Question

Topic: Strategy

Hand Made Candles And Home Accessories

Posted by Anonymous on 4/6/2004 at 3:00 AM ET 250 Points
I am trying to open a hand made candle business and home accessories.
The candles are hand made with a smell of vanilla (perfume) slow burning but not with a low price. The home accessories is to make my store collection bigger.
Any suggestions or background concerning this kind of business?
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by jcmedinave on 4/6/2004 at 10:42 AM Accepted
    Hello,

    If the main business is focused in the candles, the accessories and additional objects should not be affect the show. The ideal is that they complement the product (candle-stick, chimney or dining room decoration, New Age books and music), fine and curious articles, the same as the candles.

    Where it is the store located? the place is fundamental. It is important to be near concurred places that can bring people, video or music stores, supermarket, theater, movies, entertainment places.

    Nowadays, the candles smell well and have and important impact in the people emotions and states of spirit, relaxation, inspiration, etc.. Which is your main topic?

    If you are going to specialize your product (vanilla scent), it is important to have different designs, sizes, colors (variety).

    Which is the main difference of your candle? Only the vanilla scent? Describe all the vanilla attributes. Your benefits should be over the other candles if you want to charge more. Then, you can define the objective group and the kind of advertising.

    Bye, Juan Carlos
  • Posted on 4/6/2004 at 11:25 AM Author
    very good..until now
  • Posted by Pepper Blue on 4/8/2004 at 11:05 AM Member
    Hi Whitefeud:

    All good answers above. One suggestion I did not see (outside of art fairs etc.) is to think about the feasibility of not only trying to bring the customer to the candles, but bring the candles to the customer.

    Lots of possibilities here: Look at a business-to-business strategy along with a business-to-consumer.

    Ask: What kind of establishments burn candles, or would benefit from burning them?

    Yoga studios
    Salons
    Bookstores

    You will think of a lot.

    Put on the shoes and start knocking on some doors. Offer up some box pricing and deliver once a week/month whatever on a schedule.

    You might have to adjust your price since you said they are not cheap, but on those days when you are waiting for the door chime to ring, it's something to consider.

    Added incentive is that customers of your customers will inevitably say "My what a nice fragrance, where did you get your candles"?

    I hope that helps.


  • Posted on 4/9/2004 at 2:50 AM Member
    Congratulations for opening the business.

    First of all look the locality in which you are opening ur showroom as it is going to attract those first who are living there and not the out siders. So if u are trying to launch the expensive items then they should be targeted to the right kind of customer. More over rich people will hesitate in buying the products from those areas that are below then their standards. So look out the location and ambiance of ur showroom.

    The candles that you are trying to launch has just one flavour that is very common, u can try ur hands with other flavors also as u must be something very appealing and the customer will come only when he will see the variety in candles per se. So 1 of my suggestion is launch the other flavours also and they must the combinations of new flavors and regular flavors. Since the candles are costly according to u then they must be packaged and displayed in such a way that the customer should feel the value of these candles.

    u r also looking for the home accessories but u hasn’t told about the price structure and the type of accessories u r trying to launch. If they are for the purpose of big store collection only then they must be displayed at the back but with the taste of latest and old as well. Moreover they should be expensive but not too much and they should be targeted to those who have the taste of that kind and money to spend on these items.

    This type of business is successful, initially, only through the word of mouth of rich people. Try to get that kind of stuff in ur showroom.
    The showroom should match the elegance, taste and look for the rich people n not for every kinda person.
    These are my suggestions. Hope they are going to help u.
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