ABOUT US "WHAT'S THE BUZZ" BLOG NEWSLETTER Vendors Only Suggest A Vendor Vendor Login
FGmarket Logo | www.fgmarket.com
Find wholesale products or vendors...
Posts by Leigh Morrisett | Welcome to FGmarket Buzz - Page 5

Welcome to FGmarket Buzz

Keep up with the latest trends, marketing tips & product info.

You are here: Home / Archives for Leigh Morrisett

Don’t Keep Your Fashionable Dog In The Closet!

by Leave a Comment

Show Off Your Stylish Pooch

Tired of your pug wearing your rhinestone tee?  Maybe she needs her own rhinestone fitted tee. After all, if fashion is important to you, why wouldn’t it be important to your dog?  Where can the fashion forward pooch find the couture they desire?

Although there are many wholesalers of pet clothing, Dog In The Closet (DITC) is the fashionista pet’s dream shop. Like people, dogs come in all sizes. Providing a range of dog tee sizes for the tiniest pup to the largest dog, Dog In The Closet is the place for fashion-loving pooches.

1dog

Demin Skirt

Tops aren’t the only pieces of clothing that make a fashion statement. Denim skirts for dogs are the most adorable pet clothing item.  Any dog who pairs a denim skirt with a harness vest is sure to be the next top dog on the block.

Not only are DITC’s harness vests functional and fashionable, they were voted one of the Pet Style News top ten editor choice winners in 2009.  Pet Style picked the harness because “A unique twist lock prevents unwanted escapes when walking and serves as a connector for leashes. What differentiates this look from the other sturdy harnesses with interesting engineering is its style.” A fashion piece with functionality. What more could you ask for in a dog accessory?

Functionality is a major component of  Dog In The Closet pet clothing. In fact, their coats are made of denim with silk appliqués or 100% Italian wool to keep wearers warm during a walk around the block.

Created with attention to detail and sturdy material all with a touch of flair, dog clothing from Dog In The Closest will delight any well-dressed pup and owner. With so many dog clothing options like dresses, tee, skirts and harness vests, you dog will need a closet of their own.

Dog In The closet can be found in local retail stores or online. DITC can help Continue reading “Don’t Keep Your Fashionable Dog In The Closet!” »

Can Your Dog High Step? He Can With The Otto Step!

by Leave a Comment

If you have a large breed dog, middle weight pup or a senior pooch, the Otto Step can keep your pet safe while saving you money.

How can a step for your dog save you money?  By removing the need to lift your pet into your SUV or truck.  Large breed, elderly and overweight dogs often need assistance to get in and out of SUVs or trucks.

Otto Step Dog Step
Lifting your pouch can lead to chiropractic bills for you. Jumping into vehicles can cause issues for your dog. Large breed and older dogs can easily tear their ACL. These tears can happen if an overweight or older dog twist his knee while jumping into a vehicle. The Otto Step helps you and your pet by allowing your dog to safely and quickly enter and exit your truck or SUV.

Handy to use, this step fits into your receiver hitch creating the perfect entry and exit place for your pet. Weighing only six pounds, the Otto Step is easy to store because it conveniently fits in your vehicle when not in use.  It’s compact nature makes it easier to use then carrying around bulky ramps.

Although ramps are great, the Otto Step gives you a better pet safety product option . The price, convenience and the ability to easily store the Otto Step makes  it the best choice.

Still need a reason to purchase the Otto Step? Watch The Otto Step Story or Continue reading “Can Your Dog High Step? He Can With The Otto Step!” »

Grow The Green With Garden And Patio Accents

by Leave a Comment

The explosion of  television shows that focus on outdoor living spaces is phenomenal.  Thanks to cable TV and the variety of  30 to 60-minute garden shows, consumers are feeling compelled to create peaceful gardens and beautiful patios of their own.  Take advantage of this rising consumer need and make your shop the prime place for great yard decor.

How can you grow your profit with garden accents?  It is simple. You just need the following: Products, Sales Strategies, The Right Price.

Product

Although a broad group of products, the garden and patio accessories category has a common agenda — enhancing the outdoor living area.

