Merchandising Report

Greetings,

Things are cooking on the Merchandising front.

1) We have a current inventory of 28 of the blue guitar shirts and about 40 mugs.

2) I did the first "Minstrel Boutique” set up last Friday and plan to do so about once a month or so (after returning from Israel). Our focus will be on selling the non-taxable items, so things will remain simple from a sales tax perspective.

3) We launched the embroidered denim shirts on Friday and sold 14, an excellent response. I plan to promote embroidered items a few times a year. Embroidered items will include Folk Project hats and maybe a bag. We outlay no cash and also make no money on embroidered items, other than what we outlay for samples. We incurred a $100 charge for the sample shirts, which I hope to sell, but we may need to recoup that cost on other items. Between times when I set up the Minstrel Boutique, people can go directly to Embroidme in Morristown and order any kind of embroidered shirt, hat, bag, etc. they want. Attached is the flyer for the denim shirts – please circulate to your committees and anyone you believe would be interested. I am bringing the samples to the meeting on Tuesday.

4) We have a new t-shirt coming out for the Valentines show. We did a short test run, which will cost about $400 and will generate about $525 (based on selling price of $10 for men’s shirts and $12 for woman’s). If popular, we will order a larger quantity which gives us the opportunity to lower the price or make more money.

5) We are working on yet another t-shirt concept which we will launch when we return from Israel. Once again, we will take the small run approach and test the interest.

6) I reached out to Swingin' Tern and offered my assistance if they want to work with me for any merchandise for the dance community. We are still discussing.

7) The other product idea I think would be successful is a travel coffee mug. I am hesitant to invest in that at this point because of the sales tax complexity, but will evaluate it prior to the next festival and make a decision then.

See you all Tuesday,

Robin