Licensed party goods topic of Kleban seminar - Kleban Distribution Services Back-to-School Show trade show, Saddlebrook, New Jersey

Discount Store News, April 20, 1992

SADDLEBROOK, N. J. -- Licensed party goods, dated products, off-gondola merchandising within the stationery department, basic inventory and category fads were the topics recently discussed at the "Triangle of Success" seminar during the Kleban Distribution Services Back-to-School Show.

Retail panelists included Caldor buyer, Michael Panullo; Gary Wolf, president of deep discount drug store chain, "I Got It At Gary's"; John Marcus, school supply buyer with Barnes & Noble; and Villanova University store director, Frank Henninger.

Manufacturers representing the categories being discussed--including Empire Berol, Mead Products, Stuart Hall, Pentech and others--gave presentations on each of the topics, followed by input from the retail panelists.

The retailers and manufactures generally agreed about the strengths and pitfalls of licensed party goods, stating that an all or nothing presentation is mandated by this particular category.

Pannullo of Caldor said the chain enjoyed a 17% gain in party good sales last year and that the category could easily grow again this year. He devotes a 16-ft. section to the category in all 128 stores. Any license that performs well in the toy industry will fare well in party goods, he said. He projected that "101 Dalmations" is "going to be very hot."

Gary Wolf from "I Got It At Gary's" said an absence of consumer price sensitivity is achievable in his 8-ft party goods section as long as there is adequate stock of each sku. "Typically 20 to 25 kids attend each party. If there isn't enough merchandise, that parent probably won't buy anything at all."

The Villanova Store and Barnes & Noble both have an older student shopper base that usually does not buy party goods with the exception of 21st birthday cards. Someone from the audience suggested that a 21st birthday party goods endcap might be warranted for college markets. Barnes & Noble's John Marcus said Halloween and Valentine's Day were among the better party goods sellers at his stores.

Ted Kaufman of Keith Clark and Bill Schuttenburg of Day Runner discussed the peaks in the dated product business and ways to mitigate the valleys. The retailers each had their own philosophy on how best to maximize sales of this perishable category.

Caldor merchandises the category twice per year on wire racks on the main aisle. Pannullo said the 3-ft. section during the second half of the year has undergone "tremendous sales increases over the past two years at very nice margins."

Henninger from Villanova said he, too, saw more movement of Day Runner type products, adding that 16-month calendars or those that begin with the month of September sell better to the student population.

Marcus concurred calling dated products one of the "few categories that is growing in the college market." Ninety percent of his dated product sales are in September. Like Villanova and Caldor, Barnes & Noble recently tested organizer systems and found them "amazingly successful," even at the higher price points of $35 and $40. "Price is not always an issue," he said, due to the number of faculty members that shop for these products as well as returning education students who frequently can afford higher price points than first-time college students.

Unlike the other retailers, Wolf from "I Got It At Gary's" said he has found a huge pocket of sales in dated products during windowns of time where other retailers have cleared the category. "We've taken advantage of those times where dated products have been sold off at other retailers.