Garden Planter From Georgetown USA
With such diversity, what garden products can small retailers carry?  Gazing balls, plaques/signs, bird houses, and stepping stones are just a few garden decor items perfect for retailers with limited space or money.  For retailers who have the available space, think big and functional. Offer your customers patio furniture, fountains, fireplaces and garden statuary.  However, don’t let limited space keep you from these items. There are garden decor wholesalers with special order programs that give you ability to sell these products from a catalog.

Think about compatibility. Mixing your existing product lines with your home and garden items can increase sales for both lines. Place complimentary items together for impulse buying. Examples include: Barb-be-que sauces next to decorative bee catchers, glassware next to patio furniture, or garden flags with door wreaths.

Sales Strategies

Keep abreast of current trends. Do you feel overwhelmed and unsure of what products to buy? To be successful you have to know what to buy and why.

Garden Fountain From Gist Decor
By watching home improvement shows and reading garden and outdoor living magazines, you can stay in tune with the latest trends.  With up-to-date product  and trend knowledge, you will be able to select the right garden decor items.

Let others get the word out for you. How? Take a moment and think of the shows you’ve watched recently or even a commercial.  Have you ever seen a product and thought “Hmm interesting, I like that  item.”  Then the next week while shopping, you noticed that very product in a store and most likely, purchased it.

Capitalize on the momentum and interest created by someone else by offering trendy or hot items seen on TV.  Think about it. Capitalizing on the latest trend will result in increased sales with little effort on your part.  If you’re not currently selling garden and patio decorations, you’re probably missing out on sales.

Buying Right

“Buying right” is more than finding a good price point.  Finding a supplier you can work closely with is essential.  Find a wholesaler that will work with you, not just sell you a product. FGmarket has wholesalers who are willing to help you select the right mix of merchandise for your shop.

BirdBath From Garden Goods
When purchasing products, make sure you get the best deal. Getting the best deal includes: payment terms, price points and the right balance of high-end, trendy and proven products. Before you buy, look at your past sales figures to determine the ratio of high-end, mid-range and low-end products needed.  Once you have these figures, apply them to your outdoor garden decor items.

Next, negotiate with your vendors.  Negotiating tip: XYZ Company sells fountains and birdhouses. The fountains are high-end priced items, but the Continue reading “Grow The Green With Garden And Patio Accents” »

Fetching Pet Jewelry For the Fashionable Pooch

by Leave a Comment

If you are looking for absolutely exquisite dog collars, then FineArf by Lisa Green has just what you desire. It’s jewelry for your pooch and a few charming things just for you.

Dog Charm
Dogs who wear stylish leather collars with pewter dog charms and engraved name plates stand-out at the dog park. If you combine a sturdy leather lead with that chic leather collar, you’ve got a sophisticated, classic leash set for your dog.  These FineArf fashion accessories are the height of pet sophistication.

For the ultimate identification tags, FineArf’s  has beautifully fine crafted charms that you can add to any collar.  These I.D. tags were featured in FAO Schwartz catalogs in the 90’s and still fashionable today.

More than identification and beyond adorable, these charms tell the world who and what your dog is about. Let the the breed specific tags, personality tags or hobby tags speak for your dog. Whether your pouch is good dog, a sporty dog or maybe both, these simple little charms will make a bold statement.

Rawhide Bracelet
Now that Fido is all decked out, what about you?  FineArf has a wide collection of charms for the pet owner. Just like the charms for your pet, you can announce with pride that you are a pet owner pride. Let others know you think beagles are the best by wearing a breed specific charm. Or, add fetching  stick pet charm to your bracelet to declare you love of the game of fetch.

Every guy or gal can show-off their love for the four-legged furry ones with FineArf fashion jewelry.  Bracelets, necklaces, cuff links and earrings can all be found with pet themes. One pet related bracelet caught my eye. The chic rawhide bone bracelet is a cool piece of jewelry with a bit of a twist. This dandy bracelet can be paired with a necklace and a rawhide bone charm. Pet themed jewelry is fashionable and fun.

