Top Stories » Special Features » Kitchenware

Sales of glassware, barware, and plastic beverageware have experienced double-digit growth annually over the past two years. In fact, the combined category outperformed all other housewares categories in 1999.

Thanks in large part to special millennium collections of crystal stemware, the overall beverageware category posted the greatest 1999 sales gain among NPD Hometrak's housewares categories. Retailers saw a 22-percent increase in dollar sales over 1998 at the department store and mass merchant channels tracked by NPD. As holidays approached, department stores experienced the beverageware sales jump of the year — an 87-percent increase in dollar sales over December 1998 for crystal alone. Top crystal brands like Waterford, Cristal d'Arques, Orrefors, Luminarc, and Waterford Marquis contributed to the category's high year-end numbers by offering commemorative millennium crystal stemware.

"We had predicted very strong beverageware sales for the year, and the actual results exceeded our expectations, largely due to consumers' desire to purchase high-end 'souvenirs' commemorating the millennium," said Clark Johnson, vice president of NPD.

Millennium marketing will have a lingering effect on barware and glassware categories, but even with those sales tapering off, Johnson predicts the home entertainment trend will continue to impact the category.

"We've been seeing a Renaissance of people discovering they can get better beverageware than in the past," he said, estimating a continued growth of 10 to 12 percent. "An analogy would be the huge increases we're seeing in cookware sales. We know that people aren't really cooking more, it's just a symbol that people want to have the best around the house for their own sense of well-being and the chance to show off when the neighbors come over."

Beverageware provides consumers the opportunity to make purchases without a huge financial commitment. For example, consumers can start with a stemware pair and expand from there.

Johnson concurred. "As opposed to tabletop where you would have to commit to change the whole table, the way these things are merchandised in smaller units gives people a chance to build their collections over time."

Toasting Casual Trends

The trends leaning towards casual, simplistic designs are trickling over from fashion and other housewares categories to barware. Just as in tabletop, formal settings and designs are secondary in consumers' minds.

Terry Monroe, president of Stillwater, OK based-Murphy's Department Store and MurphysHomestyles.com, carries approximately 120 SKUs in beverageware categories. He determined that casual is the best seller. "We don't sell nearly as many of the formal patterns as we used to."

While gains continue to be made in casual beverageware, crystal sales were up 28 percent with increases resulting mainly from commemorative millennium stemware. Full-lead crystal product saw a 35-percent increase in sales overall due to a 48-percent increase in stemware purchases.

But sales of lead-crystal barware items — such as highball and various beverage glasses — dropped 12 percent. Other crystal categories made little movement as NPD reported a one-percent loss in stemware and an 18-percent decline in barware for an overall loss in "other" crystal totaling 5 percent.

"Strong consumer and retailer focus on high-quality crystal stemware may have caused both full-lead crystal barware and 'other' crystal barware to slip a little," Johnson said. "However, the gains in full-lead crystal stemware more than offset this weakness."

Within the beverageware category tracked by NPD, glass stemware (wine, margarita, and martini) sales increased 73 percent, while glass barware (highball, cocktail, rocks) increased by 31 percent. This translates into brisk sales of casual stemware and beverage glasses at the specialty retail level.

"Overall, with the exception of bridal registries, the trend seems to be toward casual glassware," said Dee Park, co-owner of West Lebanon, NH-based Board & Basket.

While the casual style is feeding sales, specialty retailers are still wary of adding color to this category. Some retailers have had success with stemware accents, but most believed clear-glass options — especially in stemware — provided the best sales results.

Pamela Elias, owner of specialty retailer Rooster Brother in Ellsworth, ME, agreed clear glassware products provide the best revenue. "Our customers are quite conservative and want good value for the price. Serving wine in colored glass is not pleasant and diminishes the experience of drinking wine. We occasionally sell clear glasses with colored stems when we can find them."

