Hey Team,
We hope you’re all well!
At this point last year, most stores were requesting more products as our competition were perceived to be surpassing us. So, we brought VMS into the mix and generally that stopped all product range concerns. Of course, we were all on the same page and hoped that this would impact us in a positive way! Unfortunately, what we're seeing is that this larger range hasn't increased your turnover, It has in fact negatively impacted everyone's cash flow, as everyone is holding more stock on their shelves! We would rather you had the correct products in your stores (taking demographic into account as well) and order less, than you feeling pressured into stocking everything, and struggling to keep up with the demands of the market, in terms of shifting your old stock for newer products!
Don’t worry though..! We have a plan!
We will be reverting back to the old VapeHQ model! So, basically we’ll have a curated selection of a few products for each product category. VMS will still be there to order additional products, for those customers wanting a specific product. The general range will be selected in such a way to hit all bases!
Here’s a few examples of what our official products could be:
MTL Starter Kits - T18, T20S, Minifit Pod
MTL Advanced Kits - Jem, Zelos (To be replaced soon)
DTL Starter Kits - PockeX, Riptide Crios Kit
DTL External Battery Kits, DTL Internal Battery Kits, High Powered Devices, ETC.
Having a managed product range like this means you don’t have to buy everything to see what works! We'll hone the range to suit, using what we've learned from VMS customers, meaning your spend is much more efficient and a lot less dead stock!
Any other kits from VMS would pretty much do the same thing, but in a different package. This would only make the decision more difficult for you, and the customer! But, will be available to order and receive the next day at your store if they really want it. You could potentially use this as a tool as well, why not take deposits for pre orders on kits, tanks and liquids that haven’t reached your store yet? Cash in the till and there’s an obligation for your customers to keep coming back time, and time again!
Why are we doing this?
There are many reasons and great advantages to this approach. Social media and our presence becomes a lot easier to manage, as we can push that we have new ranges and email customers regularly with updates nationally, instead of our current situation being that only certain stores have taken on a product. Marketing support from our partners will be much more effective as we can do nationwide campaigns like we used to. We can be mentioned all over social media and online as official stockists..! We'll be able to do nationwide offers and promotions knowing that everyone stocks the product/range in question! That’s a step in the right direction for all of us!
Another point is that our website doesn't match our in store offering, and never can with the VMS approach unfortunately. The reason behind this is every store stocks different products, meaning a potential customer could come in store expecting to purchase a product they saw on the website, and it won’t be available in your store.
In reverse, sales could be being lost due to our limited website offering, with people having a browse and thinking our range is very limited and then not bothering to come in store. It’s now time to really start driving our brand presence, and onboard as many customers for the full VapeHQ experience.
Please do take note that the range on the VapeHQ and Franchise website will be growing steadily over the next few weeks. All these products must be stocked to ensure continuity for all of us. Naturally we'll have customers requesting other products but we'll have a something that is of direct competition to that e.g. V8 Stick -> Innokin Riptide Crios Kit instead. So we’ll always be able to compete, no matter what!
Generally a sale will not be lost, as our chosen alternative will be just as good and have it's own advantages. More details will be announced in the coming weeks as the official range is finalised. Generally it will focus on our most innovative and reliable manufacturers. Innokin, Aspire, Vaporesso, Vaporstorm. This list will evolve constantly as new products are released but these brands will have our main go to products. No, not Smok. We've had unbelievable failure rates with them and also difficulties to have them replace their faulty devices. It’s all about getting what’s best for both parties, YOU and your CUSTOMERS. What better way is there to showcase our range, than to stock the most durable, reliable and efficient products on the market like we used to!