The innovative knife selling retailer Knifewear has exploded in recent years, selling their high quality Japanese knives to all sorts of consumers. The owner Kevin Kent knew there was market for what he planning on selling ever since he began unloading his products out of a backpack in parking lots and loading bays in Calgary. He compared himself to your local drug dealer when first starting off, stocking up and selling his "goods" throughout the city on his trusty bicycle. Soon demand outgrew his method of operations, and Kevin was forced into purchasing a space in Calgary's Inglewood neighborhood. Years later the company expanded and now owns and operates 5 locations, with plans to expand even more nationally.
Knifewear boasts the largest selection of Japanese kitchen knives outside of Japan, which is quite impressive seeing as how stores are located in towns and cities such as Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, and more. The retailer works with over 40 Japanese blacksmiths, and sells not only kitchen knives, but other sharp and dull products such as razors, knife bags, sharpeners, and more. The store model is quite simple, with Knifewear only wanting to open stores on urban streets that are in the 1,000 square foot range, with wide open store fronts which help showcase what the store has to offer. Some of the stores have become not only a place where you can purchase these unique products, but also a hangout for those who love Japanese steel and sharp things. Knifewear has done a great job in engaging its customers and the community. The brick and mortar locations differ from the online store by being able to provide the space as hangouts for loyal customers, where they can listen to employees who are experts in the world of knives and can discuss their passions with each other. This has provided a channel for the company to directly manage its customer relationships. The owner Kevin and his friends also got together to produce an annual calendar featuring each of them shirtless holding sharp objects, embracing the "chef bod" and selling these off to the community, with all funds received being donated to the Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids fund. These two methods of engagement are very important, as engagement with your market makes up a huge portion of a company's retail value proposition. This in turn when done successfully helps a company not only attract customers, but generate sustainable profitability.
Although Knifewear hasn't went as far as to create personas and scenarios for their market segments, they have done a great job in segmenting their customers and understanding who buys what product. They know that chefs for example make up approximately 20% of their market, and purchase the relatively higher priced goods, while the household consumer tends to purchase the relatively lower priced. Segmenting the market helps add value, as it guides the retailer in understand which customer segments they can most profitability serve and focus resources on. This understanding has been a factor in Knifewear's success.
Although I'm not much of a cook and don't have a need for knives myself, any product with the name "Masakage Kiri" or "Konosuke Sakura" sounds appealing enough to me to purchase if I had the disposable income. Kevin's fun and engaging business model has helped guide his success, and with his goal for customers to walk out his store saying "I went to a knife store and had a good time", I have no doubt that his national expansion will be anything short of a success.
Sources:
http://knifewear.com/#
http://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2016/2/knifewear
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/food-city-kevin-kent-knife-1.3326639
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar