Hello
I don’t think it’s any exaggeration to say that 2020 was the most difficult year that Circle Craft has ever experienced. We saw the cancellation or curtailment of all the revenue sources that we depend on – our Market, tourism and our Granville Island gallery. However – we’re still here!
In fact, we not only survived the year, but we finished on an exceptionally strong note.
With the cancellation of the Market and the absence of summer tourism on Granville Island, the Board recognized that it was absolutely critical that we capture a very significant portion of the Christmas season shopping dollars. The challenge was not so much to convince consumers to shop locally but to do so in person - at a time when 64% of Canadians were saying that they would do all of their Christmas shopping online.
To get our message out, we hired a PR firm, VIVE PR + Social, to conduct a seven-week multi-platform ad campaign – a first for Circle Craft. VIVE conducted an intense social media campaign with give-aways, influencers, bloggers and collaborations with other Granville Island merchants. We knew we needed more than social media, though. To reach all of our target market, we also needed to make use of traditional media – and VIVE delivered. They got us interviews, mentions and articles in The Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Magazine, VITA Daily, Retail Insider, CBC, Omni TV, Virgin Radio, and more. For seven weeks, Circle Craft was everywhere and the resulting sales were better than we could have wished for.
We had calculated that the campaign would need to generate a minimum of $16,000 in additional sales to pay for itself. What we saw were the best November and December sales in four years – during a pandemic! Extraordinary.
But wait! There’s even more good news.
After a month of due diligence on the part of Signatures, followed by three months of intense legal negotiations, the Licensing Agreement between Signatures and Circle Craft has finally been signed. Our first royalty payment of $200,000 was wired to our account this past week.
By licensing the Market, we received more revenue from it than we’re often able to make ourselves – in a year when the Market didn’t even take place.
So, yes, we’re starting off this year on a high note, but I need to emphasize that we are not out of the woods yet. Not even close.
Despite our excellent year-end sales, the previous eight months of 2020, with nonexistent or severely depressed sales, have left us with significantly depleted resources. As well, we can only expect to receive another $200,000 from Signatures in January 2022 if they are able to run a full-capacity Market this year, which, at the moment, is highly questionable. We still have lockdowns, no tourism, and consumers being reluctant to spend money on non-essentials. The Board’s objective for the coming year will be to maintain a laser-sharp focus on increasing gallery revenues, and we will use every conceivable means to do so.
We plan to increase our advertising and promotion, to review our merchandising and inventory, improve our marketing, and call on outside retail expertise if it makes sense. The gallery staff is also working to hone their skills and have already taken recent steps to significantly improve their reporting capabilities.
The Board and the staff can’t do this all on our own, though. Our members also have a critical role to play in our success. We need you to be responsive to inventory requests from gallery staff, to bring in only your best work, to review your inventory frequently so that it stays fresh. With the lack of tourism, we are completely dependent on local shoppers, so we need to give them a reason to keep coming back. They have to see something new each time they come so that they’ll keep returning.
Let’s keep the momentum going throughout 2021. The next few months will still be tough but we’re anticipating that our lives will be returning more and more to normal as the year progresses and with that will come tourism, a loosening of the purse strings and a desire to be out and about again, enjoying our lives in person.
By this time next year, we’ll be ready to party. Not only will we be able to take a big sigh of relief after having successfully weathered the storm, but January 2022 will mark the beginning of Circle Craft’s 50th Anniversary – an event to celebrate!
Wishing you all a safe, prosperous and productive year. Hang in there!
Warmest regards,
on behalf of the entire Circle Craft Board.
