201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business, 3rd Edition by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub

152

● 201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business

G R E A T

Sell through a Dealer Network

I D E A

We are used to buying tires, cars, and computers

through authorized dealers. Other businesses may

benefi t from a similar sales model.

David Usher founded Greenwich Workshop in 1972. Usher, who died

in a kayaking accident in 1997, believed direct distribution was the best way to sell high-end prints. He traveled around the United States, establishing

close relationships with the owners of galleries and framing shops. His son,

Scott Usher, is now running the company.

Scott Usher told me that one secret of the company’s success is treating

every dealer like part of the family. Howard Terpning, James Christensen,

Bonnie Marris, Z. S. Liang, and Steve Hanks are some of the top artists

whose paintings are turned into high-quality prints.

“Th

e past two years have been interesting because we are selling art,

which is a luxury item,” said Usher.

Ten years ago, the average price of a print was $150; now it’s over $500.

Most Greenwich prints are giclee prints on canvas. Greenwich dealers

buy the art outright at wholesale prices (50 percent of the retail price), but they can return unsold prints for credit if it means preventing it from being sold at a discount.

“Our galleries today are beginning to off er original artwork as well,”

said Usher. “Th

e framing component is still a big part of their business.

But, they are not just a frame shop.”

Usher said giving a dealer a geographical territory doesn’t work any-

more, especially with so many consumers buying art online.

“Th

e concept of what an authorized dealer is, is in signifi cant fl ux,” he

admits. “We still depend upon it and are working on ways to enhance the

opportunity for a local dealer to hang on to their customers.”

Greenwich is in the process of putting together a universal shopping

cart that can be personalized for each dealership.

“Th

e outlook is positive, a little bit of last man standing scenario,” said

Usher. “We don’t have a highly capitalized group of folks out there. We have

lost a good number of dealers in the last two years.”

In 1998, the Seymour, Connecticut–based company was purchased in

a stock deal by Hallmark. In 2002, when Hallmark planned to spin it off ,

Usher decided to buy back the company. He now has about 30 employees.

CH005.indd 152

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.