Cindy’s Newsletter for Gift Shop Managers delivers practical, ready-to-implement content to gift shop managers, retailers, and volunteers across the country. We help our readership of over 3,000 retailers optimize shop operations, grow revenue, and connect with one another. The newsletter is published monthly and free since 2001.

Have you paid your dues this quarter?

The value and richness of this newsletter comes from your participation. Do your part by submitting two comments per quarter, at minimum. Reply to reader’s questions listed throughout the newsletter (in green) or simply share what is working or isn’t working in your shop, a great selling product, a helpful website or resource, an operating question, your biggest challenge right now, a terrific vendor you’ve come across recently, tips on managing volunteers, or tips on managing yourself!

LEAVE A COMMENT! Click the green comment tags throughout the newsletter, enter it in the comment section, or send to cindy@cindyjonesassociates.com.

JULY 15, 2022

Thomas Hospital, Fairhope, AL

You need an awful lot of heart

Managing and successfully running a hospital gift shop takes an awful lot of heart. You must have patience, be able to accept criticism and be willing to change certain things you thought you knew. But if you have passion for what you’re doing, a vision for how you want it to look, and the means to persevere through trials and tribulations, well then, you’re on the right track.
 
The key to managing, surviving and thriving in a hospital gift shop environment is perseverance and the willingness to make changes that meet your customers’ ever-changing needs. Besides taking some risks, you must be diligent and open to adjustments and alterations!

The service you do for others

is the rent you pay

for the time you spend on earth.

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A: What gift markets do you attend?

Hello! I’m a new shop manager. I’m trying to decide which gift shows I should attend or, are you mainly shopping online now? What markets does everyone attend? Should I go to a few small shows or one large show? What is your travel budget? I am in the midwest, but can go anywhere. Thanks! – Lindsey. 6/2/22

The January show in Atlanta is a must for me and I complete the majority of my Fall and Holiday buying at that show. I also attend 1-2 smaller regional shows at the Minneapolis Gift Mart. For apparel, I attend the Atlanta apparel market. – Sabra Shields, Sanford USD Medical Center, Sioux Falls, SD. 450 beds. 6/22/22

I go to the Atlanta Mart in January and buy all of my fall and Christmas for the year and some everyday as well. I get great display ideas and seeing the items in person vs. a catalog makes a big difference. I look for companies that offer less minimums on items as we are a smaller shop. I know that I can usually sell 6 or 8 pieces of one item but not 12. – Diane Honsberger, Director of Volunteers & Gift Shop, Mercy St. Anne Hospital, Toledo, OH. 150 beds. 6/21/22

We attend the Americas Mart Gift Show in Atlanta. – Laura Keipert, Supervisor, Retail Services, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, GA 6/20/22

We generally go to Las Vegas, for three days. Our budget for two people was around $800. Show specials more than made up for those costs. Haven’t had travel budget for two years though and hope to go next January. The summer gift show usually coincides with the ASD show, so it is a two-for-one trip. – Karla Glanzman, Gift Shop Manager at Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA. 407 beds. 6/17/22 

We try to do one gift show a year. We have done Dallas, Atlanta and Vegas. Set-up at Vegas was amazing. LOVED IT! Atlanta was the best so far though. – Tricia Rochman, Carbondale Memorial Hospital, Carbondale, IL. 154 beds. 4/21/22

We send about three volunteers to Atlanta every January for about five days. This has made all the difference in our gift shop. They shop primarily for the holidays throughout the year but do order some everyday items as well. It really saves on meeting with the vendors on a regular basis. – Ramona Kennedy, Lifeline Program Manager & Auxiliary Liaison, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, Ogdensburg, NY. 115 beds. 6/16/22

Atlanta Gift Market. The main one to go to is January, but I’ve also gone to the last two in July. I usually stay 3-4 nights, but don’t have a monetary budget for the exact amount. – Roberta Gilbert, Gift Shop Coordinator, St.Claire Regional Medical Center. Morehead, KY. 159 beds. 6/16/22

We have attended the Las Vegas Gift Show and have found great success. Over several years, we have met up with great suppliers, reinforced current relationships and had a lot of fun. This show has a wide range of merchants and the options are fantastic for whatever you might be looking for. Personally I love seeing the FULL range of a product line. Go to shows, they make a world of difference in your buying habits. – Lorene Oates, Volunteer Coordinator, West Valley Medical Center, Caldwell, ID. 150 beds. 6/15/22

I have attended the Las Vegas World Market’s January show for about six years. I previously attended the Atlanta show. The airfare is better for me on the West Coast and the hotels are less expensive than even Seattle. My travel budget is $2,000 or less and I stay the full time. I can accomplish more in 5 days than I could in a month of seeing reps in the shop or ordering on line. Not to mention seeing product in person can completely change your perspective. It also gives you a chance to meet other gift shop buyers and learn from each other. I’ve made connections that are on going. – Molly Forni, Gift Shop Manager, St. John Providence Health System, Portland, OR. 266 beds. 6/15/22

Thanks to everyone who submitted a comment!
✈️

National Candle Association: Fire hazard warning ⚠️

The National Candle Association (NCA) has become aware of a growing number of candles on the market that contain flammable materials including dried flowers, leaves, herbs, and wood embedded in the wax near the flame. These materials become exposed to the candle’s heat and flame in the liquid wax pool. It also coats them in wax allowing the materials to sustain flame themselves.

NCA tested several candles and the results were dramatic with safety failures in every case. The candles exhibiting multiple and large flames with potential to ignite a home fire.

SOURCE: NCA’s Report on Botanical Candles

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

Sometimes we include some pretty unique “holidays”. Use them to help generate off-season sales. “National Sunglasses Day – 15% Today Only!”. Build some fun displays. Be creative! Put all umbrellas on sale for National Pina Colada Day! ⛱️

12-Month Action Plan for Hospital Gift Shops

Summer is a great time to get your leadership team together to develop your shop’s 12-month promotional plan. Preplanning is more important than ever before!

It is never too late to pencil in your calendar of events, promotions, and sales. Look closely at what you did (or didn’t) accomplish last year, how it really turned out and what you might want to change for this year. Remember: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. 

Your shop’s success will take vision, creativity and lots of perseverance to be successful. Customers these days are very savvy. They know that retailers will jump through hoops to get their dollars. So, plan lots of in-shop promotions, coupons, buy one-get one free, funny holiday sales (e.g. National Pina Colada Day) and special discounts for preferred customers.

A Twelve-Month Action Plan for Gift Shop Managers and Buyers

Take the guesswork out of developing your shop’s annual plan. The Twelve-Month Action Plan is a 50-page guide that will keep you and your shop running on schedule.  View a sample page or purchase now for $69.00.

• 30+ sales event and promo ideas
• Monthly to-do list
• What to buy and when
• Sign templates
• What to display and when
• Mark down schedules
• Tradeshow reminders
• Tips to move merchandise
• Display solutions
• Operating best practices
• Staff and volunteer management

Buy Now

A: Is there a better method than handwriting POs?

How do managers/buyers purchase goods for their shop? We hand write purchase orders then send them to our in-hospital purchasing agent. In some instances orders can be up to 11 handwritten purchase orders. Would love to know if there is a way to minimize writing all these POs? Thanks! – Sarah Folio, Volunteer Coordinator/Gift Shop Manager, Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland, MD. 4/24/22

If you do not have a computer system that manages inventory and has a purchase order module, I would recommend that you create a template in Excel where you can easily type all of your line items. In creating a template you can put in all of your store information, terms etc. so as not to have to rewrite that with each order. – Lisa Garland, Woman’s Hospital, Baton Rouge, LA. 6/21/22

We also use an electronic PO system for our larger vendors. However, due to the nature of our business and many of our vendors that are not huge entitles, we still use handwritten PO’s most of the time – Lee Patterson, Ascension St Vincent’s, Birmingham. 400 beds. 6/16/22

We still hand write POs – Nancy Williams, Director Volunteer Services, Piedmont Healthcare, Atlanta, GA. 6/20/22

Still use handwritten POs – Peter Waugh, Memorial Hospital, North Conway, NH. 25 beds. 5/18/22

Our hospital uses an electronic PO system through a company called Lawson. We prepare a blanket PO for the year in advance for most of our vendors. When it’s time to order we already have a PO in place so ordering is quick and easy. – Judy Stallings. 5/16/22

Q. ISO a “hip kits” vendor for hip replacement patients?

Q. Has anyone found a good source for “hip kits” for post-hip replacement patients? They contain assistive items like sock aid, dressing stick, long handled sponge? – Jill Dugaw, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Spartanburg, SC. 500 beds. 6/22/22

What’s a good vendor for “hip kits” for post-hip replacement patients? <- CLICK TO COMMENT

Get HIP! Lend Jill a hand. Leave a comment! ☺︎

Comment here or enter it at the bottom of the newsletter.

Thank you!

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

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Why have a monthly buyer’s meetings

Apart from learning/education, there are only three good reasons for a group of people to meet at work, whether face-to-face or online. The first reason is to create a forum—an opportunity for individuals with different values, ideas and experiences to share their perspectives.

The second reason to meet is to make decisions. A decision-making meeting produces direction for the organization or unit. The subject of such a meeting may range from strategy formulation to tactical problem-solving.

The third reason to meet is to build/strengthen a team. A team-building meeting has to do with developing collective capabilities, especially interpersonal and organizational skills. Such a meeting may also help instill a sense of togetherness and a commitment to collective performance.

These three types of meetings form a kind of food chain: a forum identifies issues and options that provide the grist for a decision-making meeting, at which the group selects a course of action from among the possibilities. Aided by team building, the group then implements the chosen path.

Managers should ask themselves which of the three legitimate meeting designs—forum, decision making, or team building—they have in mind before bringing employees together. They also might ask, at the close of a meeting, which of these purposes was served. If the answer is “none of the above,” then they missed a valuable opportunity to save their gift shop money—and save themselves and others time and energy.

Stanford Health Care Gift Shop wins Retail Excellence Award!

The Stanford Health Care Gift Shop is the Gifts & Decorative Accessories magazine 2022 Retail Excellence Award recipient for #1 Top Specialty Store! Congratulations!

The Retailer Excellence Awards hosted in Dallas, TX recognized the SHC Gift Shop for their unique product offerings and customer experience. The Gift Shop’s vision has focused directly on the community’s needs while highlighting sustainability, diversity, and patient care needs.

The winners of seven retail award categories, as well as the 2022 Manufacturer of the Year and Sales Representative of the Year were announced during the ceremony. The winners received an engraved platter by Beatriz Ball and are as follows:

• Socially Responsible: Alyssa’s
• Store Design: Once Upon a Time by Amy
• Specialty Store: Stanford Health Care Gift Shop
• Visual Merchandising: Vickie’s Gifts
• Multiple Locations: A. Dodson’s
• Best Store Events: Mix It Up > Art Walk
• Social Media Outreach & Online Initiatives: Amber Marie & Company
• Sales Representative of the Year: Kristina Kase, Road Runners LLC
• Manufacturer of the Year: Michel Design Works

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LIVE FLOWERS ALTERNATIVE

Q. What are some alternatives to live flowers? We are located in a small town with two flower shops and neither want to partner with us. We currently are offering gift baskets but we still have people that want flowers. Thank you in advance! – Lanie Ray, Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, OH. 222 beds. 3/28/22

FreshCut Paper has been a phenomenal alternative for live plants/flowers – specifically for our patients in ICU and TLC. I find myself reordering twice a month. -Meggen Heuss, University of WI Hospital & Clinics, Madison WI. 650 beds. 4/25/22

We have a family member of a volunteer who makes “arrangements” using multi colored buttons, colored wire, and fabrics shaped like flowers and flower buds. They are very popular. – Peter Waugh, Memorial Hospital, North Conway, NH. 25 beds. 4/21/22

We do well with Sullivan Gift for artificial flowers and succulents. Great selection.  – Cherie Towers, Redlands Community Hospital, Redlands, CA. 229 beds. 4/21/22

K&K Interiors has amazing real-touch silk flowers. They are the best flowers we have seen on the silk side. Also, Evergreen has a single lilly in a mini vase that is amazing. Otherwise, the selection is small.  – Tricia Rochman, Carbondale Memorial Hospital, Carbondale, IL. 154 beds. 4/21/22

We use 1800 flowers. They come in a box already arranged. We open them up, clip the ends and put them in vases. We use cello wrap and bows to decorate. It works really well! – Amy, 4/21/22

Spotted at CGH Medical Center: Lego Flower Bouquets. Expensive, but very unique! – Nicole, Cindy Jones Associates. 4/19/22

FreshCut Paper flowers have done well for us. They are beautiful and last forever!  – Dawn Shumaker, Clinton Memorial Hospital, Wilmington, OH. 4/18/22

Live plants or felt flowers.  – Sarah McManus. 4/15/22

We sell FreshCut Paper flowers. They are easy to sell for phone orders when a room can’t have fresh flowers. and hospital staff buys them to mail as they come with an envelope also. Admin staff also buy them to have on their desks.  – Linda Armstrong, Gift Shop Supervisor, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Tacoma, WA. 4/15/22

Nothing replaces real flowers but silk flowers are at least something to let the patient know you are thinking about them, this is what I tell our customers. We do well with Primitives by Kathy or the bendable flowers we buy at Kelli’s. – Sophia, Community Memorial Health System, Ventura, CA. 4/15/22

Our shop used to sell silk flowers. These were great especially for ICU patients that couldn’t have live flowers. The biggest expense is the flowers themselves, but if you can hit up sales from different craft shops, it’s a great value. Kerri Clark, Community Hospital, Munster, IN. 498 beds. 4/15/22

Natural Fragrance Roses – live fragrant flowers but hydrated to last 4 months. The “no hassle” flowers + fragrance. – Petrus Persoon, CEO, Natural Fragrance Rose. 4/15/21

We sell live flowers, but also sell FreshCut Paper flowers as a cheaper alternative. They can even be mailed for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. We just received our second order. – Craig McKneely, Scripps Health, San Diego, CA. 4/15/22

Ganz has acrylic Posey Pots! – Suzanne, Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital, Sayre, PA. 4/15/21

Do you know of a good alternatives to live flowers? You can still respond to the question here.

