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COVER STORY
Wholesalers Meet
Challenges Online
continued from cover
you can’t make the mistake of thinking that just because you put a web page out there, you are going to get business. We have photos of all 40,000 products, with full descriptions. It’s very intense,” he adds. “You can’t just jump into the Internet and be successful. We have a photo department, web de- sign, social media. That’s a whole new frontier.” But Conklin’s marketing efforts
are not confi ned to the web. “We have eight sales people on staff that serve their own accounts,” he says. “I travel all over the country. I go to well known trade shows and to private ones.” And he is
IMPORTER
expanding. “We’ve just hired two new employees and we’re looking for three more.” As for his retailer customers suffering in a down market, he says he’s part of the solution. “We sell merchandise that retails for up to $10, and we sell it to dollar stores. We are actu- ally helping the economy by letting consumers extend their buying power.” Conklin also offers other tangible aids to resellers, “We do offer package deals for online cus- tomers such as fl oor displays, free shipping, and discounted prices. For example, preferred customers can get free shipping on smaller orders and private web links with special offers.” The recent economic downturn
has also been good business for MDM International, a manufactur- er and wholesaler of tie-dye t-shirts,
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tank tops, shorts, dresses and hats. “Since the recession started, we’ve only gotten stronger,” says presi- dent and owner, Mark Herman. “I think that as more people are unemployed, they’re looking for an item they can take out to the fl ea market and just make some quick cash. I think the recession is actu- ally helping our business.” Herman says that he just added
a lot of new merchandise to his website. But most customers use the site for product info, and phone in their orders. His customers are not always web savvy. “About 80 to 90 percent of our customer base is fl ea markets, fairs and festivals. We do have stores as customers too, but in the winter months, we’re pretty dead. April to September is our season,” he says. But there sure
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WHOLESALER
General Merchandise, Health & Beauty Aids, Energy Products, Batteries, Lighters, Condoms, Candy & Gum, Household Products, Novelty, Cigarette & Tobacco Accessories, Automotive, Etc..
1-800-538-3873
86 June 2010
Visit
Minimum Order $200
57-07 31ST Avenue
Woodside, NY 11377
Online at INDEPENDENTRETAILER.COM
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