Park said her customers have a more creative eye. "They like colors. Green glass and blue glass are doing well. Stems with a touch of color are also good. And they spark up the displays."

The increasing popularity of acrylic is also evidence of the movement toward casual designs. Sales of plastic beverageware last year showed enormous gains with stemware increasing 73 percent and barware rising 27 percent. Clark estimates that sales of plastic beverageware will increase more than 30 percent this year. Designs with special shapes, such as margarita glasses, are expected to jump dramatically this summer.

Elias accorded. "We sell a lot of acrylic stemware and tumblers, especially in the summer."

Vintage Power

The resurgence of home entertaining and wine enthusiasm will continue to push the barware momentum forward. The biggest category impacted continues to be stemware. Consumer stemware purchases increased by 38 percent in mass channels and specialty retailers say they're experiencing the same trend.

"Customers are purchasing wine, martini, and champagne glasses," Elias said. "There seems to be much less interest in old-fashioned and highball glasses."

Martini and wine glasses comprise the largest segment of specialty retailers' stemware inventories. The popularity of both drinks with consumers has kept this barware category tops in sales. But highballs are also making a comeback with consumers.

Judy Huyck, owner of specialty retail store Chefworks in Santa Cruz, CA, is experiencing exceptional sales of stemware, but also said cocktail barware products are catching her customers' interest.

"Cocktail glasses are really a growing business," she said.

Park agreed, explaining her store realized major growth in barware with sales up 26 percent from 1998. "Margarita and martini glasses have increased in popularity. Still, I would say that wine glasses are the strongest sellers at this point. Wine glasses are certainly outshining beer glasses."

Today's consumer is much more knowledgeable about wine and investing in the perfect stemware to showcase their wine choices. Stemware tops the sales charts in both glass and acrylic, and there seems to be no immediate slowing of the trend.

"Everyday wine glasses are the strongest seller, then champagnes and martinis. We're always looking for the perfect wine glass at a good price," Elias stated.

"As drinking wine with meals on a regular basis becomes more common, obviously there will a greater demand for everyday glasses. One problem I find is that many glasses are too tall; they look elegant but are very impractical. They are easy to knock over on the table and they don't fit in the dishwasher. Our customers, at least, are very attuned to these kinds of issues."

Stocking the Bar

Concurrent with the increase in beverageware sales, consumers are upgrading their home bars with stylish and functional bar accessory purchases.

Monroe said his bar accessory sales have increased in the past year. "We're selling more ice buckets and the fancier openers are moving pretty well."

As accessories gain popularity, the stainless-steel trend is making its mark here as well. Huyck said she carries nine styles of cocktail shakers and explained that "stainless-steel cocktail shakers sell the best."

Also popular at Chefworks are cocktail picks, ice crushers, and books dealing with cocktails. Chefworks cross-merchandises its books with barware inventory, pairing cocktail recipes with appropriate glassware and accessories. Other items experiencing sales growth include wine savers, cocktail shakers, soda siphon cartridges, cocktail strainers, shot glasses, mixing glasses, and, of course, corkscrews.

Park agreed. "People seem to be purchasing cocktail preparation products more. The novelty items like the Martini Mister from Misto have also caught the attention of buyers. The lever-model corkscrew and other wine openers are good sellers, too."

Huyck is also experiencing brisk business in paper goods tied to the cocktail market. "We've seen an increase in sales of cocktail napkins. We even do little coasters that slip on wine glasses and name tags that go on wine glasses."

Elias has also noticed a considerable increase in cocktail napkin sales in the past year, plus in sales in other areas of bar accessories.

"There is more interest in ice buckets and also in cocktail shakers. We've had a fairly hard time finding ice buckets that are well designed — not too cheap looking, and yet not too expensive," she said.

"We go much in-depth on all of them," Huyck said of Chefworks' inventory. The store stocks nine cocktail shakers and a few dozen SKUs of stemware. Both categories' profit margins are about the same as other kitchenware and tabletop products. Most retailers we spoke to said their margins run from 40 to 50 percent.