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

PERSONAL WHOLESALE BUYS

Q. Do you allow buyers AND managers to purchase merchandise at wholesale at gift markets for personal use?

Volunteers receive a 15% discount on all items except greeting cards and candy. – Peter Waugh. 5/18/22

Staff and volunteers get a 30% discount on most items in the store – exclusions are flowers, food, books. They can purchase for themselves or as gifts, but cannot resell. Someone else in permanent staff needs to ring the purchase. People here for longer periods are grandfathered into higher discounts available at that time. Sorry this is IN-STORE % off retail, not wholesale – Mary, University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor MI. 1100 beds. 5/17/22

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

DECLINE IN VOLUNTEERS

Q. Have others encountered losses in the number of volunteers through the pandemic? We started out with over 30 non-gift shop volunteers and are now down to 7. In our gift shop, we had 17, now 3, one of which started mid-COVID (God bless her!). We are currently thinking of hiring a part-time employee to man the front desk from 1-5pm. What have you done to remedy staffing and volunteer issues during the pandemic? Did anyone hire paid personnel? Thanks! – Sarah Folio, Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland, MD. 55 beds. 12/22/21

We have had our gift shop volunteers for two years now – starting the front desk this week. – Tricia Rochman, Carbondale Memorial, Carbondale, IL. 70 beds. 3/18/21

We had about 65 volunteers in the gift shop before the pandemic. I now have about 35-40 in the shop today. I am blessed to have some very dedicated volunteers who worked all but the 3 months we were closed. Even then when we were closed we thought outside the box and started doing FB Live shows twice a month and continue with today. They are a ton of work, but truly saved our gift shop. Other volunteers stayed home but made mask for the hospital and our community in the time of need. Our Auxiliary as a whole never really stopped fundraising during the pandemic and overall our numbers grew about a dozen last year. – Ramona Kennedy. 3/17/21

We reduced our hours in the gift shop and have been able to get enough volunteers, but the traffic is not there. Hospital has been remodeling and we have been closed quite a bit. We no longer have foot traffic from front entrance of hospital. Thankfully the employees still shop with us. Our problem lately has been elderly volunteers who refuse to read manual, consequently the computer is often not turned on correctly, they don’t use the scanner to ring up items, they basically sit on their chairs and hope no one comes in. We are all volunteers so we don’t have paid staff. I end up having to drive to hospital quite often to straighten out a situation. I held trainings on 2 different Saturdays and only 2 people came. I don’t want to offend the volunteers but they don’t seem to get it. Hopefully things will pick up and we can do more business. – Martha Burke. 2/17/22

We started with 10 volunteers and now have 4 sometimes 5. We were open 5 days per week with 2 shifts, now open 3 days per week 10-2. – Helen Travis. 2/16/22

We too have fewer volunteers since the pandemic. We are open a shorter timeframe each day. M-F & Sun 10-3. In order to keep all our gift shop volunteers informed, we have a spiral notebook we write updates in. Our volunteers also write notes to us to let us know if they have any needs or something special needs to be ordered or if they have suggestions. Works well for us! – Brenda Welcher,  AdventHealth Zephyrhills, Zephyrhills, FL. 59 beds. 2/16/22

Our store is open five days a week, 12-4pm. We had a good December! Visitors are so few now with no outsiders. I had 13 people working for us but now only 5-6.
Hope you all are healthy, Harold. – Harold Shiffman, St. Catherian Hospital, Smithtown, NY. 550 beds. 1/31/22

Our Gift Shop has remained closed since November 2020. Overall, we have lost some folks but we have also gained some. Currently they are not cleared to serve in the hospital due to COVID restrictions. However, some have been assisting at the Vaccine Clinic along with over 30 additional new volunteers who are at the Clinic. I believe a good portion of those 30 will continue to serve at the hospital once given the word to do so. – Peter Waugh, Memorial Hospital, North Conway, NH. 25 beds. 1/18/22

Internally, I am devastated! Externally, I move on and work with what I have. We are open two shifts during the week. Happy and grateful to have volunteers that will staff the shop. I went from 200 volunteers to about 45 in the overall program. I have about 13 in the gift shop. – Connie Slingluff, Blount Memorial, Maryville, TN. 201 beds. 1/17/22

We have been blessed with willing volunteers who have made it possible to remain open. Although the hospital shut us down for a few months in 2020, we have been able to come back and remain busy. Our Holiday Extravaganza of 3 days did not happen but we held special 12 Days of Christmas sales to encourage employees to shop with us. It was gratifying to see the staff regularly and hear them thank us for being there for them. We enter 2022 with a healthy bottom line and interested buyers, we’re keeping it simple and hoping that our current path is the right one to be on. – Marilynne Field, MercyOne, Dubuque, IA. 263 beds. 1/17/22

We went from two volunteers to one volunteer per shift and are doing ok. But this takes away the buffer if someone can’t come in for their shift. We have had to be closed at random times due to no substitutes. Looking to hire a PT person to cover those shift and help manage stock. – Christie Delbridg, Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, Bolivia, NC. 74 beds. 1/17/22

Most of mine did come back. I had about 30 with teens. I have 14 adults and 2 teens. Our hours are limited Mon-Fri 9-5. We were on a role and then Omicon hit and no more visitors. I spilt the volunteers shifts to two hours instead of their four hours. – Margaret Legut, Elmhurst Hospital, Elmhurst, IL. 258 beds. 1/17/22

We lost about 20 volunteers. We have reduced our hours and days of operation. – Ginger Taylor, CoxHealth, Springfield, MO. 1014 beds. 1/17/22

We’ve lost many of our volunteers. Our shop is closed on weekends. We are open some days from 9-5, but on days we can’t get enough volunteers we’re open 10-4. This eliminates 1 volunteer per day. We are lucky to have some volunteers picking up more shifts to fill the gaps. We ask people to call before they come to see if we’re open and we post our hours on FB. – Debbie B, Bell Hospital, Ishpeming, MI. 1/17/22

We have had approximately 1/3 of volunteers return, 1/3 not return, and 1/3 defer return. Our volunteers are dedicated and a special part of our success! Also, being part of a university, we have also added student volunteers to our Shops as of December. The students had been volunteering in patient areas before the pandemic, but with that not yet possible, they are helping the Shops! The students are professional, eager, and energetic! We’ve gone from 45-50% of shifts with at least one volunteer, to over 80% of shifts with at least one volunteer! – Mary, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI. 1000 beds. 1/16/22

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

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Cindy’s Newsletter for Gift Shop Managers delivers practical, ready-to-implement content to gift shop managers, retailers, and volunteers across the country. We help our readership of over 3,000 retailers optimize shop operations, grow revenue, and connect with one another. The newsletter is published monthly and free since 2001.

Have you paid your dues this quarter?

The value and richness of this newsletter comes from your participation. Do your part by submitting two comments per quarter, at minimum. Reply to reader’s questions listed throughout the newsletter (in green) or simply share what is working or isn’t working in your shop, a great selling product, a helpful website or resource, an operating question, your biggest challenge right now, a terrific vendor you’ve come across recently, tips on managing volunteers, or tips on managing yourself!

LEAVE A COMMENT! Click the green comment tags throughout the newsletter, enter it in the comment section, or send to cindy@cindyjonesassociates.com.

MAY 15, 2022

The Hospitals of Providence, El Paso, TX

Gift shop reopens after two-year COVID closure

The Daily Herald / Apr 24, 2022

The retail therapy department is back in business at the hospital. Everett’s Providence Regional Medical Center gift shops reopened to building visitors after two years of pandemic closure. The Twig Shop on the Colby campus and the Pacific Pavilion Boutique offer more than get well cards, baby clothes and stuffed toys.

Many goods have nothing to do with hospital stays. The shelves have holiday decor, purses, earrings, garden art, hats, sports team novelties and kitchen items.

The shops are open limited hours, for now. Hospital spokesperson Casey Calumusa said shoppers must be hospital visitors or have medical appointments. “We hope to open the gift shops more in the future,” he said in an email. “The ability to do so depends on COVID case rates in the community and the number of volunteers we can have in the hospital to staff the gift shops.”

Prices are as low as possible because there are no employees to pay, or overhead expenses.

“The hospital is great to us. They don’t charge us anything to be here,” Twig Shop co-manager Linda Jubie said.

The supply shortage didn’t hinder stocking the shelves. Managers had gone to a gift show in Las Vegas to select the merchandise before the pandemic shutdown. “We’d already ordered for the year,” Jubie said. Those items had a long shelf life. Snacks had to be put to use.

Instead of letting the candy and chips expire, volunteers put it in baskets to give to employees working long hours to care for COVID patients.

The shop is a popular spot for hospital workers. “A lot of times they don’t have money with them and they can use their badge (to pay) so they can swing in and get something,” Mackay said.

SOURCE: The Daily Herald

RESPONSES: Do you sell any alternatives to live flowers?

What are some alternatives to live flowers? We are located in a small town with two flower shops and neither want to partner with us. We currently are offering gift baskets but we still have people that want flowers. Thank you in advance! – Lanie Ray, Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, OH. 222 beds. 3/28/22

FreshCut Paper has been a phenomenal alternative for live plants/flowers – specifically for our patients in ICU and TLC. I find myself reordering twice a month. -Meggen Heuss, University of WI Hospital & Clinics, Madison WI. 650 beds. 4/25/22

We have a family member of a volunteer who makes “arrangements” using multi colored buttons, colored wire, and fabrics shaped like flowers and flower buds. They are very popular. – Peter Waugh, Memorial Hospital, North Conway, NH. 25 beds. 4/21/22

We do well with Sullivan Gift for artificial flowers and succulents. Great selection.  – Cherie Towers, Redlands Community Hospital, Redlands, CA. 229 beds. 4/21/22

K&K Interiors has amazing real-touch silk flowers. They are the best flowers we have seen on the silk side. Also, Evergreen has a single lilly in a mini vase that is amazing. Otherwise, the selection is small.  – Tricia Rochman, Carbondale Memorial Hospital, Carbondale, IL. 154 beds. 4/21/22

We use 1800 flowers. They come in a box already arranged. We open them up, clip the ends and put them in vases. We use cello wrap and bows to decorate. It works really well! – Amy, 4/21/22

Spotted at CGH Medical Center: Lego Flower Bouquets. Expensive, but very unique! – Nicole, Cindy Jones Associates. 4/19/22

FreshCut Paper flowers have done well for us. They are beautiful and last forever!  – Dawn Shumaker, Clinton Memorial Hospital, Wilmington, OH. 4/18/22

Live plants or felt flowers.  – Sarah McManus. 4/15/22

We sell FreshCut Paper flowers. They are easy to sell for phone orders when a room can’t have fresh flowers. and hospital staff buys them to mail as they come with an envelope also. Admin staff also buy them to have on their desks.  – Linda Armstrong, Gift Shop Supervisor, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Tacoma, WA. 4/15/22

Nothing replaces real flowers but silk flowers are at least something to let the patient know you are thinking about them, this is what I tell our customers. We do well with Primitives by Kathy or the bendable flowers we buy at Kelli’s. – Sophia, Community Memorial Health System, Ventura, CA. 4/15/22

Our shop used to sell silk flowers. These were great especially for ICU patients that couldn’t have live flowers. The biggest expense is the flowers themselves, but if you can hit up sales from different craft shops, it’s a great value. Kerri Clark, Community Hospital, Munster, IN. 498 beds. 4/15/22

Natural Fragrance Roses – live fragrant flowers but hydrated to last 4 months. The “no hassle” flowers + fragrance. – Petrus Persoon, CEO, Natural Fragrance Rose. 4/15/21

We sell live flowers, but also sell FreshCut Paper flowers as a cheaper alternative. They can even be mailed for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. We just received our second order. – Craig McKneely, Scripps Health, San Diego, CA. 4/15/22

Ganz has acrylic Posey Pots! – Suzanne, Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital, Sayre, PA. 4/15/21

Do you know of a good alternatives to live flowers? You can still respond to the question here. 🌸 🌷 🌼

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

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Free Guide: Wholesale Cash-and-Carry Warehouses

Smart Retailer recently published their free Cash-and-Carry WholesaleWarehouse Guide. This is a terrific resource for those finding it difficult to obtain merchandise lately. More and more cash-and-carry warehouses are opening up across the country. Dan Brownell, editor pointed out, “If you live within driving distance of one or more of them, you can make a quick trip to fill up a vehicle with product and save a huge amount on shipping costs that take such a big bite out of profits.” Many smaller or all-volunteer shops don’t have buyers.

Benefits of Shopping at a Wholesale Cash-and-Carry Warehouse

• Immediate access to products for fast stocking of store shelves
• One-stop shopping of a wide range of vendors and product lines
• No shipping charges
• Convenient checkout at one location
• No backorders or delayed deliveries
• No minimums, which allows storeowners to test small quantities of a wider range of products and manage cash-flow more effectively
• Personally inspect features and quality of products
• Access 5-6 days a week, so shop owners can shop when their store is closed
• Year-round availability allows storeowners to shop at leisure, rather than be rushed because of limited show hours
• Less planning needed than attending a show
• Possible same-day trips or choose to stay overnight and visit local attractions for a working vacation

The Cash-and-Carry Wholesale Warehouse Guide from Smart Retailer includes 14 east coast cash-and-carry warehouses, including contact info, website, social media, and location info, as well as a brief Q&A with each.

