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Cutlery can be one of specialty retailers' most challenging categories to sell. A limited amount of shelf space, precious little time to dedicate to actively selling the category, and a few dominant, well-established brands that are available in multiple channels have led the category to become one that is often left to sell itself.

Regardless of these challenges, manufacturers continue to introduce new cutlery lines to U.S. consumers. As well-established brands expand their lines and newcomers seek shelf space, what can you do to increase your sales in a category whose sales for the most part have only modestly increased in the past several years?

Big Branding Efforts

Despite the diversity of manufacturers producing high-end cutlery, the big-brand names continue to dominate, enjoying the effects of years of brand-name marketing. The result? Many consumers have often already decided which brand of cutlery they'll purchase prior to stepping into the store. While lesser-known brands have garnered some niche success, many retailers have become complacent about promoting cutlery. They might be assuming that if customers have already made their cutlery decisions, why should they spend the extra time and energy to actively promote the category? Unfortunately, those taking this approach are losing an opportunity to not only grow this very profitable category, but also to distinguish themselves from their competition.

"I think brand is really important, especially if it's a well-known brand in the U.S. and has a good reputation," said Simone Mayer, owner of real.life.basic in Miami, Fla. "However, having a good range of cutlery in stock is the most important part of good cutlery sales. You have to at least show a wide enough range to excite your customers. Most sales are of 3-inch paring knives and 8-inch chef's knives, but having a broad enough range will insure some purchases. A well-stocked department also makes customers feel that you are in the knife business, that you are a source for all their cutlery needs."

While the major cutlery brands capture nearly 80 percent of the market, new brands and lines are continually premiering. To attain success in the current retail climate, it's necessary to investigate new methods of promoting, selling, and competing. This is not to say that you shouldn't promote the well-established brands, but rather that you should pay attention to the overall category. Don't become bogged down in the same old, same old. Explore new options.

Then when you have chosen your cutlery selection, don't forget that cutlery requires personal attention. How the customers will use it, how it feels in their hands, and how well it performs weeks, months, and years after the purchases are made will be the true test of their satisfaction. And consumers will directly relate their level of satisfaction to the retail store where they purchased their cutlery.

At real.life.basic, a custom cabinet that allows customers to view the store's complete selection was installed near the cash-wrap area.

"The cabinet allows customers to view the inventory, as well as get an idea of the product mix, size relationship, and pricing," Mayer explained. "We feel that it's very important to give all that information to the customers. Cutlery is a category that intimidates some customers. By providing the information up front, they can shop the department on their own and become comfortable with the assortment and each item's cost before they ask questions."

Adding to the customers' comfort are pull-out shelves on both sides of the cutlery cabinet. The shelves, which function as cutting boards, allow customers to get a feel for each cutlery item. Taking it a step further, real.life.basic staff is quick to reach into the cooking school refrigerator and pull out vegetables for potential cutlery customers to cut and chop.

"They can pick up the knife and feel the weight and the balance," Mayer said. "This also gives us the opportunity to explain the principles of cutlery, which are weight, balance, and comfort in your hand. Our cutting boards allow them to go through the motion of cutting and really put it into practice."

Carving Up the Pie

With a limited amount of space to allocate to the cutlery category in most stores, retailers aren't demanding more brands and more cutlery options. Yet existing brands, as well as new ones are still trying to carve out a piece of the pie.

One way new vendors are attempting to gain retail placement is by providing high quality, strong value, and unique designs at moderate price points. As new players continue to enter the market, established vendors are expanding their current line offerings and providing retailers with stronger promotional programs as well.

Although there hasn't been tremendous innovation in the cutlery category for several years, things are beginning to change. Recent developments include new steel compositions that create sharper edges or hold the edge longer, new knife sizes, new ethnic knife shapes, thinner blades, and hollow handles that provide the consumer with cutlery that's lighter, yet possesses perfect balance for control and ease of use. All of these advancements offer retailers an opportunity to promote the category for additional sales.

The aesthetics factor has also become more important, especially as good designs gain favor in the kitchen. With that said, traditional rivet-handled cutlery maintains its slow growth pattern, while stainless steel's current popularity in the kitchen has helped grow the stainless look in cutlery, too.
The stainless craze provides an excellent opportunity to capitalize on a trend. If your customers are purchasing a lot of stainless kitchenware items to match their kitchen decor, it's likely they'll be open to purchasing an all-stainless knife set. And this is true not only for cutlery, but for all the accessories that accompany the category as well.

"It is an exciting time for cutlery buyers," stated one manufacturer, "because all of a sudden there is a variety of new, unique lines available for the customer to choose from." However, the manufacturer did concede that "something has to give - whether retailers give up higher-priced lines to make room for moderately priced cutlery, or the other way around, because there is only so much room on the shelves."

This dilemma begs the question: "How many brands should a retailer carry?" While that decision ultimately lies with the retailer and the brand's previous performance, two sides of this issue should be considered.

Those who pare down the selection to one or two brands to carry a focused assortment do so believing that they provide their customers a service by investigating the entire pool of cutlery brands, and then making an educated decision on what they believe to be the category's best.
Those on the flip side believe that retailers sell themselves short if they don't offer customers several options, particularly a variety of innovative examples in the cutlery category.
"The cutlery category can be a great category that can grow for you if you have the staff, assortment, and proper promotions in place," explained one manufacturer.

"We have a good assortment of price points. We carry a full range of Wusthof, but we also have OXO cutlery. It's a pretty good range of cutlery, but it's definitely at an opening price point for our customers," Mayer said. "We also carry Global, which has become our number-one selling line, and we also have eight Japanese knives with wooden handles."

