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Dollar Store News
ASD Trade News Article
Kole Imports: It's All About Value
Talking to Danny Kole is like listening to a
high-speed commercial about the advantages of loving your work.
Danny Kole's enthusiasm for his company, the industry, and
for the product leaps through the phone receiver, and
you'd be hard-pressed not to get caught up in it yourself.
He is knowledgeable and quick on his feet- both traits that have
served him and his company, the 17-year-old Kole Imports well
indeed.
But then, even a cursory glance at the more
than 4,000 items maintained on a regular basis in Kole's
inventory, and included in their print catalog and on their Web
site, shows an understanding of the market, and more important,
what the end-buyer, the retail customer, wants. By
concentrating on simple items with good value at price points,
Kole Imports has earned a reputation as a company that's got the
goods.
But beyond having popular product, Kole
understands the type of service his customers expect, and Kole
Imports makes it a company policy to deliver each and every
time. To this end, Kole Imports maintains an in-stock rate
of above 90 percent for it's 4,000 products, an astonishing
ratio.
For Kole, tight inventory control and a good buying system
are vital to maintaining Kole Import's high reputation with its
clients. "Customers know that we are as good as our
word; they trust us to tell them when we have something, and to
tell them if we don't," says Kole. "And on those
rare occasions that we're out of one product, we are able to
offer a good substitute item, so our customers don't have to
scramble."
Kole Imports constantly refines their merchandise, its
quality, its value, the mix. The company maintains a
simple, yet effective, approach to product: Don't go to
far out; keep it simple and basic, and add value whenever
possible. The inventor is heavily weighted toward proven
winners- the type of product that isn't impacted by trends; the
kind of things that consumers look for on a daily basis: tools,
hardware, key chains, crafts, housewares, toys, health and
beauty products, stationery, jewelry, candles, photo frames,
gifts, etc.
And though some people might find this kind of consistency
boring, Danny Kole, on the other hand, is positively invigorated
by the challenge of improving product, tweaking it a little here
and there, so that it carries the best level of value for its
price point. Even with something as simple as a pack of
steak knives, Kole illustrates this company philosophy.
"It's the difference between carrying a two-piece pack of
knives and finding a way to carry a four-piece pack of
knives. We're always focused on adding value. And
our customers have shown us that they appreciate the
effort."
Customers also appreciate anything that makes their work-
stocking and re-stocking- easier. Enter the Kole Imports
Web site, rethought, retooled and relaunched in
March 2001. To say that Kole's customers have responded
enthusiastically to www.koleimports.com would be a serious
understatement. In March, 2001, the site averaged 343,000
hits a month from 10,000 users. By December 2001, the site
had exceeded 1 million hits a month from 35,000 users.
When asked about online sales, Danny is momentarily evasive.
Then he chuckles: "Let's just say the site has worked very
well for us." This is not surprising, given the level
of individualized service that has been programmed into the
online shopping experience. For a sophisticated site, it
is amazingly easy to use, and, as in the print catalog, there
are pictures of everything. Buyers looking for online
convenience are accorded the same opportunity to see a product
before they order. No blind buying here.
The seeds of what would become Kole Imports
were sown years ago- when Danny and Rob Kole were flea market
vendors. They had a knack for finding old
"stuff" that would sell. "It was a lot of
fun," says Kole. And judging by the success of Kole
Imports, it still is.
Kole Imports
24600 South Main Street
Carson, CA 90745
Telephone: (310)834-0004
Fax: (310)834-0005
Order line: 1-800-874-7766
Order fax: 1-800-292-1818
Email@koleimports.com
www.koleimports.com
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