Payroll deduction for online stores

Last month we discussed possible solutions to the question submitted by Jill Dugaw at Spartanburg Regional in Spartanburg, SC: Does anyone accept payroll deduction on their online gift shop? If so, how do you authenticate the buyer (i.e., how do you verify they are using their employee number)?You can read the article in last month’s issue, including possible solutions and reader comments.

The ideal solution is to create a custom payout option for “Payroll Deduction” in your ecommerce platform. But, they will likely charge a customization fee unless your IT department can implement it. To briefly recap alternatives:

• Native integration, such as ARBA POS which includes a payroll deduction option, standard.
• In this online shop employees enter the coupon code “Payroll Deduction” at checkout.
• Employees at the U of M online tech shop select “Pay In Store” and complete the payroll deduction process at pick up.
• Find out if your scrub vendor or the hospital pharmacy have a payroll deduction solution.
• eComitize is an eCommerce consulting firm that can build a payroll deduction option.
• Magento can accept payroll deduction using an extension (could not located extension).
• NCR Counterpoint will integrate a shop’s ecommerce site and have the option to use payroll deduction. Any credit limits in place for Payroll Deduction will also flow to the website and restrict employees from exceeding their credit limit.

Gold Coast Promotions has incorporated payroll deduction in to their online fundraising events using Shopify. Here are some payroll deduction examples from UMHS and Memorial Hospital Gulfport. Marc Kravetz from Gold Coast informed us that his IT team customized the interface to accept payroll deduction. Employee numbers are entered at checkout and Gold Coast send a spreadsheet to the hospital for deductions. Gold Coast Promotions has been holding in-person fundraisers in hospitals for over 40 years. Many of you may be familiar with their name.

With all that transpired within hospitals due to the pandemic, they totally changed their fundraising format to an online format, holding over 100 online events in 2021. They have a huge array of products, provide all promotional materials, QR codes and custom website, as well as pull, pack, and ship all purchases to the customer. Although this is not a permanent online store and the inventory is different, it might be a good way to test the level of demand for online shopping with your employee base and also help familiarize yourself with online platforms.

Gold Coast Promotions is looking into building branded online stores for hospital gift shops. This is an option if you don’t have the time, technical know-how or are an all-volunteer shop. It would include a unique web address for your shop, branded website, nationwide shipping, gift shop pick-up, curb-side, in-hospital delivery, and of course, payroll deduction. They would handle all the setup, operations, and technical requirements. Outsourcing your online store might be viable option for many shops. Specific fees and details to be determined.

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

**Sometimes we include some pretty unique “holidays”. Use them to help generate off-season sales. “It’s National Sunglasses Day – 15% Today Only”. Build some fun displays. Be creative! Put all umbrellas on sale for National Pina Colada Day.

Early holiday 2022 preview

by Debbie Eisele / Gift Shop Mag

With a record fourth quarter wrapping up, retail holiday sales are predicted to repeat next year. The inventory and shipping shortages of 2021 will prove to be a cautionary tale for everyone in 2022. Retailers can get a jump on holiday merchandise with careful planning and an eye for the hot trends.

“Soft browns, golds and beige are very popular — this matches any décor,” Jamie Adler, marketing manager for Kurt S. Adler, explained. “People are investing in high quality merchandise (and) people are really taking pride in their holiday décor and want it to look as nice as possible.”

According to Kacie Carswell, marketing manager for burton + BURTON, varying textures and patterns such as “puffy white wool, ribbed wood and reflective metals will be a focus for the 2022 holiday season.”

“Gifts and décor for the holiday season that have a purpose and a treasured message will resonate with all generations … such as decorative containers, entertainment serveware and uniquely shaped mugs,” explained Carswell.

“Lighted items continue to be incredibly popular. As dark December evenings descend on us, there is nothing more inviting than twinkling lights and shimmering candle glow,” noted Ingrid Liss, vice president product development and innovation for GANZ Midwest-CBK. Also trending into 2022 is a mix of modern and glam and GANZ Midwest-CBK is offering a Holiday Glam collection that illustrates both of these characteristics. Read more…

SOURCE: Gift Shop Mag

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Buyers’ personal purchases, at wholesale

by Cindy Jones, Editor

Many hospital gift shops have policies in place for ‘personal purchases’ made at gift markets by paid or volunteer buyers. Most shops permit their volunteer and paid buyers to include their own personal purchases (at wholesale pricing plus shipping costs) in orders while at market. The reasoning is showrooms and vendors require ‘minimum order amounts’ for certain lines. Buyers ‘personal purchases’ help meet that minimum amount.

For example, after serving as a buyer for three months, they may purchase personal merchandise at a 45% discount. This privilege is in appreciation to the buyer for their extra time and effort for the shop. The tradeoff in goodwill for the buyer’s efforts more than justifies the barely negligible reduced profit that the shop might realize.

Guidelines to consider:

• Buyer must pay shipping for their items.
• All ‘personal’ merchandise ordered must also be ‘for sale’ in the gift shop. If a buyer wants to order a toaster at wholesale and the minimum is two toasters, how will the shop will ever sell the other toaster? So, all items ordered through the gift shop must also be for sale in the shop.
• All items must be processed and shipped to the gift shop (not to the buyer’s home) and only then can the items be purchased by the buyer at cost plus shipping. 
• The merchandise cannot leave the shop until it is paid for.
• Gift shop paid employees are allowed to hold merchandise for 10 days. All holds are checked.

Hospital Policy

The hospital itself may have its own policies and may frown on this practice. Be sure to know your hospital’s policy on ‘personal purchases’, particularly if the orders are processed through the hospital accounting and shipping department.

Tax Exempt Policy

It is up to each shop to determine if buying personal items at wholesale (plus shipping) would be considered a misuse of the shop’s tax-exemption status. The small amount of lost profits should not affect the shop’s status, however, each shop should do their due diligence regarding this issue.

The shop’s Policy and Procedure Handbook should state:

“All purchases must be entered into the POS system by another employee/volunteer. The purchase/s are placed in a bag and stapled shut. The receipt is attached to the outside of the bag and initialed by the employee/volunteer who transacted the item/s.”

Q. What is your buyer/manager policy for personal (wholesale) purchases?

Do you have a policy for personal (wholesale) purchases? <- CLICK TO COMMENT

Do you allow personal (wholesale) purchases? What is the discount %? How long do they have to be with the shop?

Comment here or enter it in the comment box at the end of the newsletter.

Thank you!

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

Q. Is there a better process than handwriting POs?

How do managers/buyers purchase goods for their shop? We hand write purchase orders then send them to our in-hospital purchasing agent. In some instances orders can be up to 11 handwritten purchase orders. Would love to know if there is a way to minimize writing all these POs? Thanks! – Sarah Folio, Volunteer Coordinator/Gift Shop Manager, Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland, MD. 4/24/22

Do you still use handwritten POs or another, more efficient, method? <- CLICK TO COMMENT

Do you have an alternative process to handwritten POs? Have you found a more efficient way for buyers to operate?

Caring is sharing all your knowledge helping others grow their shops! Comment here or enter it at the bottom of the newsletter.

Thank you!

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

SALARY DATA: Hospital Gift Shop Manager

Q. Can you or any of the readers share the salary for the Gift Shop Managers? I’m redeveloping the job description for my Gift Shop Manager to reflect that they now have responsibility for more than one shop location, and I’d like to bring their salary more in line with industry standards. Extra points for those located in the Southeast. – Jill Dugaw, Manager, Volunteer Services & Gift Shop, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Spartanburg, SC. 4/17/22

FROM CINDY

The last salary survey we ran was back in 2011. At this time, the average salary, reported by 163 shop managers, was $42,170 nine years ago. Adjusted for inflation, the BLS inflation calculator indicated a salary of $55,360 for 2022. Alternatively, using the benchmark annual increase of 3%,  the adjusted 2022 salary would be $55,022. Although this is not a scientific method and does not account for variables such as hospital size or geography, it does provide some insight. 

We also pulled gift shop manager salaries from a sampling of university affiliated shops. Being state funded, they are required to publish their salaries. The information is not readily available and requires some digging online, but it is public.

**All salary information provided is publicly available.

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NEW JEWELRY LINES

Q. We are looking to freshen up our jewelry. We currently use Periwinkle but looking for something new along the same price point. Any suggestions? – Tracy Torres, St. Augustine. 1/20/22

Silver Forest and their Spirit earrings, made in Vermont. Renaissance Glass earrings and pendants made in South Carolina (maybe North.) – Michelle Suggs. 3/21/22

We do very well with Silver Forest and Anju Jewelry. – Cherie Towers. 3/18/22

Accessorize Me always performs well. Megan Brown designs is trending up for Spring. – Kevin Shaw, Methodist Hospital Gift Shop, St. Louis Park, MN. 3/17/21

Main Street Earrings are a big hit for us. Great quality, great price. We sell them for $8.99! – Lanie Ray, Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, OH. 2/28/22

Canvas has some great pieces at great price points. – Holly Weiss. 2/17/22

We do well with Periwinkle and Coronet – Helen Travis. 2/16/22

Rain Jewelry is performing very good for us as well! – Sabra Shields. 2/16/22

I love Rain jewelry. It flies off the shelf. – Stephanie Barnes. 2/16/22

We also do really well with Coronet and Accessorize Me jewelry. – Tamara Szarszewski, Gift Shop Manager, Logansport Memorial Hospital Gift Shop, 83 beds. 1/17/22

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CHRISTMAS MERCH VENDORS

Q. Have you been able to source Christmas merchandise? Anyone know of a vendor for “out of the box” Christmas merchandise? – Jill A Dugaw (She/Her), Spartanburg Regional, Spartanburg, OH. 1/19/22

Opportunities has great Christmas merch at good prices. There is a $400 fee each year to join this group but the prices for the exact same items that many other vendors carry are much lower. They carry everyday and seasonal merchandise. clothing, candles, etc. – Diane Honsberger, Mercy Health St. Anne Hospital. 2/18/22

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DECLINE IN VOLUNTEERS

Q. Have others encountered losses in the number of volunteers through the pandemic? We started out with over 30 non-gift shop volunteers and are now down to 7. In our gift shop, we had 17, now 3, one of which started mid-COVID (God bless her!). We are currently thinking of hiring a part-time employee to man the front desk from 1-5pm. What have you done to remedy staffing and volunteer issues during the pandemic? Did anyone hire paid personnel? Thanks! – Sarah Folio, Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland, MD. 55 beds. 12/22/21

We have had our gift shop volunteers for two years now – starting the front desk this week. – Tricia Rochman, Carbondale Memorial, Carbondale, IL. 70 beds. 3/18/21

We had about 65 volunteers in the gift shop before the pandemic. I now have about 35-40 in the shop today. I am blessed to have some very dedicated volunteers who worked all but the 3 months we were closed. Even then when we were closed we thought outside the box and started doing FB Live shows twice a month and continue with today. They are a ton of work, but truly saved our gift shop. Other volunteers stayed home but made mask for the hospital and our community in the time of need. Our Auxiliary as a whole never really stopped fundraising during the pandemic and overall our numbers grew about a dozen last year. – Ramona Kennedy. 3/17/21

We reduced our hours in the gift shop and have been able to get enough volunteers, but the traffic is not there. Hospital has been remodeling and we have been closed quite a bit. We no longer have foot traffic from front entrance of hospital. Thankfully the employees still shop with us. Our problem lately has been elderly volunteers who refuse to read manual, consequently the computer is often not turned on correctly, they don’t use the scanner to ring up items, they basically sit on their chairs and hope no one comes in. We are all volunteers so we don’t have paid staff. I end up having to drive to hospital quite often to straighten out a situation. I held trainings on 2 different Saturdays and only 2 people came. I don’t want to offend the volunteers but they don’t seem to get it. Hopefully things will pick up and we can do more business. – Martha Burke. 2/17/22

We started with 10 volunteers and now have 4 sometimes 5. We were open 5 days per week with 2 shifts, now open 3 days per week 10-2. – Helen Travis. 2/16/22

We too have fewer volunteers since the pandemic. We are open a shorter timeframe each day. M-F & Sun 10-3. In order to keep all our gift shop volunteers informed, we have a spiral notebook we write updates in. Our volunteers also write notes to us to let us know if they have any needs or something special needs to be ordered or if they have suggestions. Works well for us! – Brenda Welcher,  AdventHealth Zephyrhills, Zephyrhills, FL. 59 beds. 2/16/22

Our store is open five days a week, 12-4pm. We had a good December! Visitors are so few now with no outsiders. I had 13 people working for us but now only 5-6.
Hope you all are healthy, Harold. – Harold Shiffman, St. Catherian Hospital, Smithtown, NY. 550 beds. 1/31/22

Our Gift Shop has remained closed since November 2020. Overall, we have lost some folks but we have also gained some. Currently they are not cleared to serve in the hospital due to COVID restrictions. However, some have been assisting at the Vaccine Clinic along with over 30 additional new volunteers who are at the Clinic. I believe a good portion of those 30 will continue to serve at the hospital once given the word to do so. – Peter Waugh, Memorial Hospital, North Conway, NH. 25 beds. 1/18/22

Internally, I am devastated! Externally, I move on and work with what I have. We are open two shifts during the week. Happy and grateful to have volunteers that will staff the shop. I went from 200 volunteers to about 45 in the overall program. I have about 13 in the gift shop. – Connie Slingluff, Blount Memorial, Maryville, TN. 201 beds. 1/17/22

