor Community Action Committee for a Hot Meal & Toy Drive!

December 19th, 2011

On Sunday December 18th, 2011, Via Trading had the honor of participating in a community event in our local area of Watts, to bring a hot meal and toys to the disadvantaged families of the area before the holidays. The event was held at the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) center, a non-profit, community-based, human social services organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of South Central LA residents.

This event was put on by the kind people of the Watts Lane Life Project, a program created by the East Side Riders Bike Club (ESRBC) and the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) in collaboration with the California Highway Patrol, the Sheriff’s Department an LAPD, with the purpose of creating a Community Outreach program and a Bike Safety Project.

At 11:00 am, the event was kicked off by an impressive procession of motorcycles by the East Side Rider’s Bike Club initiated the event, as throngs of leather-clad men and women arrived to help serve food and distribute toys.

Hundreds of families lined up outside the WLCAC’s facilities waiting for their pre-holiday meal and festivities.

Families were then invited into the auditorium where they were served a hot meal that they enjoyed at picnic tables inside the auditorium. Children played outside as they finished their meals, and the WLCAC regulars showed off their skateboarding skills at the Watts Community Skate Park within the WLCAC’s fences.

Once the meal was over, lines formed outside the main hall where thousands of toys were stacked up on tables, generous donations of nearby companies and local supporters like Via Trading.

Read more on our website!

Tags: , ,
Posted in News & Info | No Comments »

Via Trading Launches New Website

November 16th, 2011

On October 13th 2011, Via Trading launched its new website with great new features to improve the customer experience on the site and the amount of information available about each product to make your purchasing process as easy and efficient as possible.

Our new website features:

  • Real time shipping quotes – get a shipping quote on your order before you submit it! Our system is now able to quote most orders directly in the shopping cart. Update your shopping cart with different items to see various shipping quotes and options in real time.
  • Product selling tips – the majority of our products now come with a series of product-specific selling tips to help you get the most out of your investment.
  • Product reviews – submit reviews on products you’ve purchased in the past and read other customers’ reviews to help you make a purchasing decision.
  • Product videos – our site now features over 20 videos for some of our most popular products. View the videos directly inside each product page or check out our “product video” section to view all product videos in one place.
  • Detailed navigation filters – from our product category pages, you can now filter your product search by packing (cases, pallets, loads), Condition (New overstock, master case, shelf pulls, preworn, customer returns, etc), price point (Under $100, Under $250, Under $500, Under $1000, Over $1000), Type of Item (Via Direct, Partner Offer, Blue Label Special, Product category and Manifest.
  • Quick checkout – a more streamlined checkout process that allows you to submit an order and obtain a shipping quote in just 3 clicks!
  • Small business and industry resources – a more detailed and expanded resource section with selling tips and resources for a variety of resale channels, liquidation industry article, wholesale purchasing resources and more!

Check out our website features page for an explanation on how to use each of our new features.

We hope you enjoy our new website and we welcome feedback, comments and thoughts on how we can improve!

 

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in News & Info | No Comments »

Good Merchandising in a Retail Store = More Sales!

November 8th, 2011

Merchandising Tips for Discount Stores

  • An attractive storefront is important! Make sure the entrance entices people to come in, has a clear “entrance” sign and is clean and welcoming.

  • Make use of your store windows. Ensure you use them to communicate what you sell, any promotions you’re running, discounts you’re offering and other messages (like opening hours). Change your messages up at least twice a month to avoid the perception that you have nothing new to offer.
  • Organize merchandise by the category whenever possible to make it easier for shoppers to find what they’re looking for.
  • When laying out your store, put similar/relevant items near each other. For example, if you’re selling beds or mattresses, put your bedding and linen items in the same section of your store. This will help you up-sell and get the most out of each customer’s visit. “Buying a mattress? Check out our bed-in-bag sets to go with your new mattress!”