If your a pet lover and like to show your per pride in high style, FineArf  is Continue reading “Fetching Pet Jewelry For the Fashionable Pooch” »

Every Dog Needs a Bone And A Pool

by 1 Comment

No truer statement can be made than “every dog needs a bone.” Now thanks to the company named One Dog One Bone, every dog needs her own pool too. We’ve all brought home a kiddie pool for our dogs, only to find hours later that our precious pup chewed through the pool. If the pool survived Fido’s teeth, the pool couldn’t handle his zestful splashing. The result — money wasted and an unhappy dog.

Dog Pool From One Dog One Bone
One Dog One Bone (ODOB) is the solution to an age-old dog pool problem. ODOB utilizes the same plastic processing method used to make sturdy truck bed liners to create a virtually indestructible dogie pool. Although these pools are meant for dogs other family pets may enjoy them as well. Don”t be surprised if you find your kids splashing in the pool as well.

These indestructible pools for dogs come in two canine friendly shapes — a bone shaped one for large pets or multiple pet households, and a paw shaped one for smaller pets to enjoy.

Easy to use, these pet pools have a built-in garden hose attachment for convenient filling and cleaning. Not only UV resistant, the white color keeps the water cooler on hot summer days. As one of the top ten pet cooling products available, ODOB dog pools are a natural choice for beating the summer heat. Not only does it keep your pet cool, but it also makes your pet Continue reading “Every Dog Needs a Bone And A Pool” »

Potty Time Charms – Puppy Potty Training Made Easy

by Leave a Comment

Just like the name implies, Potty Time Charms is a potty training tool for you and your pet.  Potting training is simple when you hang these bell charms from your door. Positive potting training is reinforced by ringing the charms with the touch of your puppy’s paws or nose as they go outside. The charms are like a door bell for your pet giving them a way to tell you “hey I need to go.” This method expedites puppy potty training. In fact, most puppies utilizing this potty training aid quickly adapt to letting you know they need to go out.

Puppy Potty Training Aid
No doggie door? Whether you live in an apartment or a single family dwelling, Potty Time Charms solves the problem by giving dogs a way to verbalize their needs. For people who live in apartments, this housebreaking tool will save you money. No more scratched door facing. No more urine stained carpet. Training your puppy with these charms ensures you’ll get the full amount of your security/cleaning deposit.

Traveling with you pet a problem? Not with this potty training aid, it can easily travel with you. When traveling hang it on your hotel room door and your pet will be able to signal her need to go potty.

Housebreaking a puppy can be frustrating. Communicating with your puppy can be difficult. But, Potty Time Charms give you and your puppy a way to Continue reading “Potty Time Charms – Puppy Potty Training Made Easy” »

Home Accent Trends 2010

by 5 Comments

Think Candles, Home Fragrances And Home Decor

Home accents are the bits and pieces that pull a home together and make up the home’s personality. Candles, aroma decor fragrances, pictures, and vases are just a few of the items found under the home accent category.

No wonder it’s a more than two billion dollar business. This month, we will explore retail sales of candles, home fragrance items and home accents.

A recent survey by Gifts & Decorative Accessories shows candles and home accent fragrances are sold by 83% of responders and retailers who stock candles and accessories.  Of those they ranked the sales of home fragrance accents as 6% of their sales.  What an opportunity for a lucrative product mix!

Successful retailers stay abreast of upcoming trends. As a retailer, you should be aware of these trends.  This information will aid you in selecting and stocking products that will appeal to customers and in turn increase your profits.

2010 Trends In Candles

    Scented Candle
  • Think Naturally-Made! Soy based candles and other natural substance candles are the celebrities this year.
  • Think Candle Gift Sets! Candles wrapped in ready to give packages are hot items in more ways than one.  These easy one-size-fits-all gifts draws consumers and the right packaging makes it an easy purchase.  For retailers there is no need to buy wrapping paper.  Pre-wrapped wholesale candles will be very popular in 2010.
  • Think Soothing Scents! Infusing the home with relaxing fragrances will be all the rage. So stock up on relaxation and aromatherapy candles.
  • Think Decorative! Decorative container candles continue to be favorites. Look for wholesalers to ramp up the styling with containers that can still be used after the candle has burned away.
  • Think Green! Green items that are eco friendly are a must for a socially conscience 2010.

