We may as well face it, house wares is not the most exciting of retail segments. It lacks the glamour of jewelry, the trendiness of fashion, and the edginess of technology and electronics. You rarely see pop music idols or sports superstars endorsing Tupperware and no one cares if Angelina Jolie gets a new set of scrubbing pads.

House wares lack cool but what they do have is a gigantic market of waiting consumers. Everyone eats everyday, and after eating the all have to wash up. In order to eat they must cook and that means they must have plates, pots and pans, spatulas, hot pads, …you get the idea. Just spend a few minutes poking around your own kitchen and you’ll get the idea of just how many millions of gadgets and goops that must sell each year from that often over looked aisle marked house wares. Merchants could do worse than offer products that have sales driven by necessity.
Given the absolute universality of household products it seems odd to me how often small retail merchants and wholesalers overlook them.
In many dollar and independent grocery stores the house wares section, if there is one, is dusty, neglected, and obviously free of any attempts by management to find the products that will sell.

I would like to challenge dollar store, convenience store, and small grocery store owners to visit those areas of their store were they keep the corkscrews, oven mitts, and sponges. Is this section an un-shopped, faded wreck? If so, why? People buy this stuff every single day, why not from here?

The first step to reforming the wayward house hold products area is getting rid of what hasn’t sold. Nobody is going to want bright pink plastic spatulas, next time don’t just order whatever the cheapest ones the wholesaler offered. Sure, you might wind up getting the cheapest anyway, if it’s something someone might want to buy.

The point is apply the same scrutiny to these items that you would apply to produce or clothing. House wares can be tricky. There is a balance that must be maintained between quality and price. Yes, everybody uses them everyday but they also don’t like to spend a fortune on necessities of this kind. Try to get as good of merchandise as you can within the confines of your and your customer base’s budget. People like kitchen wares that last and will remember the place they got a good value longer than the place they got a good deal.

It is a truism in retail that new and seemingly improved products invite sales. You might think there is nothing new under the house wares sun but you’d be wrong. New products are invented everyday; just take a look at infomercials. Many are silly but some are quite ingenious and practical.

Any one who has read on of the many pieces I’ve written on As Seen on TV products knows I’m a sucker for the clever ones. In the case of sprucing up the house wares department they may be just what the doctor ordered. Below are a few new kitchen products I’ve seen recently that might add a spark to the household items aisle.

How about Collapsible Food Containers? Imagine a plastic storage bowl that will hold up to four cups of food but when not in use collapses down to about an inch tall. If you can picture the little drinking cups that telescope and still hold water you have a good idea how the Collapsible Storage Containers work.

If you sell a fair amount of grill related products, charcoal, lighter fluid, and the like you might consider the Hot Dog Express. It is essentially a home version of the rolling grill seen at ballparks and in delis. The heated rollers could the hot dog, sausage, or really anything slowly and evenly. The lid works as a bun warmer and the whole thing breaks down and can be placed in the dishwasher.

These are just two examples; the point is that some new products may be the boost a poorly performing section of a retail store needs. A few new products will remind you to keep an eye on the section as a whole, watching for improvements and getting rid of the dead weight before it becomes an eye sore.

Art Micklewraith is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Top Ten Wholesale. He can be reached at Content and Solutions or by email at artmicklewraith@gmail.com.