  • Place your pricing sticker in the same area on each product. This creates consistency and allows your customers to find the price easily.
  • Use a simple dating system to help you determine how long products are sitting in your store before they sell. For example, use a letter and number format like A, B, C for the months and 1, 2, 3 for the days of the month. An item marked A1 would then have been in your store since January 1st. This will allow you to quickly see what has been in the store for too long so you can discount it and make room for new items.
  • Clear the aisles. Make it easy for customers to walk through the aisles without any hindrance – blocked aisles result in no-go areas and lost sales.
  • Walk the store as if you were a customer. Do you bang into merchandise or displays? Is merchandise hard to reach? Is it difficult to find what you want? If so, make the necessary changes.

  • Purchase retail displays for small merchandise. Instead of dumping small items into bins that customers have to rummage through, consider purchasing retail displays on which to hang the items to make them more attractive AND easier to see for your customers.
  • Keep the store clean. Just because these are discounted items doesn’t mean they have to be dirty, dusty and unattractive.
  • Assign sufficient staff to be responsible for merchandising. Making items attractive on the shelves, replenishing shelves once certain items sell out and keeping the store tidy and well laid out is a full time position and requires a hands-on individual. Don’t skimp on the things that make your store attractive to your customers!
  • Put tall items against walls so that they don’t block the view throughout your store.
  • Keep items within arms’ reach. Stacking shelves too high with merchandise is not only potentially hazardous, but it can also result in customers not buying certain items because they physically can’t reach them.
  • Eye level is buy level! Keep a note of your best selling items and place them at eye level on the shelves.
  • Choose an area inside your store to put your clearance items and keep that space consistently. Return customers will know to go look there for new great deals on clearance items.
  • Use signage to communicate key messages like discounts. Use signage also to define merchandise categories in your store. You can hang those from the ceiling or put them on sign holders, but give your customers an easy to way to know what is where inside the store.

  • Use small shelf signage to communicate product-specific messages. Shelf signage can be placed on specific shelves to communicate something about that exact product.
  • Put smaller items and low priced items near the checkout counter to encourage impulse buys!
  • Stage the merchandise where feasible. For example, use mannequins to display clothing, dress beds with sheets/pillows/comforters. The more customers are able to visualize how the item may look in their home, the more likely they are to buy it.
  • Separate clothing by men, women and children and organize it by size – all size Small on one rack, all size Medium on another rack, etc.
  • Offer baskets or shopping carts to help customers carry merchandise. If you offer no carrying solution, customers will purchase only what they are able to hold in their hands.
  • Make the shopping experience pleasant! Make sure your store is at a comfortable temperature with sufficient lighting. An uncomfortable experience can lead to customers cutting their visits short.

  • Take one item out of its box to show your customers what the actual item looks like (and to avoid them opening boxes themselves).
  • Take advantage of loss leaders to bring in additional traffic into your store. A loss leader is a product sold at a low price (at cost or sometimes below cost) to stimulate other profitable sales.
  • Train your staff on product knowledge so that they are better able to answer any questions customer may have.
  • Ensure your staff greets customers pleasantly and let them know they’re available to help if need.
  • Invest in a retail Point of Sale system that can provide you with a detailed sales analysis to enable you to know what sells and what merchandise is lagging in sales.
    		•

    Tags: , , , ,
    Posted in Resources | No Comments »

    How to Make Yard Sales Profitable

    June 8th, 2011

    JUNE 2011 CUSTOMER OF THE MONTH

    Rozanne Rosas & Mike Meza of Sazem Yard Sale

    Have you considered starting a yard sale to make money but aren’t sure about the viability of such a business model?
    Do people ACTUALLY make a great profit with yard sales or is it too time-consuming and not lucrative enough?

    Rozanne Rosas of Palmdale, CA, proves to us that a yard sale can be not only profitable, but constructive to the economy of a local community. Over the last four months, Rozanne and her boyfriend Mike successfully turned a small merchandise resale effort into a veritable profit-generating business– proof that it can be done with the right approach.