Along with these hot trends, container candles, votives and pillers will remain strong stable items to round out your candle product mix.

2010 Home Fragrance Trends

    Crystal Potpourri

  • Think Subtle Invigorating Scents! Reed diffusers are an absolute must have for your gift shop.
  • Think More Than Fragrance! A rising star for 2010 is potpourri in decorative containers and ready-to-give packaging. These products allow customers a convenient and elegant gift option.
  • Think Out-of-the-Box! New to the market place are scent rocks and salts. Similar to potpourri, these fragrant “rocks” slowly release scents when placed in a bowl.
  • Think Retro! Incense sticks are again popular. These are not the same types used back in the 60’s and 70’s. These are a more upscale version with a budget-friendly price. Look for incense sticks with fragrances like lavender, rain forest, and ones made using famous cologne/perfume scents.

From fresh variations of traditional to cutting-edge technology, wholesale home fragrance suppliers are offering a variety products for 2010.

2010 Home Accent trends

    Colorful Vases

  • Think Runway! Take cues from the runway.  Look towards trends in clothing to stock your shop. Fashion colors are bold, so go bold with your home decor items.
  • Think Flame!  For inspiration look at the colors found in the flame of a candle. Blues, reds, and varying shades of oranges will be hot in 2010. Home decor items like pottery, wall art and candle holders in these colors will be the new bold accents consumers will want to buy.
  • Think Southern Hemisphere! Vibrant vases, bowls and figurines with colors you’d find in the landscape of the Southern hemisphere are in vogue for 2010. Violets and fire reds complimented by orange clay colors, beige, ochres and light cactus greens will be the home decor fashion this year.Give your customers items in these colors and your sales for 2010 will be on fire.

As you select your home accent line, keep these home decor trends in mind. 2010 promises a hot, bright and invigorating year for home accents.

Need help finding the right home accent, candles or home fragrance products? The FGmarket wholesale home decor vendors will be able to offer you a great selection of candles, vases, aromatherapy, and home accent products. To jump start your toy search, check out the FGmarket  vendors highlighted below.

Personal Care Products Make For A Heathly Profit!

by Leave a Comment

Why Personal Care Products?

With the current economy, shop owners are asking which products are proven sellers. The answer quite simply is personal care products. Sales figures collected by the U.S. Department of Commerce reveal that personal care products rank just under  food and beverages. The outlook for personal care products will be steady; growth driven by the organic and natural niche markets.

Personal Care Towels
Wholesale personal care is a large market with a variety of products from lotions and soaps to aromatherapy and sleep masks (including neck pillows with flax seed and lavender). Keep in mind, personal care products can be items that promotes healthier skin, body or mind.

Rising Personal Care Trend

For the past few years, the personal care trends have gravitated toward natural and organic personal care products. Forecasters are predicting organic and natural personal care products will be popular for many years. A rising personal care trend is based on social conscience. Consumers are seeking products that parallel their social conscience ideals. These products often are cruelty-free, not tested on animals, or eco-friendly products.

Personal Care Products – For Wellness

Natural Skin Care & Aromatherapy Products
Your customers are looking for products that promote their health and well being.  Aromatherapy products are one such wellness niche. Many fragrance-enhanced products, such as neck pillows, natural pain relief sprays, candles, and essential oils  fall within the scope of aromatherapy. These are products that you should easily incorporate into your product mix.

Consumers who seek wellness products are also interested in organic and naturally-made items as well. To optimize your sales effort, seek out wholesale aromatherapy products containing all natural and organic ingredients.

Personal Care Products – For Beauty

Today, both men and women are interested in that youthful glow. Although consumers are forgoing the spa, they still want to look refreshed, hydrated and youthful. Capitalize on the consumer’s need for youth by stocking products like lotions, skin conditioners, soaps, hand and foot scrubs.

Choosing Personal Care Products

With the vast selections available, it may seem hard at first to determine which personal care products to sell.  Considering a few factors such as price points, whether the products organic or natural and the “would I use it” litmus test will make your decision easier.

Price Points – The second factor consumers consider when purchasing a product is price. However, it should be your first. The best strategy is to select middle-of-the-road price points for the majority of your product mix. This is where you as a business owner need to know your clientele. Middle-of-the-road price points will vary by store and location. Only you as a shop owner can determine if a product falls in to your areas mid price point. Do select a few high-end products or gift baskets because you never know when an average consumer may splurge on skin care products or specialty soaps.

Organic Chocolate Skin Care Products
Natural And Organic – Be aware of the current trends. Natural and organic products are currently a hot trend and will be for a few years. Carry a fair percentage of natural and organic skin care products.  At the same time, keep your eyes and ears open to new trends and have money ready to invest in these trends as well.

Do I Like It – This is by far the one question you should always ask. Your gut feeling will guide you with this question. If you’re not an immediate fan — or at the very least mildly excited about a product — you will have a have a hard time selling it. In a small shop consumers rely on the owner and staff for advice on products. If you are not sold on the product’s benefits, the customer will pick up on your hesitation and you may lose a sale.

Personal care products are proven sellers. It is now up to you as shop owner to determine which products will sell best in your store. The bottom line is personal care products can make for a healthy profit.

Need help finding the right personal care products? The FGmarket wholesale personal care vendors will be able to offer you a great selection of  lotions, soaps, scrubs, and aromatherapy products.  To jump start your toy search, check out the FGmarket wholesale personal care vendors highlighted below.

Want More Unique Gift Sales – Try Toys

by Leave a Comment

Toys Business Still Thrives

According to the Toy Association,  84% of kids still play non-computer games. Does that surprise you? It shouldn’t. Educational toys, board games, puzzles and collectibles are products that appeal to the creative, inquisitive and tactile nature of children.

Panoramic Puzzles - Safari LTD
The driving force behind consumer spending is the search for unique gifts or products that appeal to their basic nature. As the idea of “stay-cation” enters daily life, so does the need for home entertaining. This means more and more families are looking at ways to cut expenses and stick closer to home, yet still entertaining their families and friends. As a retailer, you’ll find that consumers are looking for fun toys and games that are out of the ordinary.

Using Toys To Make Your Store Stand Out

This is where your shop can excel.  By stocking your shop with collectible toys, fun board games, puzzles and educational toys, you can knock the boredom out of standard gift giving. Offering products that add fun and excitement to the weekly family entertainment gives you a unique selling proposition and a reason for consumers to shop with you.

Dice Game - Jax LTD
It is easy to find the ordinary games and toys, but consumers are looking for an alternative to everyday box-mart board games or puzzles.  When consumers come into your shop, offer them items that they can’t find elsewhere – creating a uniqueness in your toy selections. Below is a breakdown of the different toy categories that fall under the idea of unique gifts.  Once you understand how and why people buy these toys, you will be able to create an effective toys product mix for your store. Your toy wholesalers can also help you to choose which items work well in your area. Educational Toys – Parents want to give children a gift that doesn’t scream “educational” on it, but silently says “play with me and you will learn.” Children today are interested in computer games or interactive toys. Instead of flash cards with math problems, give them a computer program that has cool math games or a dice game that encourages addition.  Adults love to show off their knowledge or expertise. Memory or question games with unique twists give adults the opportunity to show off and have fun with their kids at the same time.
Board Game - Fundex Games
Board Games – Unique board games practically sell themselves. Novelty is a big draw.  People love interaction. Think outside the box, literally.  Offer board games that give consumers the ability to make their own board game pieces. (You can’t get more unique than a board game you create.) Consumers have many interests.  Board games can revolve around these very interests.  Games such as math games (Suduko) or “green” earth games (where the goal is making the earth eco-friendly) engage players by involving their interests. Puzzles – This category has many extraordinary items to choose from; tiny puzzles that are only 4″ x 6″, collectible puzzles that have specific themes by artist, travel puzzles, as well as 3D puzzles. All these are unique, fun items that you could incorporate into your sales mix. Consumers love a challenge. Puzzles give them a fun way to challenge themselves.
Collectible Dolls - Girls Explore
Collectible Toys – Collectible toys can be in either of the above categories or stand on their own.  Die cast cars are big collectibles as well as gifts. Another type of collectible item falls under the category of plush toys.  These toys include stuffed bears or other animals.  Dolls and other action figures have been considered collectibles for years. Try incorporating one or more of the above unique gift ideas into your product mix.  After all, everyone needs a little entertainment in their lives. Need help finding the right toys? The FGmarket wholesale toy vendors will be able to offer you a great selection of board games, educational toys, puzzles and collectibles.  To jump start your toy search, check out the FGmarket wholesale toy vendors highlighted below.