We have been blessed with willing volunteers who have made it possible to remain open. Although the hospital shut us down for a few months in 2020, we have been able to come back and remain busy. Our Holiday Extravaganza of 3 days did not happen but we held special 12 Days of Christmas sales to encourage employees to shop with us. It was gratifying to see the staff regularly and hear them thank us for being there for them. We enter 2022 with a healthy bottom line and interested buyers, we’re keeping it simple and hoping that our current path is the right one to be on. – Marilynne Field, MercyOne, Dubuque, IA. 263 beds. 1/17/22

We went from two volunteers to one volunteer per shift and are doing ok. But this takes away the buffer if someone can’t come in for their shift. We have had to be closed at random times due to no substitutes. Looking to hire a PT person to cover those shift and help manage stock. – Christie Delbridg, Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, Bolivia, NC. 74 beds. 1/17/22

Most of mine did come back. I had about 30 with teens. I have 14 adults and 2 teens. Our hours are limited Mon-Fri 9-5. We were on a role and then Omicon hit and no more visitors. I spilt the volunteers shifts to two hours instead of their four hours. – Margaret Legut, Elmhurst Hospital, Elmhurst, IL. 258 beds. 1/17/22

We lost about 20 volunteers. We have reduced our hours and days of operation. – Ginger Taylor, CoxHealth, Springfield, MO. 1014 beds. 1/17/22

We’ve lost many of our volunteers. Our shop is closed on weekends. We are open some days from 9-5, but on days we can’t get enough volunteers we’re open 10-4. This eliminates 1 volunteer per day. We are lucky to have some volunteers picking up more shifts to fill the gaps. We ask people to call before they come to see if we’re open and we post our hours on FB. – Debbie B, Bell Hospital, Ishpeming, MI. 1/17/22

We have had approximately 1/3 of volunteers return, 1/3 not return, and 1/3 defer return. Our volunteers are dedicated and a special part of our success! Also, being part of a university, we have also added student volunteers to our Shops as of December. The students had been volunteering in patient areas before the pandemic, but with that not yet possible, they are helping the Shops! The students are professional, eager, and energetic! We’ve gone from 45-50% of shifts with at least one volunteer, to over 80% of shifts with at least one volunteer! – Mary, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI. 1000 beds. 1/16/22

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2021 BEST SELLERS

Wow! We asked, you answered! Thanks to everyone who shared their best sellers from 2021. Here are all the responses. A great variety of products. Some surprising ones too!

Apparel, especially plaid jackets and gnomes were very popular. – Ann Bergmann, Cumberland Healthcare, Cumberland, WI. 25 beds. 1/21/22

Covenant Rings. We have a display of 60 rings and every 6-9 months, new rings are added and slow sellers are removed. I’ve had lots of luck and consistently sold them for over 7 years.  – Jennifer Stuber. 1/21/22

Yes, Covenant Rings have been good, consistent sellers for many years! – Cindy

Clothing is my best category and loungewear from DM was my best seller during the holiday season and beyond. They have great price points and a huge margin builder. I received the floor display and I had to rearrange the entire shop to fit it in my space, but worth it. Strongly recommend the fixture as it keeps the product well organized and easy to shop. – Carol Colpitts. 2/20/22

One product line that we dropped was a CBD line. Just did not sell. Melissa & Doug eductional/toy items have done very well for us as well as hospital logo wear. Snack and personal care baskets that we create have worked out well for call-in orders. – Greg Holtgrewe. 2/19/22 

Q. What all do you put in your personal care baskets? I am new to this position so extra help is awesome!! Thanks in advance – Jaci, Hays Medical Center Gift Shop, Hays, KS. 1/20/22

Usually hand and body lotions, lip balms, decorative nail files, shower gels, fancy soaps, body sprays and bath bombs. Some of the vendors are Naked Bee, Inis, Duke Cannon, Ganz, San Francisco Soap and Bomb Cosmetics. We get our celophane bags, ribbon and packaging supplies from Nashville Wraps. Most of the time we do not use a basket but a clear desert plate for a base so that all of the items are easily seen. Sometimes you have to get creative during construction to get everything to stand up maybe using a ribbon to group things. We suggestive sell snack bags that we put together and balloons to go along. – Greg Holtgrew

The Ganz Crystal Expressions colored birds of any kind are a huge seller for us. I always think the popularity will fizzle out but it hasn’t and we have customers buy multiple at a time. Light up snow globes/lanterns this past Christmas were the best thing I have brought into the Gift Shop. I sold 11 in one day (we are only open to staff & patients 6 hours a day Mon-Fri) and my total stock of 63 were sold within 3 weeks. – Sarah Ryan. 1/18/21

Sarah, where do you source the light up lanterns from? – Cindy

I order the snow globes/lanterns from a couple of companies, but the best place I found was Razimports.com. They have a wide selection of both globes and lanterns and a great price range of everything. They have small options with a lower price point all the way to large options and high price points. A lot play music, which is always a big hit. The variety of options was the best in my option as well. Search their website for Water Globe or Water Lantern and it will bring up all the options in both categories. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with! I love getting your newsletter, it is always full of great information! — Sarah Ryan. 1/18/21

We too sold out of the light up water lanterns in less than a week. Retail prices were from $50 up. We will certainly buy again from either Roman or Raz. – Kathy Kramer, Carousel Gift Shop Driscoll Children’s Hospital, Corpus Christi. 1/21/22

Brief Insanity brand lounge pants – it was insane how well they sell! – Jill Dugaw. 1/18/22

Who was your vendor? Thanks in advance!! – Jaci, Hays Medical Center Gift Shop, Hays, KS. 1/20/22

SE Marketplace – Jill Dugaw. 1/26/22

Worlds Softest Sock Company (Crescent Socks) were huge for us fourth quarter. You have to order now for inventory for fourth quarter this year. If you don’t, you will miss out as they sell out every year. – Sabra Shields. 1/18/22

Anything with a cardinal on it. – Margaret Legut 1/17/22

Warmies! The slippers, neck wraps, and all of their animals. We also sell them over the phone like crazy. Customers love the thought of something warm and comforting going to their loved one. – Linda Armstrong. 1/17/22

See’s Candy! We brought them in late, but they moved really quickly. It was great to have options for holiday candy for our staff. – Justin. 1/17/21

Wicked Minis crackers are a popular snack and they come in several flavors. Our top seller is the Dill flavor. Itzy Ritzy is a great baby line! They have a wonderful selection of trendy designs and moms love the variety of teethers, toys, pactifiers and lovies! Last June we picked up a new line of sun glasses and readers from DM Merchandising. The brand name is Optimum Optical. They have awesome displays where the extra boxes of sunglasses are stored next to the sunglasses which keep our volunteers from going to the back so much. The displays have a modern, sleek design. Our employees love the designs! We have restocked twice so far! You can’t go wrong with Funky Freshies car scents made by Funky Fleur De Lis. We have used them for about 2 years and always sell out. Cute designs and great scents! – Betty Beck. 1/17/22

Our winners for 2021 was an increase in clothing sales. Staff who were not willing to hit the malls during COVID were shopping in our Gift Shop! – Lynn, Misericordia Health Centre Gift Shop, Winnipeg. Manitoba, Canada. 1/17/22

Santoki Lego Keychain Lights.  Roman light up holiday lanterns.  Cardigans from Davi & Dani and Rose N Mary. – Stephanie, San Juan Regional Medical Center, Farmington, NM. 1/17/22.

We’ve done great with Paint by Sticker books for adults and Kids from Workman Publishing. They were a great find for us during the pandemic! – Keri Schwartz. 1/17/22 

Loungewear particularly sleep/blanket hoodies did great! Careful for 2022, the cost on the blanket hoodies have increased tremendously with certain vendors!! Giftcraft, Simply Southern, LazyOnes. – Connie Slingluff. 1/17/22

Umgee USA clothing and Myra handbags – Ginger Taylor. 1/17/22 

Our Jen & Co purses were great sellers this past year. We also do really well with Coronet and Accessorize Me jewelry. Our Evergreen’s Sassafras Mats and garden flags are also top sellers. Crazy as it sounds, our Ganz mini glass animals are an item we can hardly keep in stock. They sell so well for us at $1.95. For books, we are very pleased with Choice Book Distributors. Other surprising best sellers are the satin pillowcases and microfiber hair towels from Morning Glamour. We sold out of these over the holidays and just got more back in, due to the continuing requests. – Tamara Szarszewski, Gift Shop Manager, Logansport Memorial Hospital Gift Shop, 83 beds. 1/17/22

TY Squish-A-Boos are great sellers for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Gift Shops. -Traci G. 1/16/22

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

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Cindy’s Newsletter for Gift Shop Managers delivers practical, ready-to-implement content to gift shop managers, retailers, and volunteers across the country. We help our readership of over 3,000 retailers optimize shop operations, grow revenue, and connect with one another. The newsletter is published monthly and free since 2001.

Have you paid your dues this quarter?

The value and richness of this newsletter comes from your participation. Do your part by submitting two comments per quarter, at minimum. Reply to reader’s questions listed throughout the newsletter (in green) or simply share what is working or isn’t working in your shop, a great selling product, a helpful website or resource, an operating question, your biggest challenge right now, a terrific vendor you’ve come across recently, tips on managing volunteers, or tips on managing yourself!

LEAVE A COMMENT! Click the green comment tags throughout the newsletter, enter it in the comment section, or send to cindy@cindyjonesassociates.com.

MARCH 15, 2022

Sparrow Hospital, Lansing, MI

Inflationary pressures are coming

by Cindy Jones, Editor

Retail sales powered through COVID-19, inflation and other challenges to post strong increases in January, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said. “January’s numbers show that 2022 is starting very strong for consumers and retailers, especially on the heels of a record holiday season and record sales in 2021,” Matthew Shay, president and CEO for NRF said.

Despite inflationary pressures stemming from labor shortages, COVID-19 impacts and uncertainty related to international tensions in Russia and China, consumers are spending, and the economy remains in good shape. Shay is “confident that retail sales growth and overall consumer financial health can continue” unless there are “political policy decisions that compound the challenges our economy is already facing.”

Trends are showing customers are returning to stores. This is good news for hospital gift shops. Unfortunately, shops still need to pass on price increases to offset inflationary pressures in the months ahead. This will be the challenge for 2022!

Here are some pricing strategies to consider using during inflation: 

• Implement more sophisticated pricing strategies that present consumers with a more balanced cart. Prices will have to go up on some key items, but there will be room for prices to go down on other items. Leverage smart pricing to improve your shop’s price perception during inflation.
• Households will cut back on volumes and spending, being very selective where they spend their money. Have the most compelling products that people want to buy.
• Disguise price increases with different formulations, package deals or added-value elements. Instead of simply bumping up prices to cover inflation, embellish the products with package deals or low-cost add-ons, say $1.50 and then raise the price by $5. “Buy one and get a free greeting card.”
• Partner with vendors on ways to decrease costs. Don’t “squeeze” the vendor, but instead find ways that won’t impact either side’s bottom line. For example, one vendor worked with their overnight shipping company to save money on shipping. That savings – at least part of it – was used to offset price increases.
• Be transparent about price increases and communicate this to consumers. customers half-expect retailers to boost their pricing whenever there is inflationary pressure. Keep customers informed about changes in pricing and give reasons for these actions.
• Shift price points with small increments over time.
• Offer programs with reward coupons on a monthly basis, to generate consistent traffic. Promotions will be the key when trying to create loyalty.

The best retailers are using a balanced approach which offers better prices on the items their customers care about the most while surgically finding margin elsewhere – a win-win for consumers and retailers alike.

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New gift shop construction at Trinity Health

Trinity Health’s medical campus in southwest Minot, North Dakota is at about 75% completion and is on track to open in the spring of 2023, according to hospital officials. The new hospital will be roughly three times the size of the current downtown hospital. The gift shop is managed by Sheril Maragos, Director of Volunteer Services & Gift Shop.

Coming into the hospital atrium, a visitor will encounter the chapel, gift shop, coffee shop and cafeteria. We’re excited to see the shop in its completion and learn all about it from Sheril!

The shop is also hiring a Gift Shop Volunteer Assistant!

SOURCE: MinotDaily News

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

National Healthcare Volunteer Week: Apr 17-23, 2022

National Volunteer Week was established in 1974 to recognize and celebrate the efforts of volunteers across the country. AHVRP (acquired by The Beryl Institute in July 2020) expands upon National Volunteer Week with National Health Care Volunteer Week. It was designed to recognize the support that volunteers and auxilians provide to hospital staff, their patients, their family members and the community. 

Below is a list of ideas, both big and small, to celebrate and show appreciation to your volunteers (SOURCE: Celebrate Volunteer Week: Beryl Institute).

Ideas to Celebrate Volunteers

• Luncheon or breakfast
• Create and recognize volunteers for awards or hours of service
• Zoom social
• Social media posts and shout outs to recognize volunteers on a broad platform
• Newsletter at the end of the volunteer week summarizing the awards, pictures and highlights from the volunteers
• Emails to keep volunteers up to date on what is happening at the hospital, including challenges to be active and engage
• Create a collage of HOPE: a big picture of the word of HOPE filled in with pictures of people 
• Virtual opportunities
• Mail gift cards to encourage attendance or participation in volunteer week activities
• E-card
• Outdoor picnics
• Pen pal program where patients write about themselves and a volunteer writes back to them
• Department managers or executive leaders send notes to volunteers
• Offer opportunity for the community to adopt a unit and show their support for staff by bringing in snacks, lunch, thank you cards, etc.
• Appreciation cards: Teens write cards of encouragement for the hospital staff and place the cards on windshields of employee cars in the garage
• Volunteer week: Trivia Tuesday with questions about the hospital; Wellness Wednesday focusing on how to stay safe during the pandemic; Thankful Thursday celebrates them on social media; Flashback Friday shares memories and stories from over the years.
• Offer services to help volunteers: errands, childcare, tutoring
• Hospital board directors call volunteers to personally thank them for their service.