    In February of 2011, Rozanne and Mike started “Sazem,” a home-based yard sale business that has become a reliable source of income for this retired couple, and a go-to shopping location for their town’s inhabitants. Retired from their full time careers at the end of last year, they were looking for some type of work that would offer a steady income to maintain their lifestyle.
    Finding it difficult to land small jobs in the dismal Southern California market, they decided to take matters into their own hands by starting their own business. One morning while watching the KTLA morning news in January, they saw a featured story on Via Trading and the opportunity that the company offers for those looking to resell merchandise for a profit, and they decided to pay us a visit to see what it was all about.

    Their original idea was to purchase goods for resale on eBay but after doing some research, Rozanne found that eBay charged  fees for their service and that they would have to factor this into the price of the products. The deciding factor for them was based on finding a business model that would present the lowest overhead costs. “That turned out to be in my yard!” Rozanne says. And thus Sazem was born.

    Once the business concept of a weekend yard sale had been established, they began to look for products to offer their customers. Rozanne explains that this was one of their most difficult decisions, as it wasn’t just about finding the best price on any product. It was about finding items that people need, at the right price. “I tried to think of what would I buy and what would I pay,” she says. “I follow this standard throughout my business – I turn the tables and think like a consumer.” This thinking led Rozanne to try a few pallets of CTC general merchandise that contain a wide variety of products in order to determine what would sell best. “From there I decided that kitchen appliances had a nice appeal to them and after a couple of months I was sure that we had made the correct decision on our product line,” she adds.

    Sazem now specializes in selling primarily kitchen appliances – everything from a spoon to a food processor. “Our products range from brand new, like new and used. Cuisinart, Keurig and Magic Chef are a few of the brands we carry,” Rozanne explains. According to her, one of the most important things about running this kind of business is to consistently improve your processes and take risks to promote growth. Recently, they have begun expanding their product lines to include clothing and toys, and they’re planning to expand to tools as well in the near future. “The idea is to have something to offer everyone,” she states. “Last month we bought a pallet of customer return toys just to try it out. I should have filmed some of the kids begging their parents to buy them a toy!” Purchasing the toy pallet was a calculated risk. Dealing with products they had never worked with before put them outside of their comfort zone, but it paid off.

    Rozanne and Mike did not go into this business venture blindly. They went to the local college and attended classes on how to start up an eBay business, and then attended a class on California taxes to make sure they had a good understanding the laws at play when starting a resale business. While they prepared themselves as best they could, as with any new venture there was a learning curve early on. “It was like not really knowing how to walk but as we started to build our processes – and believe me we fell down a few times – but it all started to click into place,” says Rozanne. Due to their preparation and attention to detail, they saw great success very early on. “My first day of business I sold over $1,600 worth of products! After my first yard sale I knew I had opened Pandora’s box!” If that’s not a good start, we don’t know what is!

    Rozanne attributes much of their success to their strategically placed yard sales. “Location, location, location, boy is that saying true!” she says. They live off of the main street leading to a complex of approximately 3,000 homes in Palmdale. Every inhabitant must drive by their house to get in or out of the complex, making their yard sales very visible to the entire community. While this location is fantastic and guarantees the exposure of their business, it’s not everything. Rozanne stresses that “your business plan is very important to being successful. Plan it out, expect the unexpected and be patient. Never stop trying to improve – improvement means money!”

    Thanks to the great location of their yard sales, they do not spend much money or time on advertising. The couple parks their truck on their front yard with “yard sale” flags on each side of the truck, which proves to be an effective way to highlight the exact location of the sale. They do however spend a few dollars on quality business cards. “It looks professional and places a very nice light on your company,” Rozanne says.

    At the moment, Sazem focuses primarily on selling customer return products. “We find that the returns are a good risk to buy as some of the items will be brand new in the box!” Rozanne explains. “Just expect that about 75% of the products will be sellable and 25% will not. But don’t get rid of the excess as these are great spare parts for future products purchased!” she says. While not everything will be in sellable condition, certain items can be salvaged for parts that can be used to restore other items to sellable condition in the future. We agree!

    Rozanne has a very admirable approach to business and a philosophy of finding items that will offer the “biggest bang for the buck.” To that end, she goes through every item prior to selling it to make sure it works and is clean. This way, she can be confident that the product is the best it can be for the customer. “I have an open it up and try it out policy,” she explains. “Plus by working on each item educates you on its operation and function which makes you look pretty good when you’re showing the customer how it works and it’s obvious you know your stuff!” It is also important to show the customer the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s no secret that they are selling returns and items that may have some kind of defect or blemish. “If the product has a scratch on it, I show the customer before he sees it. I treat my customers the way I want to be treated when I shop,” she says. This kind of honesty and integrity in business is a key to their success.

    One key point when starting a resale business is how to determine the price of the products. Aiming to be in this business for the long-term, Rozanne & Mike wanted to price their items such that they would ensure the items sold, but at a price that would encourage customers to come back again and again. With this in mind, Rozanne developed a formula that she applies to all her products. The key is pricing items low enough that they will present great value to the consumer, but not so low as to price themselves out of business.

    As of today, four months after their first yard sale, Sazem continues every Saturday and Sunday, and welcomes up to 300 buyers each day of operation. Their customers have grown to expect them to be there every weekend, and have even begun to request specific items. “We keep a running list of customer wants,” says Rozanne. “We use this list when we make our purchases. If we get multiple requests for an item we make sure that the pallet(s) we buy have some on it. It’s good business sense for the company and a good deal for customers.” Customers can tell she takes personal interest in their needs and strives to offer them products they are looking for. As a result, the products fly off the shelf and on an average weekend they bring in well over $1,000 in sales.

    This business started out of a need to make a monthly income to support their retirement. Today, it is much more than that – it provides a service to the community. “We are making a difference in our local economy,” says Rozanne. “It feels good when you see a customer’s face and the smile that erupts when they purchase an item and they know they got a great deal!”

    Rozanne has become a believer in this business model and has lots of advice to offer those looking to get started with their own yard sales. “It’s a very gratifying experience to know you are delivering a service to the community. From a financial standpoint it does make money but you have to realize that you have to put everything back into the business for a few months before you start to take a profit out. You need to build inventory and that is the best way to tackle it. Keep perfect records – you need to watch the numbers like a hawk to ensure you are making money,” she advises.

    Her best words of advice? “Plan out your business. Take classes, visit your supplier and see what products they carry. Have patience and always look to improve your process which will bring you dollar signs. Good luck!”

    Check out their yard sale every Saturday and Sunday off of Avenue S in Palmdale, West Side.
    You may also call Rozanne at 818.802.3973 for more details about the location and times of the Sazem yard sale.

    Tags: , , , , , , ,
    Posted in Customer of the Month | No Comments »

    Tips for Selling Products at Flea Markets!

    May 10th, 2011

    By Robert Cyr

    Consider the various flea markets available to you. Depending on where you are geographically, you may have access to specialized flea market events as well as more general flea markets. It can oftentimes be much more profitable to sell at specialty markets, rather than general markets where anything goes. The types of specialized flea markets that are available include: arts and crafts, antiques, clothing and accessories and more. So if you’re located in an area where flea markets abound, take the time to do research and see if you can find some that are dedicated to the kind of products you’re trying to sell.

    An easy way to find flea markets in your area is to visit greatfleamarket.com

    On your mark, get set, go… Having a booth in close proximity to the entrance can help you increase sales since you’ll get more exposure than more remote booths, especially if it is a large market. If buyers need to walk past your booth (well, hopefully they’ll actually stop at it) on both their way in and way out, you will definitely improve your chances for sales relative to other booths that a buyer may only see once and potentially forget about. Furthermore, be ready to sell as soon as the doors open – it is said that the first hour and the last hour of flea markets are when vendors should expect to make the bulk of their earnings.

    Keep your table full! If your table starts to look a little sparse, it will turn buyers off as nobody wants to feel like their buying picked over merchandise. Having your merchandise organized beforehand will allow you to easily replenish the products as they begin to sell. You may not need to have all of it out at one time, but it is a good idea to keep your booth stocked throughout the day. An empty booth and sparse tables will turn potential buyers away. A colorful, well-stocked, professional looking table is much more appealing to buyers than one which looks like its on its last legs.

    Leave some space! Have you ever been to a flea market where you were bumped and squeezed against the table as foot traffic tried to get by? If people are uncomfortable when they are browsing they will be less likely to stick around and buy, so make sure that your potential customers have room to comfortably view the merchandise without being run over by other customers.

    Plan an adequate supply of money as well, so start the day with plenty of change! Don’t rely on change from your early sales to make enough change for later sales, as that usually doesn’t work out. Ensure that you have at least a few hundred in twenties, tens fives and so on, as well as at least ten dollars in the various coins. When you do it this way, you will be confident in your ability to make change for any transaction.

    All merchandise needs to display a clear price.     While many folks who shop at flea markets will prefer to haggle, they would also like to know the “starting point”. If you fail to tag certain items with a price, you may find that you lose sales as it will scare off some buyers who speculate the price is higher than it actually is. Tags and pricing signs should look new and sharp as reused or less-than-presentable tags will make the products appear of similarly substandard quality.

    Offer a deal – “I’ll give that to you at 10 percent off” “Buy two and you can have thirty percent off”. Leave wiggle room so that you can make such statements – this forces the prospective buyer to communicate with you (whether it’s a ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘maybe’ response) and can help turn casual browsers into actual customers.

    Check out the competition – If you’re selling t-shirts for ten dollars, but another vendor is selling similar t-shirts for half that, who do you think is going to get the sales? Make sure to take time to scope out the competition (or have a helper do it) to make sure you’re not pricing yourself out of the market.

    Lastly, don’t forget the bags. Hopefully you’ll start with lots at the beginning of the day and very few at the end!

    Tags: , , ,
    Posted in Resources | No Comments »

    How to Track Social Media with Google Analytics

    April 8th, 2011

    If you have a website, you’re probably already connected to social media sites and if you are not, you should be!! The next most important thing after having a social media presence is to track the success of that presence and to find out exactly what it is bringing you in terms of traffic and revenue. Claudia Bruemmer of Top Ten Wholesale teaches us what we need to know about tracking social media using Google Analytics in the following article.

    Tracking Social Media Campaigns with Google Analytics

    by Claudia Bruemmer

    Now that social media is so popular, with sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube leading the way, many wholesalers and retailers are using social media marketing tactics to drive traffic and conversions resulting in a better ROI. But how many of you are tracking your results for effectiveness? If your site has been up for a while, you can use your Google Analytics (GA) data to identify key metrics to monitor your campaign for efficacy.

    Your historical data can help you identify the best targets for your social media efforts. First, you need to identify key metrics to track in your social media campaigns. Then, set up benchmarks with custom reports. Lastly, you derive benchmarks for key metrics to be measured in your social media campaigns. You can later compare your social media campaign traffic and revenue to that received from other search marketing campaigns, directory listings, etc.

    Identify Key Metrics. Select a time period when your site was generating a lot of revenue. This will serve as your base period to measure campaign results against. Then select some meaningful metrics that are relevant to your business success. For instance, if you select “number of site visits” and “revenue,” you can correlate the number of visits required to reach a specific daily revenue goal.

