The Profit Source Philosophy:
Invest In your Customer For Long-Term Growth.
By Danny Kole and Rob Kole, Co-presidents, Kole Imports,
Inc.
Four
years ago when we chose "Your Profit Source" for our company motto,
we didn't just pick three words. We chose a philosophy: that what
is best for our customers is best for us. Looking back on that
decision today, it is clear to us that embracing that business
philosophy was a defining event in our company history.
Living up to our new motto is an exciting venture for all of us. We
turned our wholesale operation upside down looking for new and exciting ways
to service our customers. All departments were challenged to
improve their operations to the benefit of our customers.
Our
accountants became concerned as investments were made to create
better values and services. they asked us if we knew what we were
doing when we made the decision to stock more merchandise. [Now,
years later, our 92% fill rate on customer orders speaks for
itself. We currently stock over 5,000 items in our warehouse, an
increase of 100% over 1998.
The
questions came up again when we created a team of in-house artists
to design our packaging. Today, our improved packaging, heavier
blister packs and theme-inspired artwork helps our products jump off
the retail shelf.
When we invested large sums of money and added an in-house
administrator for our web site, they shook their heads. Wasted
money, they said. Today, koleimports.com provides 24-hour,
user-friendly buying tools for our customers and hosts more than
100,000 visitors a month.
Not
surprisingly, when we increased our buying trips to seek out new and
exciting values for our customers, they questioned the added
expense. Be we knew that finding new items and designing products
that offer value and profitability had to be part of our business.
Our
team of buyers has spent countless hours embracing the new
philosophy, and our many categories of merchandise prove we have met
the challenge.
Our
choices were not easy ones, but we have not regretted adopting our
new philosophy for a single moment. We are sure that many of our
more successful customers also run their businesses thinking of
their customer's needs day in and day out. We urge those of you who
have not thought about your business from your customer's
perspective to take a fresh look at your operation. You won't be
sorry.
We
have come to understand that our real value is what we bring to our
customers on a daily basis. We know that you have many choices of
where you can buy your wholesale merchandise, and we sincerely thank you for
choosing Kole Imports as your wholesale merchandise supplier. Please feel free to contact us with any
suggestions, comments, and especially with any constructive
criticism. We welcome your thoughts so that we can continue to
improve the services we offer and continue our goal of being "Your
Profit Source."
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