Gift Ideas

• Plant (succulent) with a note that says “Thanks for tending to our patients.”
• T-shirts (welcome back gift when volunteers return)
• Socks with a saying on the bottom (ex: If you can read this, I am off duty.)
• Donate to a foundation in honor of the volunteers
• Battery operated lanterns

• Mask lanyards / Masks
• Insulated grocery tote
• Flashlight
• Branded magnets
• Girl scout cookies
• Fleece vests

• Fitness trackers
• Journals
• Blankets
• Umbrellas
• Scratch offs with prizes

Volunteer Week Themes

Create and use a motto, image, theme throughout the week to make your volunteer week memorable. Some ideas include:

• Volunteering a Work of Heart
• We Can’t Mask Our Gratitude
• Making a World of Difference

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Trends and predictions for 2022

Each year Gifts & Decorative Accessories conducts an online consumer survey about gift products and home decorating. The results are published in their 2022 Gift Book. Are you finding their predictions to be true for your 2022 sales so far?

In Demand

Candles, casual home decor, decorative outdoor accessories, comfortable and fashionable legwear, edible bee products, puzzles, cute loungewear, new home fragrances.

Trends

Customers seek self-expression items: stickers, messaged mugs, etc
Beer and wine tumblers as the rise in outdoor get-togethers continues
Wellness gifts to help shed pandemic pounds
Gnomes! Yes, gnomes are still trending…..for now.

HOME

• #1 Decorative accents. #2 Soft home accessories (pillows, throws, rugs).
• Decorative accents are quick & easy way to change up a room without shopping for all new furniture.
• 80% described their home décor style as “casual comfort”. 
• Trending colors? All of them! 🌈 The elevated mood we all crave is coming out in full color. Note the change from muted and neutral tones of past years. 

FASHION

• Earrings are top accessory consumers plan to buy (64%).
• Lightweight, natural, boho, rattan, raffia, shell, cork, wood, shells, pearls
• Over 20% of all consumers expect to spend $100-$149 on a handbag. 
• For return to office – large handbags to carry laptops, water bottles, lunch, wallet, keys, etc.

CANDLES

• 73% of consumers say they are likely to purchase a candle in 2022.
• Top scent profile: floral/botanical.
• Nontraditional, experimental, freefrom shapes.
• Candles with lids that self extinguish.

GOURMET

• Top gourmet gift: chocolate and candy
• Top chocolate flavors: tropical bites, fruity centers, sweet-n-spicy
• Kitchenware gifts: #1 Coffee/tea accessories. #2 Baking accessories
• Bee pollen: the new trending health food!
• Shelf-stable goods: james, crackers, honey, sauces

KIDS

• Toy category: #1 Games and puzzles. #2 Books
• Licensed characters are less important when choosing kids items
• DIY kits, puzzles, STEM/STEAM, building toys

SOURCE: Gifts & Dec 2022 Gift Book and Exploring Key Trends for 2022 webinar

RESPONSES: What are some fresh new jewelry lines?

We are looking to freshen up our jewelry. We currently use Periwinkle but looking for something new along the same price point. Any suggestions? – Tracy Torres, St. Augustine. 1/20/22

Accessorize Me always performs well. Megan Brown designs is trending up for Spring. – Kevin Shaw, Methodist Hospital Gift Shop, St. Louis Park, MN. 3/17/21

Main Street Earrings are a big hit for us. Great quality, great price. We sell them for $8.99! – Lanie Ray, Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster, OH. 2/28/22

Canvas has some great pieces at great price points. – Holly Weiss. 2/17/22

We do well with Periwinkle and Coronet – Helen Travis. 2/16/22

Rain Jewelry is performing very good for us as well! – Sabra Shields. 2/16/22

I love Rain jewelry. It flies off the shelf. – Stephanie Barnes. 2/16/22

We also do really well with Coronet and Accessorize Me jewelry. – Tamara Szarszewski, Gift Shop Manager, Logansport Memorial Hospital Gift Shop, 83 beds. 1/17/22

Do you know of a fresh, new, hot jewelry lines for 2022?! You can still respond to the question here.

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

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Q. Does your shop offer loyalty program keytags?

Does your shop offer scannable keytags with a customer loyalty program to hospital employees? Customers earn a point for every dollar spent in the gift shop and receive coupons that spend like cash once a certain point tier is reached. Loyalty program members can also receive other special offers. These programs are managed online and integrate with your POS. Some POS systems have built-in loyalty programs, such as Square, Vend, Lightspeed.

With your shop’s loyalty key tag on your customer’s key chain, they’ll have a daily visual reminder of your store!

Studies show that your previous customers are nine times more likely to buy from you compared to a new customer. What’s more, your existing customers spend 31% more on average than new ones. A customer rewards system is a must-have to guarantee customer loyalty and increase revenue through repeat purchases.

A well-thought-out loyalty program can:

• Attract new customers;
• Retain existing customers;
• Reactivate dormant customers; and
• Nudge them to spend more.

Payroll Deduction is also an important convenience for hospital employees and increases total gift shop revenue. Employee payroll deduction works through your POS or utilizes a program the hospital may already be using elsewhere on campus.

Does your shop offer a loyalty key tag program to hospital employees? CLICK TO COMMENT

What company do you use for your customer loyalty program? What do you like, or dislike, about the service? Is it expensive? Is it working?!

Be a loyal reader and leave your input. Do your part and leave a comment here or enter it at the bottom of the newsletter.

Thank you!

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

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Single-channel, omnichannel and multichannel retailing

Get “in the know” on todays’ industry lingo.

Single-channel is the traditional retail model. It uses one single channel to sell goods and a single distribution system. The single channel is typically a brick-and-mortar store.

Multichannel retail is the practice of selling or listing products on more than one channel. For example, your online store (ecommerce), a Facebook Shop, your brick-n-mortor store, phone orders, and platforms like Amazon. The channels can be digital, physical or a combination of both. Simply implementing an online store makes your shop a multichannel operation.

Omnichannel retail is a step up from multichannel commerce. It synchronizes sales and operating data – such as inventory, customer data, product data, or pick-up orders – across all your selling channels. This is a fully-integrated approach to commerce, providing shoppers a unified experience across all channels or touchpoints. For consumers, it means a “seamless” experience moving between online and offline channels; for retailers, it means a single platform that offers coordinated digital and physical options that allow channels to complement one another rather than compete.

Most hospital gift shops are single-channel operations, though with the advent of user-friendly ecommerce platforms and the recent pandemic, we’re more and more hospital gift shops becoming multichannel operations. These shops see the benefits of making multiple buying channels available to their customers. They are no longer limited to in-store foot traffic for sales.

If you don’t have an online store, check out the four-part series on Creating an Online Store!

Generating non-seasonal sales

by Cindy Jones, Editor

Non-seasonal sales can be tricky because you don’t want to train customers to wait for monthly sales. Identify your slow sellers on a quarterly basis and move them out as necessary. Or, create a permanent clearance corner and add products as you see fit to move them out.

Keep your inventory lean, your cash flow positive, merchandise fresh, and your displays and merchandising new and inviting.

Buy right, buy often, and keep your inventory fresh and new. When something doesn’t move, move it out!

Don’t get emotionally attached to products that just don’t sell. Another 60-90 days usually makes no difference.

The last thing you want is to have your shop become one of those where discounted goods and clearance events are the status quo. A great way to avoid this is by strategically planning clearance events. These are not the twice-a-year markdown sales when you place all the season’s leftover items on a table with a “Reduced” sign. Instead, you need a specially orchestrated promotion that can have a significant impact on sales. By planning several of these events each year, you’re giving customers a reason to return to the shop on a regular basis.

Focus on your strategy before rushing into a price-cutting extravaganza, which could hurt your bottom line in the long run. Also, carefully consider how low you can reasonably go on your pricing. You want to go low enough to draw customers, but still make money for your business.

Markdowns must be significant and well signed. Depending upon the number of sales, the initial price reductions will vary. 25% off if the product is still selling but slowly. If the product is not selling take 40% off at the first markdown. Lastly, take a second markdown to 50% off or more. Create a sense of urgency—”Buy now!” signage helps.

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Q. What vendors sell products made in America?

We’re looking to carry mostly made in America items. What vendors are you guys using for American made products? 🇺🇸 – Carol Myers, Ascension Providence Hospital, Rochester, MI. 250 beds. 2/18/22

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

CHRISTMAS MERCH VENDORS

Q. Have you been able to source Christmas merchandise? Anyone know of a vendor for “out of the box” Christmas merchandise?

My buyer just returned from the AmericasMart in Atlanta and was surprised by how limited the Christmas merchandise was, particularly ornaments. I understand that ongoing supply chain issues will be felt for a while, in addition to 25-50% increase in wholesale prices across the board. So, that said, does anyone have suggestions for “out of the box” sourcing for Christmas merchandise? Perhaps a vendor that doesn’t go to the buyers’ markets? – Jill A Dugaw (She/Her), Spartanburg Regional, Spartanburg, OH. 1/19/22

Opportunities has great Christmas merch at good prices. There is a $400 fee each year to join this group but the prices for the exact same items that many other vendors carry are much lower. They carry everyday and seasonal merchandise. clothing, candles, etc. – Diane Honsberger, Mercy Health St. Anne Hospital. 2/18/22

Do you know of a vendor for out-of-the-box Christmas merchandise? CLICK TO COMMENT

Have you been able to source Christmas merchandise? Who’s your vendor?

Leave a comment here or enter it at the bottom of the newsletter.

Thank you!

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

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DECLINE IN VOLUNTEERS

Q. Have others encountered losses in the number of volunteers through the pandemic? We started out with over 30 non-gift shop volunteers and are now down to 7. In our gift shop, we had 17, now 3, one of which started mid-COVID (God bless her!). We are currently thinking of hiring a part-time employee to man the front desk from 1-5pm. What have you done to remedy staffing and volunteer issues during the pandemic? Did anyone hire paid personnel? Thanks. – Sarah Folio, Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland, MD. 55 beds. 12/22/21

We reduced our hours in the gift shop and have been able to get enough volunteers, but the traffic is not there. Hospital has been remodeling and we have been closed quite a bit. We no longer have foot traffic from front entrance of hospital. Thankfully the employees still shop with us. Our problem lately has been elderly volunteers who refuse to read manual, consequently the computer is often not turned on correctly, they don’t use the scanner to ring up items, they basically sit on their chairs and hope no one comes in. We are all volunteers so we don’t have paid staff. I end up having to drive to hospital quite often to straighten out a situation. I held trainings on 2 different Saturdays and only 2 people came. I don’t want to offend the volunteers but they don’t seem to get it. Hopefully things will pick up and we can do more business. – Martha Burke. 2/17/22

We started with 10 volunteers and now have 4 sometimes 5. We were open 5 days per week with 2 shifts, now open 3 days per week 10-2. – Helen Travis. 2/16/22

We too have fewer volunteers since the pandemic. We are open a shorter timeframe each day. M-F & Sun 10-3. In order to keep all our gift shop volunteers informed, we have a spiral notebook we write updates in. Our volunteers also write notes to us to let us know if they have any needs or something special needs to be ordered or if they have suggestions. Works well for us! – Brenda Welcher,  AdventHealth Zephyrhills, Zephyrhills, FL. 59 beds. 2/16/22

Our store is open five days a week, 12-4pm. We had a good December! Visitors are so few now with no outsiders. I had 13 people working for us but now only 5-6.
Hope you all are healthy, Harold. – Harold Shiffman, St. Catherian Hospital, Smithtown, NY. 550 beds. 1/31/22

Our Gift Shop has remained closed since November 2020. Overall, we have lost some folks but we have also gained some. Currently they are not cleared to serve in the hospital due to COVID restrictions. However, some have been assisting at the Vaccine Clinic along with over 30 additional new volunteers who are at the Clinic. I believe a good portion of those 30 will continue to serve at the hospital once given the word to do so. – Peter Waugh, Memorial Hospital, North Conway, NH. 25 beds. 1/18/22

Internally, I am devastated! Externally, I move on and work with what I have. We are open two shifts during the week. Happy and grateful to have volunteers that will staff the shop. I went from 200 volunteers to about 45 in the overall program. I have about 13 in the gift shop. – Connie Slingluff, Blount Memorial, Maryville, TN. 201 beds. 1/17/22

We have been blessed with willing volunteers who have made it possible to remain open. Although the hospital shut us down for a few months in 2020, we have been able to come back and remain busy. Our Holiday Extravaganza of 3 days did not happen but we held special 12 Days of Christmas sales to encourage employees to shop with us. It was gratifying to see the staff regularly and hear them thank us for being there for them. We enter 2022 with a healthy bottom line and interested buyers, we’re keeping it simple and hoping that our current path is the right one to be on. – Marilynne Field, MercyOne, Dubuque, IA. 263 beds. 1/17/22

We went from two volunteers to one volunteer per shift and are doing ok. But this takes away the buffer if someone can’t come in for their shift. We have had to be closed at random times due to no substitutes. Looking to hire a PT person to cover those shift and help manage stock. – Christie Delbridg, Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, Bolivia, NC. 74 beds. 1/17/22

Most of mine did come back. I had about 30 with teens. I have 14 adults and 2 teens. Our hours are limited Mon-Fri 9-5. We were on a role and then Omicon hit and no more visitors. I spilt the volunteers shifts to two hours instead of their four hours. – Margaret Legut, Elmhurst Hospital, Elmhurst, IL. 258 beds. 1/17/22

We lost about 20 volunteers. We have reduced our hours and days of operation. – Ginger Taylor, CoxHealth, Springfield, MO. 1014 beds. 1/17/22

We’ve lost many of our volunteers. Our shop is closed on weekends. We are open some days from 9-5, but on days we can’t get enough volunteers we’re open 10-4. This eliminates 1 volunteer per day. We are lucky to have some volunteers picking up more shifts to fill the gaps. We ask people to call before they come to see if we’re open and we post our hours on FB. – Debbie B, Bell Hospital, Ishpeming, MI. 1/17/22

We have had approximately 1/3 of volunteers return, 1/3 not return, and 1/3 defer return. Our volunteers are dedicated and a special part of our success! Also, being part of a university, we have also added student volunteers to our Shops as of December. The students had been volunteering in patient areas before the pandemic, but with that not yet possible, they are helping the Shops! The students are professional, eager, and energetic! We’ve gone from 45-50% of shifts with at least one volunteer, to over 80% of shifts with at least one volunteer! – Mary, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI. 1000 beds. 1/16/22

How are you dealing with the decrease in volunteers through the pandemic?CLICK HERE TO COMMENT

How many volunteers did your shop lose during the pandemic? How are you overcoming this?

