Fibre Retailing:
Sharing a Booth — A Worthwhile Proposition

Nancy Harrison, Ashton Creek Alpaca Co.
and Gail Vance, Dovecote Enterprises

Country fairs, trade shows and small town events offer wonderful opportunities to showcase your alpacas, and introduce the public to the wide range of items that can be produced from alpaca fibre. But what can you do if you don't have a wide enough range of products, or if the booth rental charged at larger, multi-day events is prohibitive for you? Why not consider sharing a larger booth with one or more farms, in a co-op space? With the right kind of forethought, cooperation and up-front discussions, it can be a hugely enjoyable (and profitable) event. We'd like to share our experiences with you; to outline the benefits and point out the pitfalls of sharing booth space.

First and foremost, the biggest benefit is a greater selection of products. More choice entices more customers. A very early venture out into the marketplace by one of us proved this powerful feature of selling. Her product display was inviting, her products were top notch. However, the public, while admiring her display of products, kept walking past her display and into a nearby display that was so beautifully and fully stocked that it clearly said: "I'm a STORE! Come in and SHOP!" Sharing booth space gives you this edge. Together, you can finesse the overall look, you can MERCHANDISE your space (think boutique) and make it so visually appealing that no one can resist coming in.

Another benefit is flexibility in the hours you must spend in your booth. Most large fairs require continuous "manning" of displays from the time the fair is open to the moment it closes, often ten or twelve hours a day. We were able to come up with a timetable that allowed time off (either morning, afternoon or evening) for each one of us, giving us all a much needed break. We did need extra help during two peak times (one following the fair's parade through town, the other while the alpaca halter show was taking place) but good friends and neighbours stepped in for us. This is one of the details that work so easily with enough advance planning!

Sharing a display space also allows more time for each one of you to spend with the public. Granted, our profile is growing, but there are still many people who want to learn more about the animals and their incredibly wonderful fibre, and they will pepper you with questions. At any one time during the day while we were sharing space last year, you would see one of us "talking alpaca", another discussing yarn choices with a customer, and yet another writing up an invoice for a customer's socks purchase. Also, when one of us got "peopled out", there was always another person available to deal with customers while we re-stocked, or re-arranged the product, or snuck out to go visit the alpacas! [And speaking of that, the ideal display booth space is close to the alpaca pens, without being IN their space: dust and alpaca scent get into your products and make post-event washing/airing out, a necessity.]

Having decided to share booth space, you have the choice of either dividing your booth space into separate areas for each farm, or mingling all farms' products in groups, setting out a good sized area for yarn, another for a display of socks, yet another for blankets and home products, etc., with hats, scarves and sweaters interspersed. This mingling is easily done, as long as each farm's products are clearly labeled. We decided upon a combination layout: three farms mingled their product, while the fourth (who has an existing retail venue) kept her imported products separately, beautifully displayed as sort of a mini-booth within the co-op space we called the "Alpaca Marketplace".

Now, what about the pitfalls? With enough discussion ahead of time, any perceived problems can be addressed and hopefully avoided altogether. Needless to say, it is enormously helpful if you all enjoy each other's company and are on the same wavelength. A shared sense of humour is definitely up there on the Top Ten list.

The three of us who had combined our farm's products worked feverishly to make the most creative use of every inch of space. (This is where the sense of humour thing paid off!) We set up displays with customer traffic in mind, using furniture, trunks, and baskets galore, not forgetting a chair or two for customers' husbands. We found that each of us brought something to the mix, whether it was design sense, a new take on using furniture and display hardware, or a flair for drama that gave a great punch to our display.

However, the reality of this combined shop is that a customer could very well buy socks from farm A instead of farm B just because they prefer that colour, or style, or whatever. If you are farm B, and can't get past "losing" a sale, a shared display booth will not work for you. Shared space can mean that you may work with a customer but not get the sale, but you must think collectively: yes, it's a downer to not sell YOUR handwoven blanket, but at least the customer is buying from a Canadian alpaca breeder. REJOICE! And you may find that it can be much easier for you to sell other farms' products (they will find it easier to sell yours, too). That little bit of "distance" allows you to wax poetic about a certain yarn, for example, that might sound a bit over the top if it were your own yarn!

Variability in pricing could be a potential pitfall, although it wasn't in our case. The wide variety of items being offered (many hand-crafted, others produced at mills) allowed each farm to set its own prices. This would be one of the essential discussions to be held among the sharing farms before the booth is merchandised: Who is bringing what? Any conflicts, and how will we resolve them? For example: alpaca socks, which for the most part are obtained by the same mills. If so, they should all be at the same price to avoid any customer confusion.

Another pitfall could be the lack of charge card facilities. We faced a double jeopardy on this point: our fourth farm was set up with Visa, while the three of us "mingling our product" were not. However, we three agreed to accept personal cheques and if a customer spent over XX number of dollars, we would deduct the ATM charge from the invoice (there was a well-used ATM just steps away from our booth).

And that's it. We split expenses four ways, worked equally hard in setting up and breaking down our booth, and reached a greater number of customers with a better selection of product than we would have managed on our own -- the biggest benefit of all. It was a long five days, but we survived, and the camaraderie was worth every minute of it! We've compiled a list of "things to think of" if you've decided to share booth space, and hope these suggestions prove helpful.

Booth Sharing Tips (or, Retail 101)

• One receipt book and one cash box keep things straightforward. Just remember to indicate the farm code on each purchase when entering it into the receipt book.
• Your own inventory list, prepared before the show, is a good checkpoint. It also gives you the opportunity to check that each item is clearly labeled with your farm identity and contact information for customers.
• Security is an issue. Keep small "theft-easy" valuables clearly in sight. Know who is in your booth -- don't hover, but be aware.
• Don't forget protective sheets to cover everything up at night.
• It is easiest if one person provides the float. Loonies, toonies and small bills are essential.
• One person should be designated to take the cash box home at night. We found counting the receipts and extracting the cash (leaving the float) every night was the best plan.
• Be sure to have more than one mirror. Is there room for a change room, if required?
• Offer a business card from each farm, or lay them out for easy customer access. HOWEVER, don't leave them within reach of a child's grasp, or they will be gone by the second day!
• A price sheet from each farm is highly recommended. It benefits everyone, especially the part-time help who are there at peak times.
• If you have items in the booth that are there strictly for illustrative purposes, be sure to mark them "for display only" if you don't want them to be sold.
• Think VERTICAL! If you don't have walls to be merchandised, make every inch of table tops work, by putting boxes upon boxes (draping them gives a luxurious look) and displaying items at various heights upon them.
• Offering a large variety of yarn (styles, colours, weights) is helpful. Having samples knitted or crocheted up is a great educational aid for the undecided customer, as well as the part time help who may not be able to answer questions. Having the yarn in a location that allows for the knitter/weaver to stand and ponder and not feel pressured is a great plus.
• Individual farm signage is desirable, if it's allowed. As we were granted co-op display space only, we could only have our generic "Alpaca Marketplace" signage visible. Keep in mind, though, each of our products had farm labels containing contact information and each one of us had contact from customers long after the fair had ended.
• When booking your space, make sure to ask about electrical connections. Overhead lighting is imperative if the fair continues into the evening, so you will need extension cords and light fixtures that will allow your product to be seen -- and for you to be able to write up receipts! Extras would include small fans, a tape deck for music -- it's up to you.