    Set Benchmarks with Custom Reports. To set benchmarks, you can overlay chosen metric graphs in GA. Depending on the metrics previously selected (number of site visits and revenue), you can use the ‘Compare two metrics’ option in Google Analytics. When you select that option, GA allows you to overlay six basic metrics (visits, pageviews, pages/visit, avg. time on site, bounce rate and % new visits. Since you can’t overlay “visits” against “revenue,” you can create a custom report, which is easy to set up. In your custom report, you can add other dimensions if you wish (source, keyword, product, etc.).

    Deriving Benchmarks for Site Visits and Revenue. Your Custom Report on Visits and Revenue can help you decide on the approximate daily revenue and number of visitors required to meet your future campaign goals based on your previous benchmark period. Let’s say your lowest revenue during that period was $200 a day with 65 visits. Google Analytics will show that dollar amount on a specific date with the number of visits to make that revenue. So you can establish $200 as your minimum acceptable daily revenue. Then look for a high figure on another date during the benchmark period. Say you made $450 on another specific date and had 90 visitors. This gives you the revenue and number of visits you want to achieve or exceed in your future social media campaign.

    By looking at the stats during your benchmark period, you identified the maximum and minimum number of visitors that produced revenue highs and lows, allowing you to deduce that the number of visitors required to achieve specific revenue goals.

    Low: 65 visitors – $200/day – lower end minimum acceptable revenue benchmark

    High: 90 visitors – $450/day – higher end of revenue benchmark (number you would seek to achieve or exceed in social media campaign)

    The above example was very simple. Wholesalers can conduct more complex analyses in Google Analytics or with GA apps that simplify the tasks. For instance, Unilyzer (http://www.unilyzer.com/) collects, stores, trends and presents web traffic from GA and stats from Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Digg. You can also enable fanpage tracking if you establish fanpage profiles in GA. Unilyzer compares metrics for traffic from social media channels to traffic from all sources (organic, paid search, etc.) and compares metrics for each social media network so you can determine where your best traffic is coming from and focus your efforts there for the best ROI. You can get a 7-day free trial without a credit card. Pricing is $7/month for Unilizer Lite, $24/month Unilizer Pro and $49/month Unilizer Premium.

    Tags: , ,
    Posted in Resources | No Comments »

    A Philanthropic Resale Business – How Sunrise Enterprises Inc. Gives Back

    April 7th, 2011

    APRIL 2011 CUSTOMER OF THE MONTH

    Don Wright of Sunrise Enterprises, Inc.

    In the last few years, coinciding with the launch of Sunrise Enterprises’ 3rd thrift store, Chief Financial Officer Don Wright reports that customers began to express demand for new and more varied items. To address these growing needs, the company to began sourcing merchandise from Via Trading in March of 2009. “This gave us the opportunity to offer our usual line of quality thrift goods but also new goods at reasonable prices,” say Wright.

    Sunrise’s Shop & Save stores differentiate themselves from other stores of their kind for the community service they provide. Their clients are referred to them by local school districts and by Developmental Disabilities Services, a division of the state Department of Health.
    COO Don Wright explains that “each of [the] stores is managed by Sunrise staff and supported by several handicapped individuals.” The stores provide these individuals with an opportunity to integrate into society that they may otherwise not have. Wright adds that “working in the stores gives the clients a heightened sense of personal accomplishment because they earn a paycheck based on their performance level. They know that at the end of the day their efforts have been instrumental in the success of the stores. Even those that work at a slow pace earn a paycheck and from that, gain a sense of personal success. Normal retail stores do not allow for this type of employee due to their production demands.”

    Twenty years later, community donations still make up the largest majority of the goods they sell. To supplement their donations, the company sources merchandise from Via Trading. They purchase a variety of goods ranging from SRS tools to general merchandise, high end accessories and housewares, towel & bath accessories, seasonal merchandise,  domestics, televisions and hand tools. Wright explains that “general housewares such as kitchen appliances and tableware sell very well throughout the stores.”