Thank you!

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

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SNACK VENDOR

Can you recommend a wholesale distributor for snacks (popcorn, chips, pretzels, etc.)? Thank you! – Sarah Folio, Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland, MD. 55 beds. 12/5/21

I use HT Hackney and Sam’s Club, I have to go and pick up from both. Chips, I use Route 11 Chips, 540-477-9664 in Mt Jackson, VA. Popcorn, I use Jody’s Popcorn 757-422-8646 in Norfolk, VA. Pretzels, Famous Amos cookies, Gordetto’s and Chex Mix have come up hard to find in my area. I have a Sam’s Plus card and some of the items I have to order online. – Greg Holtgrewe. 1/19/22

Wicked Minis crackers are a popular snack and they come in several flavors. Our top seller is the Dill flavor. – Betty Beck. 1/17/22

We have a local supplier – ACC Wholesaler plus we also use Kelli’s Gifts, Tropical Foods (Bulk), Sam’s Club and Costco – Traci Gerdes. 1/16/22

We use several as it is difficult to only have one vendor. Kelli’s Gift Shop Suppliers – Texas, Sam’s Club – local, and Truly Good Foods (Tropical Foods) online. – Marla Baker, Atrium Health Floyd, Rome, GA. 304 beds. 1/16/22

We use our Nutrition Services food vendors, which have had good prices. Is that an option for you? – Justin Alcanter, Salem Health, Salem, OR. 484 beds. 12/6/21

We purchase our snacks/candy/chocolate from either BJ’s or Sam’s. – Peter Waugh. 2/16/22

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2021 BEST SELLERS

Wow! We asked, you answered! Thanks to everyone who shared their best sellers from 2021. Here are all the responses. A great variety of products. Some surprising ones too!

Apparel, especially plaid jackets and gnomes were very popular. – Ann Bergmann, Cumberland Healthcare, Cumberland, WI. 25 beds. 1/21/22

Covenant Rings. We have a display of 60 rings and every 6-9 months, new rings are added and slow sellers are removed. I’ve had lots of luck and consistently sold them for over 7 years.  – Jennifer Stuber. 1/21/22

Yes, Covenant Rings have been good, consistent sellers for many years! – Cindy

Clothing is my best category and loungewear from DM was my best seller during the holiday season and beyond. They have great price points and a huge margin builder. I received the floor display and I had to rearrange the entire shop to fit it in my space, but worth it. Strongly recommend the fixture as it keeps the product well organized and easy to shop. – Carol Colpitts. 2/20/22

One product line that we dropped was a CBD line. Just did not sell. Melissa & Doug eductional/toy items have done very well for us as well as hospital logo wear. Snack and personal care baskets that we create have worked out well for call-in orders. – Greg Holtgrewe. 2/19/22 

Q. What all do you put in your personal care baskets? I am new to this position so extra help is awesome!! Thanks in advance – Jaci, Hays Medical Center Gift Shop, Hays, KS. 1/20/22

Usually hand and body lotions, lip balms, decorative nail files, shower gels, fancy soaps, body sprays and bath bombs. Some of the vendors are Naked Bee, Inis, Duke Cannon, Ganz, San Francisco Soap and Bomb Cosmetics. We get our celophane bags, ribbon and packaging supplies from Nashville Wraps. Most of the time we do not use a basket but a clear desert plate for a base so that all of the items are easily seen. Sometimes you have to get creative during construction to get everything to stand up maybe using a ribbon to group things. We suggestive sell snack bags that we put together and balloons to go along. – Greg Holtgrew

The Ganz Crystal Expressions colored birds of any kind are a huge seller for us. I always think the popularity will fizzle out but it hasn’t and we have customers buy multiple at a time. Light up snow globes/lanterns this past Christmas were the best thing I have brought into the Gift Shop. I sold 11 in one day (we are only open to staff & patients 6 hours a day Mon-Fri) and my total stock of 63 were sold within 3 weeks. – Sarah Ryan. 1/18/21

Sarah, where do you source the light up lanterns from? – Cindy

I order the snow globes/lanterns from a couple of companies, but the best place I found was Razimports.com. They have a wide selection of both globes and lanterns and a great price range of everything. They have small options with a lower price point all the way to large options and high price points. A lot play music, which is always a big hit. The variety of options was the best in my option as well. Search their website for Water Globe or Water Lantern and it will bring up all the options in both categories. Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with! I love getting your newsletter, it is always full of great information! — Sarah Ryan. 1/18/21

We too sold out of the light up water lanterns in less than a week. Retail prices were from $50 up. We will certainly buy again from either Roman or Raz. – Kathy Kramer, Carousel Gift Shop Driscoll Children’s Hospital, Corpus Christi. 1/21/22

Brief Insanity brand lounge pants – it was insane how well they sell! – Jill Dugaw. 1/18/22

Who was your vendor? Thanks in advance!! – Jaci, Hays Medical Center Gift Shop, Hays, KS. 1/20/22

SE Marketplace – Jill Dugaw. 1/26/22

Worlds Softest Sock Company (Crescent Socks) were huge for us fourth quarter. You have to order now for inventory for fourth quarter this year. If you don’t, you will miss out as they sell out every year. – Sabra Shields. 1/18/22

Anything with a cardinal on it. – Margaret Legut 1/17/22

Warmies! The slippers, neck wraps, and all of their animals. We also sell them over the phone like crazy. Customers love the thought of something warm and comforting going to their loved one. – Linda Armstrong. 1/17/22

See’s Candy! We brought them in late, but they moved really quickly. It was great to have options for holiday candy for our staff. – Justin. 1/17/21

Wicked Minis crackers are a popular snack and they come in several flavors. Our top seller is the Dill flavor. Itzy Ritzy is a great baby line! They have a wonderful selection of trendy designs and moms love the variety of teethers, toys, pactifiers and lovies! Last June we picked up a new line of sun glasses and readers from DM Merchandising. The brand name is Optimum Optical. They have awesome displays where the extra boxes of sunglasses are stored next to the sunglasses which keep our volunteers from going to the back so much. The displays have a modern, sleek design. Our employees love the designs! We have restocked twice so far! You can’t go wrong with Funky Freshies car scents made by Funky Fleur De Lis. We have used them for about 2 years and always sell out. Cute designs and great scents! – Betty Beck. 1/17/22

Our winners for 2021 was an increase in clothing sales. Staff who were not willing to hit the malls during COVID were shopping in our Gift Shop! – Lynn, Misericordia Health Centre Gift Shop, Winnipeg. Manitoba, Canada. 1/17/22

Santoki Lego Keychain Lights.  Roman light up holiday lanterns.  Cardigans from Davi & Dani and Rose N Mary. – Stephanie, San Juan Regional Medical Center, Farmington, NM. 1/17/22.

We’ve done great with Paint by Sticker books for adults and Kids from Workman Publishing. They were a great find for us during the pandemic! – Keri Schwartz. 1/17/22 

Loungewear particularly sleep/blanket hoodies did great! Careful for 2022, the cost on the blanket hoodies have increased tremendously with certain vendors!! Giftcraft, Simply Southern, LazyOnes. – Connie Slingluff. 1/17/22

Umgee USA clothing and Myra handbags – Ginger Taylor. 1/17/22 

Our Jen & Co purses were great sellers this past year. We also do really well with Coronet and Accessorize Me jewelry. Our Evergreen’s Sassafras Mats and garden flags are also top sellers. Crazy as it sounds, our Ganz mini glass animals are an item we can hardly keep in stock. They sell so well for us at $1.95. For books, we are very pleased with Choice Book Distributors. Other surprising best sellers are the satin pillowcases and microfiber hair towels from Morning Glamour. We sold out of these over the holidays and just got more back in, due to the continuing requests. – Tamara Szarszewski, Gift Shop Manager, Logansport Memorial Hospital Gift Shop, 83 beds. 1/17/22

TY Squish-A-Boos are great sellers for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Gift Shops. -Traci G. 1/16/22

BOOK DISTRIBUTOR

Q. Can anyone recommend a book distributor that sells current best sellers? We have suppliers for other types of books like Harvest House and Harper Collins, but not for popular fiction. – Sabra Shields, Sanford USD Medical Center, Sioux Falls, SD. 450 beds. 12/8/21

We have a Choice Books rack that has mostly inspirational and religious titles that they update on a regular basis and sell very well for us 1-877-598-7759. I also get some books from our local Sam’s Club; children’s, adult and puzzle. – Greg Holtgrewe. 1/19/22

I used to buy my paperbacks from Costco. – Margaret Legut. 1/17/22

Choicebooks – Marla Baker, Atrium Health Floyd, Rome, GA. 304 beds

We order from Ingram on their Ipage website and directly from publishers when able. – Karla Glanzman, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA. 360 beds.

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

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American artisans making heirloom quality jewelry with 💜 ,
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annekoplikwholesale.com
info@annekoplik.com
800-542-3134

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Cannot be combined with any other offer.

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BOOGIE TOES – AWARD WINNING BABY RATTLE SOCKS

The cutest baby socks on the planet are perfect for 3 early stages of baby’s development.

– Adorable rattle socks with plush toys.
– Rattling sound stimulates hand-eye-ear coordination.
– Busy moms can keep a tab on adventuring crawlers.
– Eco-friendly anti-slip sole for early walkers and runners.
– More than 80 styles to choose from!

844-548-3684
office@pieroliventi.com

SPECIAL DISCOUNTS for Cindy’s Newsletter readers:
www.pieroliventi.com/cindy-gift-shops (Pswrd: cindy2021)

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fully posable, officially licensed LEGO minifigure flashlight keychains are for LEGO fans of all ages.

Push a button on the character’s belly to activate bright LED lights in the feet. Batteries are included.

Available in eye-catching 16-count counter displays

World’s most beloved brands, LEGO!

By Santoki, the exclusive US distributor of LEGO
Contact Nikki at nikki@santoki.com to order

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Bring joy to your hospital…

Carefully crafted activity kits to bring joy and fun to children. Gifts for hospitalized kids like activity boxes, kits with items to decorate a hospital room, conversation starters and much more.

Feel Better Room Decor Kit | Feel Better Putty | The Feel Better Kit! | The Feel Better Bag! | The Feel Better Box! | Bordom Busters | Magic Activity Kit | STEAM Activity Kit | Origami Activity Kit

Featured on Good Morning America. Sold in Target, Nordstrom, Walmart, Amazon.

for Hospital Gift Shops | OpenTheJoy.com | Wholesale Catalog

Cindy’s Newsletter for Gift Shop Managers delivers practical, ready-to-implement content to gift shop managers, retailers, and volunteers across the country. We help our readership of over 3,000 retailers optimize shop operations, grow revenue, and connect with one another. The newsletter is published monthly and free since 2001.

Have you paid your dues this quarter?

The value and richness of this newsletter comes from your participation. Do your part by submitting two comments per quarter, at minimum. Reply to reader’s questions listed throughout the newsletter (in green) or simply share what is working or isn’t working in your shop, a great selling product, a helpful website or resource, an operating question, your biggest challenge right now, a terrific vendor you’ve come across recently, tips on managing volunteers, or tips on managing yourself!

LEAVE A COMMENT! Click the green comment tags throughout the newsletter, enter it in the comment section, or send to cindy@cindyjonesassociates.com.

JANUARY 15, 2022

Vail Health Hospital Gift Shop, Vail, CO

Try setting New Year Goals, instead of resolutions

by Cindy Jones, Editor

I’ve been thinking that making New Year’s resolutions is a paradox. If we had the discipline to keep resolutions, we probably wouldn’t need to make them in the first place!
 
But goals are different. They are not a heavy chain around the neck but, instead, a bright challenge. Resolutions are forever – you’re not supposed to gain weight, smoke or live off your credit card ever again. But goals – aha! They last only as long as it takes to meet them and then set the next one – like organize your files, run a seven-minute mile, write a book, master a celestial chocolate cake, prepare a shop budget for 2022 and so on.
 
Have you set your New Years Goals for 2022?!

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

What is your shop’s niche category?

by Cindy Jones, Editor

I recently visited a hospital gift shop that had a considerably big jewelry department. A large percentage of their shop’s sales came from jewelry. They offered an exciting and tempting assortment of jewelry and the shop became the place for hospital employees to buy their jewelry. I watched in amazement as employees flocked into the shop to purchase their favorite earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.

A smart buyer determines the size of a category by its sales. If sales increase, then the buying and inventory should increase to meet the growing sales. Using an open-to-buy plan (OTB) is the sure way to know how much to buy. Open to Buy (OTB) is the difference between how much inventory is needed and how much is available. That includes inventory on hand, in transit, and any outstanding orders.

