Well here we are starting all over again in a new year. We have had a long hiatus imposed by great website business in November and December and by our attendance at the annual buying show at the Americasmart Gift Show in Atlanta (more about that).
We were pleased and gratified that many of our previous customer returned to add to their Nativity sets, buy new sets or purchase new non religious Christmas figures. Many new people found our website, purchased Nativities or other figures and became part of our customer”family”.As a result, and despite a difficult retail environment, we saw a small increase in sales in 2009.
Many of our customers have been contributing product reviews to help other visitors make a decision. We plan to add a Facebook page to the site so our friends can share their photos and experiences and we may add Twitter to stay in closer touch regarding new product arrivals, promotions and stock limitations, among other things.
The Atlanta Gift Show underlined the many changes in the industry, as several suppliers had changed or lost factories, had new partners or had discontinued lines. We were able to find several new suppliers and identify new product opportunities for our website which we will feature in the coming months.
We are excited about the new products and suppliers we have found and we will share these with you at the first opportunity. We also plan to add “About Us” to the website so you know what our vision, mission and credo are as well as hear from Claire, our company president.