Name: Bryan LaChapel

Business: Touch of Finland

Web address: www.touchoffinland.com

Products: “We specialize in gifts from and about Finland and the Upper Peninsula. Merchandise ranges from crystal to souvenir items such as mugs and t-shirts.”

Years on the web: Three

Percent of sales from web:
3 percent

Increase this year: “After a couple years of good increases, this year has been about flat due to the economy.”

Website designed by: Daryl Laitila at www.pasty.com

Typical customer: “Mostly women. We have shipped all over the country including Alaska. We have also shipped to Canada, England and even Finland.”

Site promotion: “In store with printed information. We also run ads in Finnish-American newspapers.”

Challenges: “There are two challenges. One is making sure items are in stock so customers are satisfied. Our computer inventory system is not hooked up to our website so it has to be done manually. The second challenge is processing the orders in an efficient manner so the labor expense is not too high.”

Web retailing tip: “Do not list items with price points that are too low. If you are processing a bunch of $10 orders, the processing time and labor expense makes it not worth your while.”

Best sale: “We have sold a few sauna heaters which are $500-$600 each.”

Future of web retailing: “I think it will continue to grow at a rate faster than general retail sales for some time, but it will never replace the ‘brick and mortar’ store which can appeal to all of the customer’s senses and emotions.”

Unique features of the site: “Our product mix is unique. We have specialty items that are not found on a lot of other web sites. We also include a little humor, such as the ‘Finnish Quiz’ and the ‘Yoopanese Glossary,’ which Finnish and Yooper visitors appreciate.”

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