|
|
GIFT SHOPS INTERNATIONAL, INC.
P. O. Box 1206 - Sumner, WA 98391 |
|
|
|
|
1.
What is a Kids' Korner Gift Shoppe®?
Question: What is a Kids' Korner Gift Shoppes®? Answer: A Kids' Korner Gift Shoppes® is a service project, which is set up as a temporary gift shop inside of a school by the parent group, and gives the children an opportunity to shop for gifts for friends and family in a safe and commercial free environment.
Question: How long has the company been in business? Answer: Our founder owned a Fund Raising company and started supplying elementary school PTAs with products for school bazaars in 1961 called Santa's Selections. In 1989 he decided to improve the quality of products being made available to the schools and began the Kids' Korner Gift Shoppe® and The Elf Shelf® Holiday Shop programs. Initial distribution was thru his friends in the fund raising industry. Since 1989 over 23,000,000 children have been served with our programs.
Question: How much can I make selling a Holiday Shop? Answer: The old statement that you have to make calls to get results holds true in this business also. Getting in front of the right people is the key to making sales and making sales is the key to making a good profit. To receive an exclusive distributorship we expect minimum results from the territory. For a territory with 200+ elementary schools with 300+ students we would expect the following: Year 1 they are expected to
have 10 to 15 customers Year 2 they are expected to
have 25 to 30 customers Year 3 they are expected to
have 50+ customers We do have stocking distributors making $75,000.000, $100,000.00, $200,000.00 and more.
How much does it cost for an Exclusive Distributor Territory? Answer: Their is not a charge for an exclusive distributor territory. Initially a distributor is granted a non-exclusive area. If they meet the sales goals in year one they are offered an exclusive agreement. Click here to see a copy of the exclusive agreement.
Answer: We have been providing our customers with the best quality products at the best prices since 1989. The following are a few of the benefits we provide our customers, which you should be aware of: 1. Our distributors provide their customers with all merchandise on consignment, which means they can return all unsold products for full credit. As a local supplier, the delivery the initial order and pick up of the returns are at no freight cost to the group. Some companies charge for the return freight and others charge a restocking fee. 2. All of our merchandise is price coded, which means the group does not have to put price stickers on the merchandise – it makes everything easier for the kids and the cashier. Some companies have copied this option, and others who do not have coded product will not allow the group to return items with a price sticker on them. 3. Many of our distributors do not require the group to inventory the merchandise when they receive it or when they return it. It can take several hours to inventory all the merchandise in and inventory the left over merchandise when the sale is over. We have perfected a billing program that allows the group just to take the totals from their sale to figure what they owe. Some companies offer a “No Inventory Program” where they will count the merchandise for the group – we have heard of schools receiving bills, which were greater than their sales and no way to question the bill because they send the merchandise back without counting. 4. Our distributors provide the group with sales aids to advertise their sale. They provide Watch for Flyers, Has Arrived Flyers, Coin Envelopes, Posters, etc. to help advertise the sale. 5. They also provide table cloths, full color price tents, gift bags for the individual gifts and plastic t-shirt bags for the children to carry home their gifts in.
Question: Does your program have a Cash Register that the schools can borrow? Answer: Yes. Actually our
distributors have two options for the group.
Question: Do you know anything about a program called Kids’ Bucks? Answer: Yes, we pioneered the program in 1989. It is a program designed to give a parent group up to $100.00 to help those children in their school, who need financial help, to have funds to shop for their friends and family.
Question: Why should any school have a Holiday Store? Answer: A Holiday Store provides an excellent learning experience for children to learn about the process of shopping, budgeting, spending, and making change. Children feel a great sense of pride and joy in giving gifts that they have shopped and paid for themselves. Holiday Stores are also just a lot of fun both for those shopping and for those who volunteer to run the store. Many tell us it is a highlight of their holiday season and that there are people who will volunteer for the Holiday Store activities who usually don’t want to participate in other volunteer activities.
Question: What is the price range of the gifts? Answer: Items are ‘kid priced’ to meet most family budgets. The group’s cost ranges from $ .50 to $10.00 with most items in the $1.00 to $5.00 range.
Question: Do your gifts have a guarantee? Answer: Yes! All of our gift items are guaranteed. We will either replace or refund a broken item even 60 or 90 days after purchase.
Question: Can a school or organization make any money having a Kids' Korner Gift Shoppes®? Answer: While most schools and organizations choose to do a Holiday Store as a service project, they can set the level of profit at what they want to earn. They can earn 10%, 20%, or 30% profit on every item sold - it’s their choice!
Question: How long should a Holiday Store be open? Answer: When deciding to have a Holiday Store, the goal is to provide everyone at least one opportunity to shop. Younger children will need extra help so they should shop in smaller groups to receive one-on-one attention from the volunteers. Successful Holiday Stores are open a minimum of three days to five or more days depending on the number of children shopping. Often times, children want to purchase items after their first shopping experience, so having a final day for those to return and shop works well.
Question: Do you allow schools to use the Holiday Shop as a Fund Raiser? Answer: Schools get to set their own selling prices and can use the Holiday Shops as a Fund Raiser. However, we do discourage using a Holiday Shop as a Fund Raiser because the program is really for the kids and we have a basic problem with the Parent Group making their money off the kids when there are hundreds of real fund raising programs available. Some companies do promote their Holiday Shops as a Fund Raiser with profits of up to 50%. To do that they increase what the children have to pay for the product. (ie: Our slime wholesales for $ .50 each -- one of the competitor's is selling a very similar item for $ .75 each.) It's just not fair to the Kids.
Question: Do you have any type of Instructional Guides? Answer: Yes, We have chairperson Handbooks to be given to the chairperson running the sale.
Question: How much will it cost me to start? Answer: Under $1,000.00 for promotional materials. ie: 1,000 4 x 6 post
cards - $50.00, plus postage to mail them Most of your investment is in your time to make calls and follow up.
|
