Leave a candle in the window

Drug Store News, August 5, 1996 by Allene Symons

Candles, a perennial category currently enjoying popularity, say a lot about today's consumer.

She wants variety. Candles come in all colors, shapes, sizes and scents.

She wants affordability. Candles are inexpensive enough so she can use one up, then treat herself to another, or give one to a friend.

She likes time savers. If today's harried shopper doesn't have time to stop for a scented bath, she can light a scented candle, and she can do it year round. And a busy working woman can add visual romance and charm to her home while enjoying guilt-free vanilla, chocolate, cinnamon, fruit or coffee scented candles.

Drug chains are getting a solid share of today's candle business. The School and Home Office Products Association, in its most recent candle report for fourth quarter 1995, estimated drug stores had around a 21 percent share of the category.

American Greetings reports that its candle lines do especially well for holidays. Themed candles help make the home environment more festive, whether it's Easter, Halloween (a shadow-casting natural), Christmas or Valentine's Day.

Candles are not just for the social expressions department, although often they are positioned near greeting cards on an endcap, in a seasonal display, or as part of a gift offering with decorative candle holders.

This is the "filled products" segment, and it's growing in all channels, reports David Beerman, marketing manager for Cincinnati-based CandleLite, which supplies drug store chains including Drug Emporium, Snyder and Thrifty PayLess.

Claire Orenzo, spokesperson for Ashevilla, N.C.-based The Candle Station, noted that she's seeing more candle products going into gift sets. This company, which also supplies several drug chains, offers (among other lines) scented CandleGlobes, which include preserved flowers protected from the flame and heat of the candle.

Candles cross over into other categories, too. They've always been in the housewares department as food warmers and for emergency lighting. Glade recently tried to marry housewares and decor with its Glade Candle Scents, positioned for room freshening, but drug chain buyers report that this hasn't exactly caught fire. When it comes to candles, the drug store consumer apparently wants the perception of charm rather than utility.

Candles reach into many consumer segments these days. Candles are a necessity in the growing Hispanic market as votive and religious candles (some drug chains report good sales of these, too). There are cleverly shaped candles good for gifts and designed as baby bottles, animals or floral designs for bathtub floats.

Buyer Pat Pemberton of Thrifty PayLess, who considers candles a consumable, believes it's important to have a good candle line so the customer comes back for more-but she also notes that candles are cyclical, like plants. The candle boom may start to flicker some day, thanks to fickle consumers. But for now, it's time to keep the category fired up until the wax starts to wane.