Soft Flex® and the Beading Industry

When we created Soft Flex® Wire, almost twenty years ago, we knew we were going to have to build an interest and demand in a new wire technology. We knew it was going to be a difficult journey. We would have to break new ground in price and quality. Looking back, if I had to start over, I would certainly follow the same path. We have learned much and I enjoy sharing what the experience has taught me.

We demonstrated the use of Soft Flex® Wire to jewelry designers and glass bead makers at every opportunity. We attended gatherings of local bead enthusiasts way before we knew about bead societies. Our hands-on approach personally showed the customer why they should spend a little extra money for a quality product. Hands-on, that was our key to good marketing and is still to this very day! Word of mouth and the then blossoming internet created an ideal situation for us. After 1 1/2 years of selling to anyone willing to listen, we built a market demand for something other than thread and fishing line. We received a call from a distributor. They were getting calls from bead stores requesting our product. After clearly establishing the distributor price, bead store price and our retail price, we placed our wire in the hands of that distributor. As you can imagine, at the time, there were fewer bead stores. Selling retail from our website worked in tandem with our distributor's efforts for designers who did not have a local bead store. This is still our way of conducting business. We've continued our same business model without exception and would recommend the same to anyone else.

We continue to demonstrate that we never under cut the bead store pricing. We have held steady to the suggested retail and have developed pricing for each type of customer: retail, online stores operated from a home-based business, brick and mortar bead stores and distributors.

The beading industry has a much bigger image of Soft Flex® Company as a professional and corporate entity. In actuality, we are a group of 30 employees rooted in a small town in California. We do have a warehouse, a customer service office and wholesale showroom for bead stores to visit. It's funny, if you have ever called to place an order in the early morning, much to our chagrin, you may hear a rooster crowing. Many roosters tend to hang outside our office, jumping up on the ledge outside Shelley's window, eager to serenade her each morning. The wild life runs free outside our industrial park buildings. Not quite the corporate image that most people relate to Soft Flex® Company, but it is our reality. We found our location when we were a start up business. Frankly, we are now busting at our seams but with the economy the way it is we are not taking any risky chances. We are still a relatively small company as compared to our competitors.

I'm proud to say that Soft Flex® Company is a group of bead loving bead stringers. This has allowed us to innovate circles around the competition even though we do not have a large company backing us from the fishing industry. We do not copy or rip off products or designs invented by a mom and pop business. We do not offer tier level pricing and allow retail customers to get close to bead store pricing by buying in quantities. Although cost of goods has gone up dramatically in the nearly twenty years we have been in business, we have only had one price increase. One! We maintain our prices.

Being small means we are able to offer Customer Service like no other wire manufacturer.

Some of those services include:

• Same day shipping when you order by noon. Time is money. We want you to have the product as quickly as possible. We've also chosen distributors that are spread out. We are in California. Eurotool is in Missouri. Foreign Source is in Rhode Island. John Bead is in Canada - etc. This way, everyone has a distributor near them for fast and easy shipping.

• New stores receive same day set up & approval to buy direct if we receive their application by noon.

• No minimum orders.

• $5 flat rate shipping to all bead stores in the domestic United States.

• Live & knowledgeable sales staff available by phone or live chat as well as Ask Sara for product questions.

• Online ordering using a login & password. No back orders. Live inventory is connected to our website, so you can see if items are sold out or if your quantity doesn't gel with what we have in inventory.

• Find a Bead Store - In March 2009 alone, 22% of our page views were in our "Find a store" locator. Recently, we have created a logo to identify the bead store finder to be added to all outgoing ads and for use on our website. We will add any store to the locator that carries our products, whether they buy from us or through one of our distributors. We also will be using the locator to print out local fliers with local stores to be handed out at trade shows that we attend.

• We feature a bead store on our website and in our emails each month in our Spotlight on section.

• Colorful product sales sheets to help educate staff & customers.

• Colorful signs are available upon request.

• Samples are available upon request.

• Monthly e-newsletter with info on new products, sales tools, market research, etc.

• 45 day return policy on all products.

Many bead stores selling our wire only stock a limited selection, picking and choosing a diameter or two in only a few colors. Our primary goal is to get our technology into the hands of the end user and continue to deliver new innovations to the beading industry. Our show participation and website are important as they give us a forum to demonstrate our entire product line. For instance, we have the largest color assortment with 34 total colors between several brands of our wire. We know how important color is to the end user. This is a colorful craft and there is nothing that can beat a colorful wire. The steel tone design has had its place and its time. Color is the hottest market change and will not just be a trend.

We have found that every time we participate in a local show, the bead stores in the area realize an increase in Soft Flex® sales due to our educational efforts or new products at the show.

In these times of economic slowdown the most diverse selection of items offer the best opportunity for sales and growth for each bead store.

Soft Flex® Company has supported the bead store for years. Time and time again, we have rejected the impulse to make the big fast money at the expense of the bead stores. Many of the big box stores continue to inquire about our products and we resist any offers being made for huge profits and market saturation of our Soft Flex brand. We do this because we love the bead business, we love the people in the business and we understand the sacrifices we all make to protect our livelihood and keep the Walmarts and other corporate goliaths from destroying our entrepreneurial dream.

Some of our competitors have sold into big box chain stores at the first mention of dollars. They are in every Michael's in every neighborhood across America. Not very supportive to small business in my book.

We have sold our product into Hobby Lobby for about five years. This is the only chain store that we are in. We argue back and forth about this. We understand how important it is for us to support the individual bead stores.

We did our research and carefully looked at The Hobby Lobby Chain. We realized its humble beginning was much like ours and bead stores across America. The business started in the garage of the Green family, in the early 1950's. The company is still run by the family. Today they understand the need to hold prices in the suggested price ranges provided by the manufacturer or suppliers. That is not the focus of discount chains used by other brands. Holding the integrity of price margins supports the whole marketplace and stimulates growth for the brand and the stores carrying the product.

It has been and continues to be a difficult journey with many difficult decisions. As a small business owner, much like yourself, Scott and I try to put our best foot forward in supporting the local bead stores. We appreciate each and every one of you that has chosen our wire brand over the other brands available on the market. We may not always be perfect or make perfect choices, but I would like you to know that we have always kept and will always keep brick and mortar bead stores in mind as we move forward on this amazing adventure.