Share and Enjoy:

Strategies, Ideas And The Nitty Gritty Of Gourmet Foods

by Leave a Comment

Remember all of the gourmet food gifts ideas and basics we discussed a few months ago? Now is the time to take those gourmet food ideas and implement a way to increase your sales.

Organic Flavored Syrups
While gourmet food encompasses a wide variety of niche markets, you can hone in on which ones will work best for you. To do this, you must take stock of your current customer base. With this knowledge, you will be able to determine which gourmet food niches will convert to an increase in sales.

Determining Your Market:

It is all about matching the gourmet food with the right customer niche. Categorize your customers. Are they young professionals or college students (Generation Y)? Are they established professionals, empty-nesters or retirees (Generation X or Baby Boomers)? Are they active singles, busy families or environmental activists?

Defining the lifestyles and interests of your customers will help determine which gourmet niche should be your focus. Categorization of your customers is the foundation for your gourmet food strategy.

Strategies For Gourmet Food Niches

Gourmet Food Basket
Below are examples of categorized customers and the products each prefers.  Your customer base may include one or more of these customer types.  How do you determine what gourmet food items you need to sell to satisfy their buying needs?

By using the following guide, you should be able to determine what niche gourmet items will satisfy their buying needs.  Then you can formulate a strategy from the ideas and suggestions.

Young Professionals (Generation Y): This group tends to be into trendy, healthy and organic items. They buy these items for themselves as well as friends family and business acquaintances. Formulate a plan that incorporateshealthy snacking items (popcorn, jams, jellies, and organic-labeled gourmet foods).

Empty-Nesters/Retirees (Baby Bommers): This group often enjoys family and friend-centric activities like barbequing and cooking. They buy gourmet items with a more traditional nature for family, friends and as gifts for service providers (hairdressers, lawnboys, etc.).  Spices, cheese, meats, barbeque sauces and pre-made gourmet gift baskets are the delights of this demographic.

Flavored Coffees
Established Professionals (Generation X): These are the customers who are in between the young professional and empty-nesters.  They tend to share buying habits of both groups.

They are the ultimate customers who will try trendy products and rely on traditional ones. Although eclectic in their purchases, gourmet chocolates and coffees are their gifts of choice when in a pinch.

These are just a few customer types and a few basic ideas to use when formulating your gourmet food strategy.  Focusing on a specific niche market is the key to successful gourmet foods sales. An active approach to selling gourmet foods, coupled with a knowledge of your customer base is the best formula for successful gourmet food sales.

Blending  Gourmet Foods Niches

Just as with cooking, gourmet food requires a little blending.  Start with a basic gourmet food niche that appeals to the majority of your customers, and then blend in a few products outside of that category.  Think complimentary, not contrasting.

Sauces - Preserves - Chutneys
For example, adding snack foods to your line of gourmet chocolates creates a complimentary gourmet food mix.  Selling salsa? Add in a line of other items that you can cook with, like jams, spices, specialty condiments and barbeque items. The principle idea is to add items that appeal to your main customers, but will bring in new customers.

Ordering And Working with Vendors

Once you’ve gotten a firm grasp on your market, your next strategy is to find the product and develop a working relationship with vendors. Look for vendors who can provide you with timely shipments, good pricing and great selections.  Don’t be afraid to ask them for help in how to display or market their product.  Vendors understand that you’re a partner and will work with you to get the right products into your store, so you both can make money.

Now that you have the strategies, ideas and the nitty gritty of gourmet foods, success is just a taste away.

By utilizing the great wholesale gourmet food vendors at FGmarket, you will be able to find the right products to help you create the ultimate gourmet food mix. To jump start your search, check out the FGmarket  wholesale gourmet food vendors highlighted below.