Question 1

You said that you've had 17,700 purchases in the past year...that equals less than 3 purchases per machine per day. Don't you think that is very low considering the number of people traveling through an airport on any given day? Have you missed the mark with placement/signage/...

Accepted Answer

Yes, it’s a too-low number, for sure! (In truth it’s slightly better than your calculation because for almost all of 2018 we had 12 machines - we set up more in October, and had one location that was only open for a matter of weeks - and totaled 18,900 sales. 17,700 was our total for 2017. But even so, you’re right that the average is lower than we’d like.) First, we’ve learned that the biggest factor impacting per-machine sales is location. We have a wide range of revenue by machine, with a ...

Question 2

Thanks for your reply Suzanne. I took a look at your online store and your products are quite appealing, they should sell well if the machine placement is right and it stands out. Definitely needs to be bright yellow not a muted dark green. I don't know if you're able to place...

Accepted Answer

Thanks so much for your ideas Kelly! Our designer is working on brighter-colored machine designs currently! Outdoor placement has been tricky for us; even with a climate-controlled machine we ended up with some products damaged by changes in heat and humidity. But we love the idea of thinking about where people gather for Uber/Lyft. And yes, we’ve thought about Shark Tank...quite a few people have suggested that our concept might be a fit for it! We haven’t applied to be considered, but indee...

Question 3

Would you consider adding convenience store type products (like Advil, tampons, Tums) or weird experiential products (a la Venderia) to improve your sales margins?

Accepted Answer

Thank you for your questions, Taylor. We don't imagine adding convenience items such as Advil, tampons, etc. Our entire brand proposition is that we sell artistic, locally-designed and made goods. That said, one category that we have stocked and will continue with are locally-made consumables such as bee's wax lip balms from local farms. We are always interested in experiential products as long as they fit our larger buying guidelines. We already carry some fun and quirky items that fall in t...

Question 4

Have you considered franchising?

Accepted Answer

Thank you for your question. We have considered this. We see the appeal in that this would allow us to scale more rapidly. Because of the significant time and financial costs upfront (legal, time etc.), franchising is not something we are currently pursuing but it has always been on the table as an option. Brand integrity is of highest importance to us. Because of that, if we were to franchise, it would be paramount to have solid measures (and backup measures) in place to assure that each fra...

Question 5

What's the price point range on the items in the machine? Are most items around the same price or is there something for every budget?

Accepted Answer

We offer items ranging from $2 up to about $40 in our machines.

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