Gift-basket maker strikes deal with WiseBuys

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Dec 10, 2004 by Spohr, George

CICERO - Gift Solutions by Kim.com has struck a deal with WiseBuys to place 50 of its gift baskets in each of the retailer's five stores in Northern New York.

The deal, says Gift Solutions owner Kim Bachstein, came about when WiseBuys Stores, Inc. co-founder Tom Scozzafava came across one of her ads, visited her Web site, and called her. The two met and subsequently sealed a deal. With an average gift basket costing about $50, the deal could gain Gift Solutions more than $12,000 in sales.

"This is a huge deal for our company, because the WiseBuys stores want baskets in all of their stores throughout the entire year, not just for the holidays," Bachstein says. For example, in the spring, the company will create baby gift baskets and golf gift baskets for WiseBuys' stores in Pulaski, Hamilton, Gouverneur, Canton, and Tupper Lake.

WiseBuy's department stores across the North Country offer discounted and branded merchandise such as food, clothing, footwear, home-entertainment equipment, toys, hardware, furniture, appliances, sporting goods, and housewares. The deal is the latest in a series of moves Gift Solutions by Kim.com has made to grow in the last year. Last December, Bachstein purchased a 3,000-square-foot building at 5720 S. Bay Rd. in Cicero. The gift-basket company and gift shop opened there in February, but it wasn't until Sept. 3 that the company had grown to encompass all 3,000 square feet. Between February and September, the store occupied half the square footage.

The business has grown so much that Gift Solutions by Kim.com is looking into adding a second location in the Syracuse area, and a third in Florida. So far, Bachstein and her parents are the only employees, but the WiseBuys deal has created the need for a store manager, a position for which Bachstein is interviewing job applicants. The company anticipates this year's revenue to come in at less than $250,000. It celebrated its one-year anniversary in July.

Bachstein's deal with WiseBuys is also an example of the growing giftbasket company's unorthodox approaches to doing business.

Last June, Bachstein e-mailed contestants of "The Apprentice," introducing her gift-basket company's services. Several contestants took Bachstein up on her offer to provide services, and now she's focusing on other shows, such as "American Idol." She says celebrity and high-profile clients may prove to be a niche for her company.

"You should be consistent with your advertising and target your market," Bachstein says. "I have been working on that, and it goes to show you that listening to [your market] and implementing a technique does work. Passion in doing something that you love also helps a lot."