Double Your Pleasure
One is never enough: Is another successful product just what your company needs to grow?
How do you expand on success? For Graham Kjestrup, an
entrepreneur in Stanton, California, the answer was inventing a new
product. Kjestrup's company, National Sign Display
Manufacturers Inc., produces signs that real estate agents can
place in the lawns of homes for sale. In 1999, the company had
grown to $3.4 million in sales and was selling its products through
about 10,000 sign stores nationwide. Sounds like a picture of
success-especially with sales increasing 10 to 15 percent per
year-but after 13 years in business, Kjestrup wanted the company to
grow even faster. Says the 38-year-old, "There was a cap on
just how big the company could grow from the real estate
market." Kjestrup decided that the fastest way to boost business would be
to invent a new product. So in 1999, he developed the SandScrew, a
corkscrew-type piece of lightweight steel that screws into any
ground surface and holds beach umbrellas, volleyball poles and flag
poles. The product had great market-research results, and best of
all, Kjestrup could produce it using his existing equipment. Soon, though, a challenge presented itself: how to sell this
innovation to an entirely new market-drugstores, mass merchants and
sporting goods stores. After all, Kjestrup was just a small vendor
with one SKU. Sales were slow in summer 2000. Earlier this year,
however, Longs Drugs, a 400-store chain on the West Coast, picked
up the $9.99 SandScrew. And just recently, Kjestrup received
approval from Wal-Mart and Ron Jon Surf Shop as well as interest
from Albertson's and other grocery store chains. Although the
SandScrew has only generated about $150,000 in sales to date,
Kjestrup expects profits from the product to triple next year. Content Continues Below
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