May 2011 issue

Gadgets & Cookbooks & Profits!

We are touching on two categories this month that I find many specialty retailers tend to ignore: small elec- trics and cookbooks. I must concede that I may be biased since I have a library of cookbooks, but I am not alone in my uncontrollable urge to buy another title. For a retailer, cookbooks are an attractive category because they provide great margin and they are the perfect add-on sale. They make a great gift, and they seldom get returned. But, one of the most intriguing arguments is their ability to enhance your merchandising and aid in customer sat- isfaction, lowering the return rate of many products. Merchandising an ice cream cookbook, for example, with an electric ice cream maker will make it more likely the customer has a positive trial of the product once they take it home rather than finding they don’t use it and return it to the store. The best part of all is that cookbooks may be the most profitable category per linear foot of shelf space of any item in the store. Selection is important, so we have attempted to get you started by featuring some of the new titles coming to market.

I bought a small electric product recently. Admittedly my first one in years, but then I am the type who takes pride in doing things the old-fashioned way. Small elec- trics can be great timesavers as well as allowing consumers to perform a cooking task even better than they can with a manual process. Having these items in the kitchen allows a consumer to dare to tackle the most complicated recipes with ample prep work without turning it into a daunting task. It ultimately builds confidence, breeds creativity and turns our normal consumer into a full-fledged cooking hobbyist with even greater kitchen needs – and don’t you need more customers like that!