Celebrate Life s Adventures! SALES REP HANDBOOK Tracey Harrington tracey@wherelifetakesyou.net Lisa Kennedy lisa@wherelifetakesyou.net 216 Rangeway Rd, #114 Billerica, MA 01862 978-407-1651 www.wherelifetakesyou.com Where Life Takes You, LLC Page 1
Where Life Takes You, LLC everyone does something, and we have something for everyone Where Life Takes You, LLC, (a.k.a. WLTY) produces and distributes high quality lifestyle apparel and products for people of all ages who are passionate about life. We offer products that celebrate life s adventures by offering designs with a positive, thought-provoking message, using high quality material, and presented in a colorful palette. WLTY was established in 2014. The company name, Where Life Takes You, was trademarked and assigned to the LLC in 2013. In 2014, our products were considered resort wear.. We customized every design with the name of the customer (name dropped). Although this was appealing to our customers, it impacted our ability to preprint products and realize economies of scale. In 2015, we took a risk and changed from being resort wear to a lifestyle brand. We no longer name drop under each design; instead, we ve added our own tagline to each design. If customers want their names on the shirt, we print it on the back neck/sleeve and charge a fee for the second location printing. We are hopeful that this change will enable us to significantly increase sales, appeal to major retailers, and increase profit margins. Competition Life is Good: retail stores Home: Simply Southern: Lake Girl: Broader range of products, established international brand, available in Sells tee shirts, sells to boutiques, national brand Sells primarily tee shirts, very popular in the south. Mid-West, high-end apparel Where Life Takes You, LLC Page 2
DESIGN COLLECTIONS Our Destination Collection captures the character and spirit of all that is unique about a favorite place and rekindles memories of home when life s journey takes people elsewhere. As of January 2016, we have over 50 destination designs. (NOTE: There is a binder in the showroom with these designs) Our Adventure Collection captures memorable moments and the spirit of life. It inspires people to live life with passion and enthusiasm; whether it s hiking the highest mountain or reading a favorite book. As of January 2016, we have over 75 designs that are organized are follows: Coastal, Outdoors, Sports, Gardening, Winter,Kids, and a lifestyle section called My Life. DISTRIBUTION Sales Representation We have representation in New England, Washington DC, Maryland, and now the southeast. What are our goals for the reps? Open new accounts Nuture existing accounts/reorders Provide feedback on current products Provide suggestions on new products Help us increase brand awareness. Tell us what you need? House Accounts We will be turning most of these accounts over to sales reps as they come on board. A list of the current and past customers and leads will be provided to you. Where Life Takes You, LLC Page 3
DISTRIBUTION (cont) They are mostly from the Mid-Atlantic, but we have sales in many other areas of the country. Most of our house accounts came to us via trade show, and some via referrals. We are a wholesale company that dabbles in ecommerce. Sales Philosophy We value small accounts as much as large accounts. We do not sell the same products to customers within the same zip code. We believe our products sell better when merchandised as a collection of design and products. We believe that if our product has been sold out, and there is empty shelf space, the customer may fill the space with someone else s product. So on site visits to all accounts are critical. We consider feedback a gift. We value and will reward for new accounts. We believe our shirts/designs appeal to people because of the upbeat, sometimes humorous message, the quality of the shirt, and the color palette. The words/designs are thought-provoking. We believe that our designs appeal to people of all ages, and can be tailored to all hobbies, interests, associations, destinations and professions. We believe the product can be marketed internationally. We are committed to offering designs with a positive message. Exceeding customer expectation will always be critical to our business!! OUR PRODUCTS Below is a list of the products that we currently sell. Some are sold on a wholesale basis, others on our website. PRODUCTS WHOLESALE WEBSITE Tee shirts (short & long sleeve) X X Sweatshirts (crew, hoodie, zippered hoodie) X X Destination Mugs X X Adventure Mugs X X Tote Bags X X Rope Bags X X Baseball hats X X Tervis Tumblers X As mentioned previously, the quality of our tee shirts is one of the factors that attract customers to WLTY. As such, we sell Comfort Color shirts. Comfort Colors offers ring spun, pigment dyed, pre-shrunk products. Where Life Takes You, LLC Page 4
