In a New York Times article published Friday, Charles Kittredge (CEO and Chairman, Crane & Co.) talked about the company’s role in today’s marketplace, including recent deals involving Disney and an anti-counterfieting technology company in Atlanta. What jumps off the page for retailers, however, is this:
Q. In 2006 you sold the Crane retail stores. Do you fear that you’re getting away from the core product the company is known for?
A. No. We had 23 retail stores, and we closed some and sold the balance. We sell to 4,000 independent stores, but that number is dwindling. What we’re doing is recognizing the dynamics of how stationery products are distributed. Until 10 or 12 years ago we didn’t have stores. We always sold our products through independent retailers and we saw a trend where these were closing. At the time we thought the smart thing to do was to open our own stores, but the marketplace has changed. We’ve seen the advent of multiunit operators, including Papyrus and Blue Tulip, that specialize in stationery. Their business model is to grow by opening stores.
We felt they were in the business of retailing and marketing stationery products. We feel we’re the best papermakers in the world but perhaps not the best marketers. Our strategy is to partner with those we think are the best. In addition our, national account business—retailers like Barnes & Noble—is growing, and our online business is probably growing the fastest of any channel.
Of course, that Blue Tulip comment might have been better left out, since the company has filed for bankruptcy and is unloading locations like loaves of bread at a bake sale.
More disconcerting, however, is the comment about national chains and online sales growth. It not only verifies independent retailers’ belief that the overhaul of the previously successful rep system was purely for the purpose of catering to big boxes and chains (think: centralized ordering), but that Crane’s heart is going that direction as well. Barnes and Noble is no small animal; if their success with William Arthur boxed holiday cards is any example, independent retailers have some headaches on the horizon.
To read the complete interview, click here.
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