"Glassware and barware are profitable to our business. The section of the store devoted to those two categories adds interest for customers," Park said. "To be a serious kitchenware store, we must do both, and do them well and fully."

Into the Looking Glass

With the proven profitability of these categories, now is the time for you to survey your glass and bar displays. Are you getting the most out of your sections? Do you cross-merchandise barware items with bar accessories? How user-friendly are your beverageware departments?

Monroe creates entertainment displays that cross-merchandise barware, accessories, and product from other departments. But many retailers simply don't have the space to create full displays.

"The sales of bar equipment doesn't justify an elaborate display of these goods," Elias said. "Sometimes during the holidays, we have a special display."

But displays don't have to be elaborate — including bar accessories on tabletop displays can provide an opportunity to cross-merchandise inventory. Build a pyramid centerpiece in a tabletop display using barware and accessory items. Start with an ice bucket, stack predinner barware or martini glasses with a cocktail shaker, and keep growing the "sculpture" until the final touch — a fan of cocktail napkins and stirrers.

Bread & Basket's glassware section is in the back of the store against a long wall and extends on both sides. Well-lit, it has glass shelves for all products. Inventory is divided into barware, followed by beverage glasses, and on to stems by manufacturer in ascending order of cost. Barware products are showcased in their section and shown together in displays nearby.

"I see our barware category continuing to grow modestly and changing with the requests of the consumer. We are limited by space and can't bring in all of the nifty, if not always practical, accessories we would like," Park said of the section. "We do group accessories in the barware section, and also have some in baskets hanging nearby. A slatwall holds the products that can be hung in that manner. I'm not quite sure where we could put a larger display without totally redoing barware."

If you can't find room for displays, in-store demonstrations are always crowd pleasers. From recent additions to your book department, create cocktails from recipes. Create nonalcoholic versions of most recipes and serve them up in margarita or highball glasses. This allows customers to get a feel for the products, as well as gives you the perfect opportunity to cross-merchandise kitchenware products such as blenders and ice crushers. Don't forget to utilize accessories, handing out colorful cocktail napkins and using fruit garnishes skewered on cocktail picks.

This is also a great way to highlight acrylic products for summer home entertaining. Include a free set of cocktail picks or napkins with the purchase of $25 or more in outdoor entertainment products.

Begin cross-merchandising in your kitchenware department by giving discounts for margarita glasses with the purchase of a high-end blender. The discount gives customers a value-added incentive and moves them into your barware department to select their bonus, increasing your chances for additional sales.

Cocktail Party

Now is the time to promote your store's barware products. To increase sales, you can implement any of many inexpensive and innovative marketing ideas. This category centers on fun and entertaining. Don't think shy and retiring when you're brainstorming an idea, think Margaritaville.

Create your own bartending contest, inviting bartenders from local restaurants to your store for a competition. Prizes can be awarded for the most colorful cocktail, the most innovative margarita, and the most novel martini. Award contestants with gift certificates, wine keys, and martini glasses. The contest will not only bring existing customers into the store for an exciting event, but also since most bartenders have local followings, they too will come out and root for their favorite. In addition, you can attract local media attention by promoting it as the "Best Bartender in Town" Competition.

Dispense coupons to participants and audience members for discounts on beverage sets, wine glasses, and bar accessories. Set up a bar display and make use of your inventory for the competition. Talk to vendors about donating product for the event, as well as local liquor stores or restaurants who can bring their own vendors into the promotional mix.

Highlighting barware sales creates an opportunity to expand cooperative marketing plans. Print up coupons offering a discount for a set of four wine glasses and tie them to high-end wine bottles at your local liquor store. In exchange, give the liquor store's business cards to customers purchasing bar accessories or barware.

Now is the time to shake up sales. Change your approach to barware and its accessories. You'll discover both categories provide ample cross-merchandising opportunities and have profit margins worth the investment.