    Business-savvy buyers, they tailor their purchases to the season and to the demand of their customers. “Prior to Christmas we purchased a large shipment of inexpensive toys that sold very well as stocking stuffers. We recently purchased two loads of SRS products that sold as fast as we could put it on the shelves. ” Now isn’t that a statement every store owner would love to utter! His technique? “It’s about knowing your market. We try to offer a continual variety of merchandise to bring customers into the stores. Our customers don’t support very high end goods and we know that, so we focus on items we know will be more attractive to them – usually mixed loads with electronics, general merchandise and outdoor furniture or tools.”

    To further provide their customer base with products at reasonable prices, Sunrise Enterprises source a combination of overstocks and customer returns. “We prefer overstocks,” says Wright, “because we can only perform basic testing on the customer returns and we do try to avoid sending defective goods to the stores.” Most of their best-selling items however, come from customer return loads due to the opportunities those goods present to be sold at a fraction of their original value.

    Staying true to their core values and mission of providing employment, training and life skills to disabled individuals, much of the processing of the merchandise is done by their store employees. “We teach them how to follow direction and be productive,” advises Wright. They assist managers in organizing the products, merchandising them on the shelves and pricing them appropriately.  “Those that are more highly functioning are taught to use the cash register and support customers during checkout,” he adds.

    While the business is both personally and professionally rewarding for its owners and managers, running a non-profit community-driven business presents its challenges. As the Chief Operations Officer, Don Wright is responsible for the divisions of Sunrise that generate 65% of their total revenue. They get the remaining 35% from state funding to support the clients they bring into their program. In the midst of budget deficits in virtually every state in America, the current Oregon state budget shortages jeopardize that 35%, which puts greater emphasis on operations to make up the difference. In the case of the retail stores, this means generating more revenue by bringing in more product and moving it at a faster rate. “Finding new business in a down economy is difficult,” says Wright, “but working with our clients and seeing the satisfaction they gain by being employed is the best part, and makes up for a lot of the hardships.”

    To help alleviate operating costs and to support the nature of their philanthropic mission, the organization accepts financial donations through a new program called the Sunrise Charitable Fund. “We recently started this fund to help keep some clients in our program even if state funding for them is cut or eliminated,” says Wright.
    The company’s priority is to continue providing vocational training and support for disabled individuals so they can gain some financial independence and personal growth.

    Sunrise has a new website launching on April 8th, that includes information on how people can support Sunrise through community donations, financial donations or contributions to the Sunrise Charitable Fund.
    Sunrise Enterprises currently operate four thrift stores in Douglas County and will be opening their 5th this summer.

    Visit their website at http://www.sunriseenterprisesinc.com

    Stop by their store locations in Oregon at:

    2529 W. Harvard, Roseburg OR
    1401 Hwy. 101S, Reedsport OR
    126 SW Douglas, Winston OR
    875 S. Main, Myrtle Creek OR

    Tags: , , ,
    Posted in Customer of the Month | No Comments »

    Surviving the Recession – Selling at Flea Markets

    March 17th, 2011

    Learn how one of our own customers, Rodolfo Martinez, was able to survive the recession after losing his full time job a couple of years ago. He and his wife started their own business purchasing wholesale merchandise and reselling the items at local swap meets. They now are able to support themselves while being their own bosses and increasing their earnings each time they buy and sell.

    Check out this video by Annenberg TV News that will give you the inside scoop!

    Tags: , , , ,
    Posted in News & Info | No Comments »

    A Successful Retail and Wholesale Business

    March 10th, 2011

    MARCH 2011 CUSTOMER OF THE MONTH

    Adedoyin Otunuga of Trendy Clothing, Nigeria


    Our March success story is of a woman who started a business out of a need she identified in her home country of Nigeria, shortly after giving birth to her child. Adedoyin Otunuga started a dual-channel resale business in April of 2010 after resigning from a banking job. She had just delivered her baby and quickly discovered that quality kid’s clothing in Nigeria was very expensive, and she then decided to open a business to fill the widespread need for quality apparel at affordable prices.

    When first researching products to import from overseas, she realized that shipping small lots would cut into her profits too much, and that the cheaper way to bring goods into the country would be in larger bulk shipments. Finding herself with ample product to resell, Adedoyin opened a small store where she caters to retail customers who are looking for good deals on kids clothing by the piece, as well as a wholesale division where she sells wholesale lots of adult clothing at cheaper prices to Nigerian based retailers. In 11 short months, her startup business is now her primary source of income.

    “I decided to focus my primary business on children’s clothing because parents will always think of their kids before themselves,” she says. “I chose clothing and accessories for my wholesale division because they are the types of items that everyone needs all the time. It’s consistent and dependable.” She explains that while she is trying to fill a demand in the market, she doesn’t just source any type of clothing. While offering good prices is clearly a priority, “[she] always makes sure the merchandise [she] buys is either overstock or shelf pulls and of good quality.” Both her retail and wholesale operations depend on repeat business and providing quality items at fair prices is more important than poorer quality items at rock bottom prices. “I make sure the children’s clothing I buy has tags and I sell at half the tag price,” she explains. “The adult clothing I sell at wholesale, with or without tags. I always remove any items that are in any way damaged, stained or torn beyond repair, which is usually around 5% of any overstock load I buy.”

    “Taking this into consideration, I expect to make at least 50% profit on my items once I factor in the freight costs from the US to Nigeria,” she states. A tricky part of importing assorted wholesale lots from abroad is that of customs clearance. Most countries place restrictions on certain types of items, or require paperwork that is not readily available when purchasing liquidated goods. For this reason, Adedoyin recommends finding and using experienced forwarding agents, rather than handling the international shipment herself. “I use the internet to find lists of freight forwarders that ship to Nigeria and I make sure they have experienced clearing agents to help me follow up on my goods and their delivery,” she explains. While the forwarding agents to charge a premium for their services, it is still more cost-effective than being hit with potentially exorbitant customs fees once the goods arrive at their destination.

    Since its inception, Adedoyin’s business has grown from word of mouth, and she also leverages the use of text messaging to notify her customer base of new arrivals or special offers. “There is a lot of competition but I beat them hands down with lower prices and better quality of clothing,” she says. “I get a lot of referrals from customers who appreciate the quality of the clothing I sell.” Since her store is based on quality items at lower prices than those of her competitors, she does not offer discounts on individual items but rather offers volume discounts to those who buy a certain number of pieces and up. Depending on the item, this “minimum order to qualify for a volume discount” changes. “It encourages people to purchase more items to get the lower price. They walk out happy, and so do I.”

    Adedoyin has been working with Via Trading since September of 2010. “I have two suppliers in the US, but my major one is via Trading as they offer excellent customer service and fast shipping. It’s important for me to have my goods delivered to my freight forwarder quickly so I can get the orders forwarded to my store on a regular basis,” she explains. “Customer service is a top priority for me and when I made my first inquiry and got a prompt reply from Via, I knew I was in the right place. I get discouraged when there’s no feedback to inquiries,” she adds. Thank you Adedoyin, we’re glad to be working with you!

    Having built this successful business from the ground up by herself, Adedoyin has learned a thing or two about getting started. “If you’re an exporter who already knows what to sell, do thorough research before you choose a supplier. Make sure you’re dealing with honest people who have the products in their possession and can deliver them quickly,” she suggests. She also recommends working with an experienced freight forwarder to avoid negative surprises at customs.

    “The most valuable lesson I’ve learned,” she says, “is to exercise patience when starting a business and to not expect to hit it big on the first try. You need to nurture it when you’re just starting out and do not ever compromise on quality as it determines whether you will make headway in the business or not.” We agree!!

    Adedoyin Otunuga’s store is called Trendy Clothing and is located in the city of Abeokuta in Ogun State, Nigeria.

    Posted in Customer of the Month | No Comments »

    « Older Entries