OUR PRODUCTS (cont) Using Comfort Color products has resulted in wholesale prices for tee shirts to average $10.00, and retail prices of $22 - $25. That price point does not work well with tee shirt shops, it is better suited to resorts, boutiques, higher end retailers. That said, our products, particularly our outdoor designs, fit well with mid-size to high-end campgrounds. Some campgrounds can t afford our price point, but want the product. In that case we will approve the use of Gildan tee shirts, rather than Comfort Colors. If you run into a situation like this, please contact us to discuss. Shirt/Sweatshirt Colors Each of you will be provided with a Comfort Color Swatch Card. We do not offer all colors, in fact we have assigned 1-3 colors to each design. The design/color assignments are documented in this package. The 60/40 sweatshirts are a different brand but come in similar colors and are less expensive than the Comfort Color alternative. Shirts and Sweatshirts PRICING SCHEME The 2016 Price Sheet is enclosed in this package. When you review it you will notice that we offer tiered pricing, with price breaks at 36, 48 and 72 pieces. Here are some facts about pricing: The minimum quantity for shirts is 36 pieces, and that minimum can be achieved by ordering unisex and/or ladies shirts in the available colors and sizes. The price breaks are per design (must order 36 or 48 or 72 of the SAME design) The minimum quantity for one design is 12 pieces. We believe that our shirts sell better when the customer sells multiple designs as a collection. For example, in a coastal area, a display with an anchor, crab, and the flip flop in multiple colors, sizes, gender, styles (short and long sleeve, sweatshirts, etc.) will sell much better than a display with just a 36 piece anchor design. Where Life Takes You, LLC Page 5
PRICING SCHEME (cont) Here is how it works: A customer can meet the 36 piece minimum by ordering 12 pieces of three or more designs. As is the case above, multiple colors, gender, sizes can be used with each design. The customer gets 36 piece pricing even though they are only ordering 12 pieces of a design. Remember, price breaks are based on #/per design. So, 12 pieces of 6 different designs (72 shirts) would still be the 36 piece price! OTHER PRODUCTS MUGS ($6.00) We sell 15 ounce ceramic mugs. The Destination mugs come in white and cobalt, although other colors are available via special order. If ordering an existing destination design, the minimum is 36 pieces. If the customer wants a new design created, the minimum will be 72 pieces, and there will be a one-time $50 setup charge for the new design. The Adventure mugs are available in pink, purple, mint, and blue, and currently come in the following designs: Flip Flop, Crab, Anchor, Starfish, Coffee, Dog, RV, Mountain Bike, ReBoot. The minimum is 24 pieces. NOTE: Please call us if a customer is interested in a new adventure design. As is the case with the shirts, a customer interested in the Adventure mugs can order 6 pieces of four designs to meet the 24 piece minimum. HATS ($9.50) We offer 6 panel baseball caps, in two designs. o BOOT on the front / Where Life Takes You on the back (moss, black, dark red). We think this cap will appeal to men who enjoy the outdoors. Where Life Takes You, LLC Page 6
OTHER PRODUCTS (cont) o Where Life Takes You Flip Flop on the front / live simply on the back (stone and navy). We think this will appeal to women, The minimum order for the caps is 12 pieces. The minimum per color is 3 NOTE: Please call us if a customer is interested in a new design. APRONS ($9.95) We sell red, navy, black and white aprons. The designs that are currently available are: whisk, barbecue, wine, anchor, and the dog all destination designs The minimum order for the aprons is 24 pieces. The minimum per design is 6. If the customer orders $250 of other products, the minimum for all aprons is 12 pieces. TOTE BAGS ($8.95) & ROPE BAGS ($12.50) The minimum number for bags is 24 pieces. The minimum per design We offer the follow designs for the tote bag: Adirondack Chair Anchor Beach Chair Campfire Flip Flop Flower Pot Lobster Loon Mermaid RV Starfish Tent Turtle Walker We offer the following designs for the rope bags: Anchor Cat Boat Crab Dog Flip Flop Mermaid Moose Starfish NOTE: Rope bags are available for all destination designs. Where Life Takes You, LLC Page 7
SPINNER RACK ($300) We offer a Tee Shirt Spinner rack to customers who order 12 16 designs. Here are the specifications: The Maple Rotating T Shirt Spinner is 24"W x 24"D x 54"H. It has 16 cubbies, 10 1/2"W x 11 1/2"H x 11"D to hold tee shirts, and has 8 1/2" x 11" acrylic pockets to hold an image of the tee shirt that is in the cubby (we will provide the insert). In addition, it rotates and is on casters. It costs the customer $300, but that cost is offset by 12 free unisex tee shirts. The customer must pay for shipping on the spinner; the cost is approximately $100. Where Life Takes You, LLC Page 8