“He rented a mailbox and took out small ads in every magazine he thought he could sell incense through offering the burner and 20 sticks of incense for something like $2,” explains Arron Sissom, president of the Nashville, TN-based company. “For a while, he would go to the box and there’d be nothing there. One day there were a few orders, and then it was just a matter of time before he needed a larger box, and eventually was told to come around to the back of the post office to collect his mailbags.”
Unfortunately, Munnelly wasn’t savvy enough to patent or trademark his design, which was soon copied—but not before he had established a footing in the tobacco market. The company that began modestly by collecting the names and addresses of the customers who responded to its ads and marketing to them directly through the mail evolved into a major distributor of a wide range of tobacco and tobacco accessory products. “Today there are two distinct sides of our company,” says Sissom, whose company is the exclusive U.S. distributor for a number of top brands, including Dunhill, Charatan, Falcon, and W.O. Larsen. “The bulk of our business is in all things smoke related. For a lot of tobacco retailers we are one stop shopping, selling them cigars, pipes, RYO/MYO, lighters, humidors, and cigar, pipe, and cigarette accessories. The other side is gifts, such as candles, Native American crafts, beaded curtains, and leather goods.” Every 18 to 24 months, Music City Marketing produces an extensive catalog of its entire range of some 4,000-plus different products—a catalog that has become an invaluable resource for retailers who carry tobacco and their customers. “We don’t put prices in our catalog so retailers can keep it out for customers to look at,” says Sissom, who says the catalog can help alert retailers to the potential of new categories. “If one of your customers flips through and expresses interest in something you don’t carry—whether it’s a gift item or a Dunhill pipe—chances are it’s something your other customers will be interested in. Plus, if you have a customer interested in spending more than $50 on a pipe, you can show them a wide array of options rather than the one pipe in that range you have on hand.”
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Over the years Music City Marketing has grown to a powerhouse distributor, employing more than 40 people and serving customers across the U.S. as well as in Taiwan, Canada, and the Caribbean islands from its 42,000-square-foot warehouse. While the company does the bulk of its business with traditional tobacconists, tobacco outlets have been a growing segment of the business—particularly in recent years as outlets add more accessories and ancillary items to their merchandising mix. What’s more, as drug stores continue to become less receptive to tobacco customers or abandon the tobacco business altogether, outlets will see increased traffic, predicts Sissom. “A lot of them have gotten out or made it difficult for customers by putting products behind the counter under lock and key,” he notes. “That is forcing that customer base into the outlets.” Despite its size, the company remains committed to offering even retailers with just one store the same quality service it provides to large chains, says Sissom. “We’re sensitive to the fact that no one wants to have any more money than they absolutely have to tied up in inventory,” he notes. “Outlets in particular often don’t have a lot of space. So we have a minimum order of just $100 and will ship orders to some places on a weekly basis so as not to tie up space and money in inventory.” The company also advises outlet retailers on which new categories to try and how to go about introducing them. “Four or five years ago, we couldn’t sell outlets pipes retailing more than $25, but today some of those same customers are buying pipes retailing for $80 to $120,” reports Sissom, who urges retailers to closely monitor their customers’ changing interests. “That doesn’t mean someone should rush into pipes today. You have to be level headed about testing the waters and then building on any successes. If you develop a pipe business and you have customers buying in the $20 to $40 range, I promise you that you will have some step up to the $80 range.”
But boosting sales doesn’t always require bringing in new categories. Simply moving items around within a display case or rotating impulse items at the register can offer a sales bump. “When you redo a display, suddenly someone who’s been coming in for months will notice the same lighter or cigarette case you’ve had all along for the first time,” says Sissom. “It’s not always a matter of investing in more inventory.” • |
