Makers of truly novel products are sometimes shocked to discover
that just because retail buyers love an invention doesn't mean
they'll actually stock it. But in reality, inventors often
don't make sales because buyers don't know where to put
novel products on the shelves. Buyers are perplexed when products
don't fit into a product category, because most retail stores
are split into well-defined areas. But inventors shouldn't get
discouraged, especially because retail customers do want new and
unusual products. If you keep pushing, you'll connect with a
buyer or distributor who knows where to put the product so it
sells.
First Steps
Carl Vanderschuit is the inventor of Litecubes, freezable cubes
with an enclosed LED light and battery that can be dropped into a
drink for a little light show. Vanderschuit came up with the idea
in 1996. "I was fooling around with some LED lights on
Halloween night," remembers Vanderschuit, 44. "I noticed
the glow of light from behind my drink and said 'Eureka!'
"
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Vanderschuit took some time to get started, but his product was
finally ready in 2001. After exhibiting at the International
Housewares Show in Chicago, he landed Litecubes in a few retail
stores for test runs. For the most part, says Vanderschuit,
"buyers loved my product, but they weren't sure what
category it best suited."
Though stores were slow to pick up the invention, he managed to
get Litecubes into several catalog and online retailers such as
Solutions (www.solutionscatalog.com), Ship the Web
(www.shiptheweb.com) and Grill Lover's Catalog (www.grilllovers.com). The product, which sells for
$9.99 to $14.95 per package of four, is doing well in those and
other catalogs.
By the end of 2001, Vanderschuit found success with Restoration
Hardware, a chain of more than 100 stores. The product sold well,
he says, because "[Restoration Hardware] carried a line of bar
products that was a perfect fit for the Litecubes."
An Uphill Fight
Even with Litecubes' initial sales success, Vanderschuit
faced a battle in getting more stores to carry the product. In the
fall of 2001, he began to pursue a new direction: sales to the
advertising specialties market. His first step was attending the
ASI (Advertising Specialty Industries) Show (www.asishow.com). At
the time, Litecubes only came in yellow, which was a major drawback
that kept orders low. Vanderschuit soon realized people would be
much more interested if his product came in more colors.
So Vanderschuit regrouped and hit the International Housewares
Show in 2002 with blue, green, orange, red, white and yellow
lights. "The new lights were a big hit, and we generated lots
of publicity from them," he says.
At the Promotional Product Association International (PPAI) Expo
(www.ppa.org) a
few weeks later, Vanderschuit hit pay dirt. "We lined up lots
of big distributors, some of whom placed orders for 10,000 cubes
for some of their big customers."
Today, the Litecubes customer list boasts big names, including
the American Music Awards, Bacardi, MTV and Skyy Vodka. With cubes
selling to the advertising specialty market for $2.88 to $3.50 per
cube, Vanderschuit's San Diego company, Litecubes LLC
(www.litecubes.com), had its first significant sales backlog.
Things picked up even more when marketing company Media Corp. of
Forest Hills, New York, approached the company seeking to become a
master distributor for Litecubes. "The firm is selling the
product to drug chains and grocery stores, like Garden Ridge and
Kroger's," says Vanderschuit. That's in addition to
test sales already underway at Bed Bath & Beyond. Sales have
been shooting upward in 2002, with profits in excess of $1 million
expected by year-end.
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