Click to visit GrenvilleStation.com's Store

New Designs/Cart Features Coming Soon…

The holiday season is fast upon us and our visit to the CGTA trade show was very fruitful. We saw great new products that will definitely be available in our Christmas 2008 designs. We also try to make the user experience as easy as possible. A couple of months ago we added delivery time estimates to our existing real-time rate quotes from FedEx. This allowed visitors to see not only the cost of shipping but the estimated transit times as well.

We’re hoping soon to implement a ShipEstimator feature to our cart so that you will be able to see the cost of shipping on the shopping cart rather than after you log into your account or create an account.  Other great ideas are planned…but those will have to wait for another day.

August 18th, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Remaining 5 Reasons…

[continued from previous post]

5. Increased business. After Father’s Day we experience a bit of a lull for the summer. We make use of this time by completing other necessary tasks, such as taking inventory and redesigning existing baskets. Once autumn arrives, we have several holidays that we need to prepare for. We also find that the amount of orders we receive increase, largely due to the travelling season ending. Our customers are less likely to be able to visit their distant loved ones for occasions such as birthdays. That’s where we come in!

4. Thanksgiving. Turkey Day is one of my favourite holidays! I enjoy the family dinners, my Grandmother’s pumpkin pie and, most importantly, the Statutory Holiday! This is the time when most of our orders are for our fall designs. The baskets are usually sent as a “Thank you” for someone who has hosted a Thanksgiving Dinner, or sent between loved ones who unfortunately are not able to be together during the holidays.

3. Halloween. Arguably, one of the most exciting days of the year for kids! But for us, Halloween is a season, not just one day of fun. Designing our Halloween baskets is certainly some of the most fun we have here. We are literally kids in a candy story when the sweets start pouring into our design studio! Among the goodies are gummy tarantulas, candy mice and bloody eyeball gumballs. When it comes to candy, the grosser the better!

2. Christmas. You can’t help but be jolly when preparing for the holidays! Once the stock arrives and the new designs are online, we get to work pre-making the holiday orders. We need to start as early as possible to keep up with the hundreds of orders that pour in almost immediately. The Christmas season easily occupies about 4 or 5 months of the year for all of us here at Grenville Station. It may still be beautiful autumn weather outside, but we will be like busy little elves in Santa’s workshop! Ho ho ho!

1. Chocolate! Need we say more? Due to the aforementioned summer temperatures, we have to stop using chocolate in our designs by (usually) late spring. Normally we use a fair amount of chocolate, so we have to remove quite a few designs from the website. Instead we use chips, crackers, coffee/tea, and other such products that will be unaffected by the heat. Sure they’re tasty treats… but nothing as exciting as chocolate!

And there you have it, our Top Ten Reasons We Love Autumn!

July 22nd, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Top Ten Things to Look Forward to After Summer…

The summer season has officially begun! Sunny days, scorching temperatures and humid air. Ahh summertime in southern Ontario – it doesn’t last long, but it sure is beautiful! While everyone else is enjoying the weather, here at Grenville Station we’re doing what we do best: looking and planning ahead. Autumn is on the horizon and we have a lot of work to do before it gets here.

In anticipation of the season, we have put together a list of what we are looking forward to the most. There were a lot of excellent ideas and suggestions put forth from the staff and it was difficult to narrow it down to just ten!

10. New Fall Products. We are very excited when we receive our new fall stock. The products are usually new and exciting items that our Buyer has discovered. But they are always red, orange, yellow and brown! We then mix and match products and colours to make new designs. With such beautiful colours, the design possibilities are endless!

9. Fall Enhancements. In addition to our colourful new products, we also receive a wide array of fall enhancements, such as leaves, acorns and pine cones. The designers feel like kids again, when searching through the leaves for the perfect colours to use. These seasonal enhancements create a polished look in our new designs.

8. The First Snowfall. I can’t believe I just wrote that! There is something so peaceful and therapeutic about seeing the first flakes floating to the ground. It’s almost magical. As beautiful and peaceful as the first snowfall is, a week later I’m ready for spring! We all know what the first snowfall leads to right? Well we’ll get to that later…

7. Back To School. You know all you parents out there have been waiting for this one! After a long and frustrating summer, doing everything you can to keep the kids occupied and NOT fighting, it’s time for you to grow back all the hair you’ve pulled out! After dropping off the kids on the first day, you can see smiles form and happy dances begin! The Moms and Dads here in the office are certainly much happier and more relaxed.

6. Trade Shows. For the most part, this is where our new seasonal products are discovered. Our Buyer’s attend a handful of the largest shows in our area, on the hunt for tasty new treats with appealing packaging. Packaging is one of the top reasons we will carry a certain product. Since each product can actually be seen in the photograph when a customer is purchasing a gift basket, if the products don’t look appealing then neither do we. At the Trade Shows, there are literally hundreds of booths to visit, so it is a time consuming project. Their hard work pays off when they see how excited the design team gets over the new stock and the wonderful new designs that are quickly created!

The top 5…well, you’ll just have to wait until next time!

July 19th, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Summer fun @ GrenvilleStation.com

Fathers’ Day has come and gone and the slow summer period is upon us.  Slow is a relative term.  Orders are still coming in for non-holiday events (birthday, new baby, anniversary, wedding, etc.) and our team has already started pre-planning the 2008 Christmas season.  You learn from past years what works and what doesn’t.  You decide on marketing strategies and inventory levels.  The fall CGTA trade show (in August) determines some major inventory concerns…it’s the circle of gift basket life!

June 23rd, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Bookmark and Share

Powered by WordPress | Blue Weed by Blog Oh! Blog | Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).