Many hospital gift shops have a “niche specialized category” that is hugely successful. Niche categories are usually the result of a very dedicated, attentive and talented buyer. The buyer researches then searches for the very best selling merchandise at the very best prices. They have one finger on the pulse of the shop’s unique customer (hospital employees) and another finger on what’s hot in the general retailing world.

If you’re using a POS system, sales per category numbers are automatically calculated usually. The information will help you determine available spending dollars and space allocations for each category.

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ARBA POS releases fully integrated online store

ARBA Technology is rolling out online retail gift shop solutions that could work as apps on mobility devices as well as portals accessible from desktop devices. ARBA is responding to the hospital gift shop market and current Covid-19 pandemic which is impacting their revenues and demand. Healthcare providers that have a gift store on their medical campus more frequently leverage retired employees/volunteers to operate their gift shops.

ARBA Online Store accesses and updates customer inventory items the same way as the customer’s onsite POS kiosks. Periodic and daily revenue reports can also be run on online and onsite sales, along with inventory reports. Both the onsite and online applications access the same inventory databases, preventing rework in a dual inventory scenario which most other vendors offer.

ARBA’s Online Store is integrated with cashless payments to reduce the number of errors and eliminate cash handling altogether. Real-time inventory sync-up between the online store and the database will give back valuable time. ARBA Online Store can be added to your company’s existing website and use the same look and feel of your color schemes, fonts, and layouts.

• Real-time sync online inventory to POS System
• Payroll deductions
• Designate areas for pick up
• Declining balance accounts
• Department charges 
• Company charges

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Canada hospital opens pop-up gift shop in local mall

The gift shop at Great War Memorial Hospital in Ontario, Canada has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic. The closure has been a financial punch for the 123 volunteers who tried to find a way to raise funds for the hospital. They figure they have lost some $150,000 since the start of the pandemic, and more than 20,000 volunteer hours per year.

So, they decided to open a pop-up shop in the local shopping mall. Marilyn Litle, volunteer, said she hopes to extend their lease agreement past the end of January 2022.

The hospital intends to reopen the gift shop. “Unfortunately, it is difficult to establish a timeline for this return — especially when the increased prevalence of the COVID Omicron variant.

FULL ARTICLE/SOURCE: InsideOttowaValley

BEST SELLERS OF 2021

Q. What were your best sellers in 2021? Share your WINNERS AND LOSERS

It only takes a minute to share a few of your BEST sellers. Help your fellow shop managers succeed. Many are still struggling through the pandemic. Some are young or new to retail and just learning the job. You’ll benefit learning from others, as well. Feel free to share your WORST sellers too! : )

What were your best sellers in 2021?CLICK HERE TO COMMENT

Don’t just take, give back!

Do your part and leave a comment here or enter it at the bottom of the newsletter.

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

How to escape your comfort zone

by Dave Wendland / Dec 30 2021

One of my favorite quotes is usually credited to Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.” The same can be said for a business.
A primary way to accelerate decision-making, rethink strategies and drive transformation is to move out of your comfort zones.

The comfort zone is the known, the familiar. It’s our default and what we can do automatically, without too much thought or difficulty. It feels comfortable, sheltered, reliable and pleasant, while keeping us out of danger. It’s also where we seldom need to try especially hard or expend much energy. Extending beyond one’s comfort zone is not for the faint of heart. It takes intentional effort. Here are four ways to think differently.

1. Take a new route. I like to think of it similarly to Robert Frost’s famous words: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” The discovery along this new pathway can open your imagination, provide new points of reference and free your mind up to invite new knowledge in.
2. Read voraciously. It doesn’t have to be a book about your industry or leadership or any other business topic. Simply expanding your thinking with fresh words and different circumstances allows you to stretch beyond your comfort zone.
3. Meditate. I have found that sitting quietly and granting myself permission to just be still is not only refreshing but also enlightening. Breaking away, in any way you can, opens your ability to invite invigorating thoughts in.
4. Build your network. Learning from others and broadening your network can certainly pave the way to creativity.

My last piece of advice is to solicit ideas from your staff. They likely have more firsthand knowledge about what changes will actually improve their jobs or enhance your deliverables. Don’t dismiss ideas that don’t come from the top. Gathering ideas from all levels of your organization can further push it outside of its comfort zone and inspire you to accelerate growth.

FROM CINDY

Change is hard, and inertia can become a real barrier to change and discovery. The last piece of advice noted about engaging all staff for ideas is really powerful. Leadership does not mean that your ideas are the best. It takes humility and an open mind to be willing to engage all levels of staff for input and ideas.

Embracing change is difficult for most people, whether in their personal or professional lives. Speaking about retail in particular, it’s too easy to function along the lines of “we’ve always done it this way” or “we’re up against these sales from last year.” That sort of mindset leads retailers down the road of complacency, stagnation or worse.

Is there a tool that imposes the sort of self-discipline necessary for retailers to avoid these traps? The “product life cycle” concept provides an objective way to track businesses as they trend downward from their peak. It takes some of the emotion out of the change management process.

Consider:

• Be gentle with yourself, especially when the learning curve is steep.
• Get a “coach.” Seek out and embrace some kind of external accountability that will always be able to challenge your internal rationalizations and procrastination. The best athletes in the world have a coach. They might have some insight worth paying attention to.
• You must create an environment that values and encourages creative ideation, and constantly ask “if we were starting X today, how would you build it now?”

SOURCE: RetailWire

Q. What snack vendor do you use?

Can you recommend a wholesale distributor for snacks (popcorn, chips, pretzels, etc.)? Thank you! – Sarah Folio, Garrett Regional Medical Center, Oakland, MD. 55 beds. 12/5/21

We use our Nutrition Services food vendors, which have had good prices. Is that an option for you? – Justin Alcanter, Salem Health, Salem, OR. 484 beds. 12/6/21

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

Check out this creative Valentine’s Day post from Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, NC.

Shrinkage | PART 1. Preventing inventory shortages

by Cindy Jones, Editor

Inventory shortages is caused by multiple reasons: shoplifting, price tag switching, employee theft, shipping errors, lack of shop security, incorrect price tags, breakage, sloppy record keeping, items paid for but not received, and when sales are not rung-up. They all increase the cost of goods sold and shrink net profit!

Prevent shoplifting by having well-trained and alert employees who know how to spot a potential shoplifter. Remember, theft occurs because the opportunity presents itself. Curtail the opportunities and you’ll reduce theft dramatically.

Shoplifting Deterrents

• Greet all customers as they enter the shop. Roam the shop.
• Ask lingering customers if they need help.
• Ask if you could assist by keeping the item(s) at the register until they have finished shopping.
• Be aware of ploys, diversions and teams of shoplifters.
• Know where shoplifting is most likely to occur in your shop.
• Display signs that “Shoplifters will be prosecuted.” Hospital gift shops must make the decision that shoplifters will be prosecuted. Then they must stick with that decision and train all volunteers and paid staff the procedure to follow when they spot a shoplifter.
• Reverse apparel hangers to prevent “grab and run”.
• Maintain an adequate number (two or more) of well-trained, alert cashiers to be on duty during each shift.
• Provide regular training sessions on how to deter shoplifting.
• Consider installing electronic detection equipment at the entrance if evidence of high theft occurs.
• Invest in rotating cameras and monitors.
• Install a panic button near the cash register that will alert security officers.
• The hospital security department and gift shop leadership or management team must have a detailed plan of action clarifying how to proceed in the apprehension of shoplifters.
• Imprint the shop’s name on the price stickers to ensure that returned merchandise came from your shop. The printed name also personalizes your shop to the customer. Use the break-away (perforated) price label. Break-away labels tear apart if price switching is attempted.

When shoplifting is suspected, it’s crucial for your volunteers and employees to know how to handle incidents. Never try to physically stop a shoplifter. Call security! Never directly accuse anyone of stealing. Call security, instead. Give the person a chance to pay for the item they “forgot” to pay for by asking, “Are you ready to pay for that?” or “Can I ring you up?” Cooperate fully with security and the prosecutor if/when the time comes.

NEXT ARTICLE: February 15, 2022

Shrinkage | PART 2: Preventing inventory shortages

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BOOK DISTRIBUTOR

Q. Can anyone recommend a book distributor that sells current best sellers? We have suppliers for other types of books like Harvest House and Harper Collins, but not for popular fiction. – Sabra Shields, Sanford USD Medical Center, Sioux Falls, SD. 450 beds. 12/8/21

Do you know a book distributor that sells the current best sellers?CLICK HERE TO COMMENT

Are book and magazine distributors are dwindling? Who do you use? Comment here or enter it at the bottom of the newsletter.

Thank you!

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

SCRUB VENDOR

Q. I am looking for information on scrub sales. Are there any good scrub vendors or fundraisers? I would rather go through a wholesale company. Thank you! – Cathy Taschler, Marshfield Medical Center, Marshfield, WI. 319 beds. 10/16/21

I sent out a survey to all hospital employees and Cherokee won by a landslide! Black was the top color as well! – Jenny Turner, UH Portage Medical Center, Ravenna, OH. 300 beds. 11/22/21

We use Scrubs on Wheels out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. They give back 15% for on-site fundraisers. They order items for employees who need something outside of what they brought with them that ship free to the gift shop. It’s easy for us, because all we do is process the payroll deduction! – Kerri Clark, Community Hospital, Munster, IN. 498 beds. 11/16/21

I have a vendor, Alexander’s Uniforms, I use where I don’t have any stock in store. The customers order online and the items ship here to the shop where the customer, if an employee in the hospital, uses payroll deduction to pay. We get 20% and all we do is ring it up!! – Christine Parker, Kent Hospital, Warwick. 11/4/21

We do very well with Cherokee (Carismatic), Dickies and Med Couture. These allow us to cover a good range of price points and styles. – Lisa Garland, Woman’s Hospital, Baton Rouge, LA. 168 beds. 10/18/21

Q. To everyone that responded, do you purchase directly from Cherokee, Dickies, etc. or do you have a middle man supplier? If middle man supplier, please provide name. – Marla Baker, Atrium Health Floyd, Rome, GA. 304 beds. 12/19/21

Do you have a good scrub vendor?  Comment here

PANDEMIC UPDATE

How are you and your shop doing with the pandemic? How are sales? How are you!?

We’re actually doing very well. Our hospital employees were ready to shop and they felt very comfortable coming into the gift shop. I try and carry every need they might have so they’re very satisfied! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! – Jenny Turner. 11/22/21

Sales are slow with employees. As patient families are allowed into the hospital our sales have increased significantly. – Lisa. 11/22/21

We are now on one year of having volunteers in the shop, but getting ready to have them out front. Time will tell if we are ahead of COVID or not. We fear we have lost 50% of them. The shop is doing ok but still 80% reliant on employees. We do lots of drawings for them. We use GemPay receipts; their name is already on there :) – Tricia Rochman, Pink Geranium Gift Shop, Carbondale Memorial Hospital, Carbondale, IL. 154 beds. 11/17/21

Our shop was closed for five months and reopened August 2020 with only myself and assistant working limited hours. We’re finally allowing volunteers to cashier but are still short of some coming back. Our sales are finally increasing and we are still doing our own floral as phone orders helped when visitors were not allowed. Looking for a much better Christmas and Valentines. – Karen Ferguson, Manager of St. David’s SAMC Auxiliary Gift Shop, Austin, TX. 334 beds. 11/16/21

We opened to allow our patients and staff the ability to shop M-F 10am to 2pm. Sales are definitely not where they were but it was expected. The difficulty we have now is that some of the vendors we had done business with cannot be reached. – Nancy Collins, New London Hospital, New London, NH. 24 beds. 11/16/21

We are slowly recovering…we are not opened on the weekends yet. Sales are bouncing back and outsiders are returning. Right now candles are really selling!! – Christine Parker, Kent Hospital, Warwick, RI. 359 beds. 11/4/21

We reopened in September 2020, to restricted hours 9 a.m.-1 p.m., our volunteers returned April 2021, so we are open most days from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Visitor restrictions went from no visitors, currently it is one visitor, have made a difference in customer count. Sales are down from 2019, by about $100 per day, viewing all the issues from merchandise complications, visitor restrictions, I think we are doing well. We have been to one Gift Show in Oct. 2021. – Mary Robinson, Gift Shop Coordinator, Mayo Clinic Health System, Mankato, MN. 10/29/21

Our Gift Shop has and continues to thrive since we reopened in July of 2020. Our employees find it a ‘place to take a break and breathe some fresh air of course with their masks on!’. We are very blessed and looking forward to a great Christmas season! – Alice Whisnant, Director, Volunteer Services, Caldwell UNC Health Care, Hickory, NC. 110 beds. 10/25/21

Our Shop has been closed since November, 2020. No sales at all since then. – Peter Waugh, Memorial Hospital, North Conway, NH. 25 beds. 10/18/21

Unfortunately, our gift shop was closed again in September due to increased COVID numbers in our area. We hope to reopen by November as we had just received our Christmas inventory. – Robin Truax, Gouverneur Hospital, Gouveneur, NY. 77 beds. 10/15/21

Struggling, we were a very new shop before Covid hit. I have kept it open myself and was able to allow volunteers to come back April 2021, however right now only two have come back so it is still mostly myself running the shop. That being said, we are not even back to full open hours yet, only open about 3-4 days per week. – Kasey B, Volunteer/Gift ShopCoordinator, Tomah Health, Tomah, WI. 29 beds. 10/2/21

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American artisans making heirloom quality jewelry with 💜 ,
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annekoplikwholesale.com
info@annekoplik.com
800-542-3134

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Open The Joy
Bring joy to your hospital…

Carefully crafted activity kits to bring joy and fun to children. Gifts for hospitalized kids like activity boxes, kits with items to decorate a hospital room, conversation starters and much more.

Feel Better Room Decor Kit | Feel Better Putty | The Feel Better Kit! | The Feel Better Bag! | The Feel Better Box! | Bordom Busters | Magic Activity Kit | STEAM Activity Kit | Origami Activity Kit

Featured on Good Morning America. Sold in Target, Nordstrom, Walmart, Amazon.

for Hospital Gift Shops | OpenTheJoy.com | Wholesale Catalog

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As an incentive, we are happy to donate the amount purchased to your pediatric oncology department.

Featured in Gift Shop and Wired Magazines

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shanna@bravehoods.org

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– Rattling sound stimulates hand-eye-ear coordination.
– Busy moms can keep a tab on adventuring crawlers.
– Eco-friendly anti-slip sole for early walkers and runners.
– More than 80 styles to choose from!

844-548-3684
office@pieroliventi.com

SPECIAL DISCOUNTS for Cindy’s Newsletter readers:
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World’s most beloved brands, LEGO!

By Santoki, the exclusive US distributor of LEGO
Contact Nikki at nikki@santoki.com to order

Cindy’s Newsletter for Gift Shop Managers delivers practical, ready-to-implement content to gift shop managers, retailers, and volunteers across the country. We help our readership of over 3,000 retailers optimize shop operations, grow revenue, and connect with one another. The newsletter is published monthly and free since 2001.

Have you paid your dues this quarter?

The value and richness of this newsletter comes from your participation. Do your part by submitting two comments per quarter, at minimum. Reply to reader’s questions listed throughout the newsletter (in green) or simply share what is working or isn’t working in your shop, a great selling product, a helpful website or resource, an operating question, your biggest challenge right now, a terrific vendor you’ve come across recently, tips on managing volunteers, or tips on managing yourself!

LEAVE A COMMENT! Click the green comment tags throughout the newsletter, enter it in the comment section, or send to cindy@cindyjonesassociates.com.

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

Be prepared for the holiday onslaught

With Thanksgiving and Christmas occurring in rapid succession, savvy hospital gift shop managers must take steps now to prepare for an onslaught of business. They must have the agility to shift directions quickly and seamlessly as one holiday morphs into the next. 

Flexibility is the key. Boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson could not have put it better: “Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth.” No matter how meticulous your plan, be ready to shift gears at a moment’s notice. How quickly can you respond to a rush on an unexpectedly hot item? 

Recognize your mistakes early and take quick and immediate action. Remember the first markdown is the best markdown. Keep marking it down until it is out of the shop!   

Spend as much time on the sales floor as humanly possible. Set an example in greeting people that come in the store. Set an example with your salesmanship and customer service. 

Do you know which item(s) are expected to fly off the shelves and be in high demand? Experience and past reports will help indicate which products are traditionally in high demand. But be warned that even the most tried-and-true products have a lifecycle and their popularity will eventually wane. 

What’s the next big thing? What is this year’s hot new item? 

What level of demand is projected? If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to get this information and stock up. 

Create back-up plans for everything. Cross-train of your volunteers and staff so that operations will continue to run seamlessly in the face of an unexpected absence. This includes you. Make sure that you can perform all the duties yourself and that someone is capable of handling your duties as well.

Reconfiguration your floor space to maximize room for popular items to be  in the best locations.

Avoid carrying over anything from one season to the next!  It will not be worth as much next year! 

Buy Easter plush now. Include an over-sizedEaster bunny for a drawing just before Easter. (Remember that you have to register raffles with the state and they can cause tax issues).

Ensure that all Valentine merchandise has been ordered.

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

---

SPONSOR

QUICKCHARGE POS

Quickcharge POS provides all of the point of sale features
you need in an easy-to-use solution with automated
payroll deduction capabilities, contactless payment,
and reliable customer support!

Transitioning from your current POS system
is fast, easy, and affordable.

800-348-5545
www.mmhayes.com/giftshopPOS

Record retail sales predicted for holidays

NRF Predicts Highest Holiday Retail Sales on Record
WASHINGTON, October 27, 2021 – Holiday spending has the potential to shatter previous records, as the National Retail Federation forecast that holiday sales during November and December will grow between 8.5% to 10.5% over 2020 to between $843.4 billion and $859 billion. The numbers, which exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants, compare with a previous high of 8.2% in 2020 to $777.3 billion and an average increase of 4.4% over the past five years.

SOURCE: National Retail Federation

Deloitte: Holiday Retail Sales Expected to Increase 7-9%
NEW YORK, Sept. 14, 2021 – Holiday retail sales are likely to increase between 7% and 9% in 2021, according to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail forecast. Overall, Deloitte’s retail and distribution practice projects that holiday sales will total $1.28 to $1.3 trillion during the November to January timeframe. Deloitte also forecasts that e-commerce sales will grow by 11-15%, year-over-year, during the 2021-2022 holiday season. This will likely result in e-commerce holiday sales reaching between $210 billion and $218 billion this season.

SOURCE: Deloitte

MHS Caring Hearts Gift Shop reaches sales goal

Abilene Reflector Chronicle / Nov 9, 2021

Caring Hearts Gift Shop, located in the lobby of Memorial Hospital [25 beds] in Abilene, MO, achieved its goal of reaching $4,500 in sales for the month of October. It surpassed the goal by reaching an amount of $5,535.06. This was the gift shop’s highest month of sales for 2021.

Leading the charge was McKenzie Funston, Volunteer Services Director and her volunteers. The gift shop offered weekly sales that helped bring business in. “The second Tuesday of every month, we have a sheet sale offering 20% off. For the month of October we sold over $1,000 dollars in sheets,” Funston said. There was also a Light-Up sale where they offered 20% off everything in the store that lit up.

Funston said the goal was born from a need to make room in her storage closet. “After starting as the Volunteer Services Director, I spent the first few months getting to know the customers and their wants and needs during the day. I had inventory that I wanted to move to make room for new items, and so I decided it would be exciting and challenging to set a sales goal for the month of October and watch the dollar amount rise. I was able to see what customers liked and what other items would be great to have in the shop.”

To help reach their $4,500 sales goal, Funston and her volunteers promised buyers that Christmas items would be put on the shelves starting November 1 if it were reached. To keep the enthusiasm going, Funston placed a Christmas tree on the gift shop door where all could see; as the sales grew, the tree was colored in. Customers found themselves participating in the fun to reach the goal and see the tree colored in.

“Around the first of November you start seeing Christmas décor out in stores, and people are in the mood to make a few purchases to start decorating their homes or use for gifts too!” After talking with other gift shop managers and listening to their advice, Funston knew that the incentive to put Christmas items out would help the gift shop meet their sales goal.

When asked how crazy the month of October was, Funston said, “Busy and exciting would be my choice to describe October in the gift shop. I had many new and returning customers in. It was nice to see so much activity in the shop as well as an opportunity to meet many people in our community. I was able to evaluate the items and make some decisions on additions to our inventory.”

Although the month was crazy busy for Funston and her volunteers, she commented, “Reaching a goal is always very satisfying, but overall I was proud of what we accomplished and I’m excited to try new things to continue the growth of our Caring Hearts Gift shop.”

SOURCE: Abilene Reflector Chronicle

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Truly creative holiday displays. Truly.

Unique, clever, and humorous displays are powerful ways to draw shoppers in. They evoke emotion and entertain, which is marketing gold. We love these ideas! Many of them are DIY and cost little to make. We’ve included links to how-to guides below, when available.

Don’t go boring, typical, been-there-done-that-decor and displays this season. Pandemic-weary shoppers are prone and ready to soak up the “shopping experience”. Capitalize on this moment and wow them!

Click to enlarge

SURVEY: Does your budget include travel expenses to a major gift show in January?

Does your budget include travel expenses to a major gift show in January? ✈️

(Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas, New York)

Anti-anxiety toys are high on Christmas lists this year

Anti-anxiety toys are high on Christmas lists this year. Toys that are focused on emotional and social development have been big sellers during the pandemic and the trend appears to be remaining strong heading into the holidays.

“Right now the focus is on products that can help kids express their feelings, name their feelings and react appropriately,” said Sari Winick, chief marketing officer for hand2mind. “We’ve gone into overdrive developing toys to meet the needs of the times.”  

Big Feelings Pineapple by Hand2mind 

TeeTurtle reversible plushies 

Pawz the Calming Pup

Breathe With Me Barbie by Mattel

Pop It!

SOURCE: The Washington Post 

Q: What are some good scrub vendors or fundraisers?

Q. I am looking for information on scrub sales. Are there any good scrub vendors or any good fundraisers? I would rather go through a wholesale company.
Thank you! – Cathy Taschler, Marshfield Medical Center, Marshfield, WI. 319 beds. 10/16/21

I have a vendor, Alexander’s Uniforms, I use where I don’t have any stock in store. The customers order online and the items ship here to the shop where the customer, if an employee in the hospital, uses payroll deduction to pay. We get 20% and all we do is ring it up!! – Christine Parker, Kent Hospital, Warwick. 11/4/21

We do very well with Cherokee (Carismatic), Dickies and Med Couture. These allow us to cover a good range of price points and styles. – Lisa Garland, Woman’s Hospital, Baton Rouge, LA. 168 beds. 10/18/21

Who is a good scrub vendor?

Which SCRUB VENDOR do you use? What is good about the vendor? Are the prices high or low?

Scrubs of thanks!

<span style=”font-size: revert; color: initial; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif;”>How are you and your shop doing post pandemic? How are sales?</span>

How are you and your shop doing post pandemic? How are sales? Are any shops still closed? Leave a comment. Share a story.

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

We are slowly recovering…we are not opened on the weekends yet. Sales are bouncing back and outsiders are returning. Right now candles are really selling!! – Christine Parker, Kent Hospital, Warwick, RI. 359 beds. 11/4/21

We reopened in September 2020, to restricted hours 9 a.m.-1 p.m., our volunteers returned April 2021, so we are open most days from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Visitor restrictions went from no visitors, currently it is one visitor, have made a difference in customer count. Sales are down from 2019, by about $100 per day, viewing all the issues from merchandise complications, visitor restrictions, I think we are doing well. We have been to one Gift Show in Oct. 2021. – Mary Robinson, Gift Shop Coordinator, Mayo Clinic Health System, Mankato, MN. 10/29/21

Our Gift Shop has and continues to thrive since we reopened in July of 2020. Our employees find it a ‘place to take a break and breathe some fresh air of course with their masks on!’. We are very blessed and looking forward to a great Christmas season! – Alice Whisnant, Director, Volunteer Services, Caldwell UNC Health Care, Hickory, NC. 110 beds. 10/25/21

Our Shop has been closed since November, 2020. No sales at all since then. – Peter Waugh, Memorial Hospital, North Conway, NH. 25 beds. 10/18/21

Unfortunately, our gift shop was closed again in September due to increased COVID numbers in our area. We hope to reopen by November as we had just received our Christmas inventory. – Robin Truax, Gouverneur Hospital, Gouveneur, NY, 77 beds. 10/15/21

Struggling, we were a very new shop before Covid hit. I have kept it open myself and was able to allow volunteers to come back April 2021, however right now only two have come back so it is still mostly myself running the shop. That being said, we are not even back to full open hours yet, only open about 3-4 days per week. – Kasey B, Volunteer/Gift ShopCoordinator, Tomah Health, Tomah, WI. 29 beds. 10/2/21

The ideal hospital gift shop manager, according to management

FROM CINDY

I used to ask my audiences at hospital gift shop management seminars to describe the ideal hospital gift shop manager.

Here is what they said:

The ideal manager is service oriented, cheerful, self-motivated, open to new ideas, energetic, organized, responsible and forward thinking. They are risk-takers, good trainers, visionaries, delegators, sensitive, supportive and patient. They are proactive, change agents, bridge builders, financial wizards, Mother Teresas and they possess a keen sense of humor.

Top 6 hospital gift shop facebook pages!

Check out these terrific hospital gift shop Facebook pages! We’ve selected a few of the top pages using best practices for gaining followers and showcasing merchandise.

Nearly 80% of your customers will have a social media account on either Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. shop. Get your shop online and get on their feed so you’re “pushing” product to them on a regular basis.

Sprout Gift Co. at Pattison Children’s Hospital

Thomas Hospital Gift Shop

May Clinic Gift Shop

Heart Strings Gift Shop, Princeton Community Hospital (7,927 followers!)

Stanford Health Care Gift Shop

University of Michigan Health System Gift Shop

Honorable mention: Carris Health Gift Gallery, Rice Memorial Hospital

It goes without saying that the majority of your posts should showcase your merchandise. Just like highway billboards, you have 1-2 seconds of the viewer attention. Sometimes even less on social media, as they scroll feeds. Follow these general guidelines:

1. Be concise. Use short, direct sentences. Include pertinent information only. (Remember, billboard)
2. Don’t go overboard with emojis. Use no more than 2-3 in a post.
3. Be creative, clever and even humorous.
4. Convey excitement and energy, but don’t go overboard and look unprofessional, like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5. Posts should grab viewer’s attention, create interest and, hopefully, translate into action.
6. Always use proper grammar and correct spelling. Triple check. Nothing will detract customers more quickly, especially your highly-educated patrons like MDs and PhDs!

Here is a fantastic video of the hospital’s President welcoming shoppers and showing their products:

Learn how to take professional-grade photos of your merchandise to post on social media. See how to make animated “scroll-stopping” videos of your products.

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Hot Tip!

Earn frequent flyer miles for air travel to gift markets by charging merchandise purchases, at wholesale, to the shop’s credit card.