Mayer complements this assortment with carrying cases, sharpeners, knife block sets, wall mounts, in-drawer knife holders, and plastic knife shields.

Still, what defines a "good range" is subjective. You have to know your customer base to determine what you can expect of them.

Paulette Duracinsky, owner of Talbot Kitchens, understands what the community of Easton, Md., expects from her store after being in business for 13 years.

"I carry one brand, Henckel, and one line within that brand - The Four Star," Duracinsky said. "It sells very well for me. I have repeat customers who are adding to their own collections or buying gifts. I also have local chefs who come to the store because they choose to buy Henckel. I don't have to do a lot of work to sell it."

Cutlery merchandising at Talbot Kitchens utilizes magnetic bars. Duracinsky believes this style of merchandising sells the knives best because customers have the opportunity to touch and feel each product.

Talbot Kitchens' cutlery selection includes cutlery accessories, such as knife sharpeners, two-piece carving sets, and starter sets.

"I am not a fan of knife blocks because I think people end up buying things they don't need," Duracinsky continued, " so I sell a lot of magnabars."

Simply Selling

Hand in hand with promoting the new advances in the category comes the need for promotional programs. Cutlery doesn't consume much space within the retail store, yet it provides high-dollar sales per square foot. The key is having the product well displayed and in stock, but most importantly, it comes down to selling, as customers rarely pick up a new chef's knife on a whim.
At real.life.basic, Mayer's promotion has a sharp edge. She invested in a commercial knife sharpener and uses it to offer a sharpening service for a small fee to customers.

"We have a knife-sharpening service for our customers and I would encourage other retailers to do it. It makes our customers feel they are going to be supported throughout their purchase," Mayer explained. "It cost us about $500 and we've already made back that money."

For a minimal charge - $1.50 to $3.50, real.life.basic customers can get a range of knives sharpened. A two-sided European knife gets sharpened on the commercial knife sharpener, while a Japanese knife is sharpened on the store's commercial wet stone. Store staff further educates customers on how to maintain those sharp edges at home, a practice that feeds cutlery accessory sales in the store.

Duracinsky has her own knife-sharpening program. In it, a local chef comes in quarterly to instruct patrons on proper knife-sharpening techniques and tools.

No one can deny that compelling promotions help drive sales of kitchenware products, but even more importantly, that success in the cutlery category relies on product knowledge and suggestive selling. Though the four or five basic blade shapes won't change, what retailers do with their marketing approaches can. Since selling a knife takes longer to sell than does most other kitchenware, and because cutlery is such a personal purchase, the staff must take the time necessary to individualize their selling techniques to each prospective customer.

"Price point is a stumbling block for many customers, but we overcome it through education," Mayer explained. "The sale is easier once a customer understands it's an investment for life, that a knife is not a disposable item, and that with proper care, cleaning, and sharpening, the knife can give them years and years of great service."

Mayer encourages her customers and her staff to use the store's cutlery inventory constantly in cooking school classes, as well as for contest prizes.

"We have partnered with our vendors to give product to our staff so that they can use it in their own homes," Mayer continued. "This way, they are better able to explain the benefits of a great knife to the customer. They also understand the importance of cleaning and using the product."

Cutlery success pares down to the "Four Ps" of marketing - Product, Placement, Price, and Promotion. Spreading the message may be challenging, but numerous manufacturers offer a variety of POP materials, training programs, advertising allowances, and special packaging - all with the goal to help drive your cutlery sales.

In the high-end cutlery category, the differences between one brand and another may be as slight as the handle design or composition of the blade's steel, so to help differentiate one line from another, manufacturers suggest that besides educating customers about a line's features, retailers must tell the stories of particular brands. Perhaps a certain line is a popular choice at culinary schools or with other foodservice professionals, another might have a popular chef's name attached to it, while still another brand might have a long history and tradition of knife making.

Recently, cutlery packaging has improved so that consumers can better understand what they're viewing. Creative open-stock packaging now offers consumers safety and protection in the form of reusable storage cases. Not only do they offer efficient visual merchandising on the retail floor, they also provide consumers with a safe, yet practical way to store their cutlery in a drawer.

Open stock or block sets? Both have their advantages. The former allows consumers to purchase a single replacement knife or an addition to their existing set. Open-stock items also enable consumers to become acquainted with a particular brand without incurring the expense of a full set. Block sets enable consumers to purchase the knives that they want at a more affordable price than that for an individual purchase. Additionally, block sets have always been popular gift items, especially for the gift registry.

Accessorizing the Sale

Cutlery sales peak at two times of the year - Father's Day and Christmas. However, that doesn't mean that cutlery sales can't be robust throughout the rest of the year. A sound consumer education effort all year-round will certainly help boost cutlery sales.

Additionally, there is great growth potential for accessorizing the sale. Remember, the cutlery category encompasses much more than just knives. It includes accessories ranging from sharpeners, to scissors, to blocks, to carving sets, to steak knife sets, to magnetic bar holders, and more. Indeed, many manufacturers and retailers feel that the cutlery accessories might even be more important than the cutlery. For instance, when consumers purchase knives, they are basically buying pieces of steel that have factory edges - one of thousands of edges that those blades will have during their lifetimes. Too often, consumers become frustrated with their knife purchases soon after they get them home because the blades quickly dull. The edge is no better than the sharpeners the customers own and often, they are anxious about performing the task. Successful retailers ensure that the cutlery customer is well versed on how to extend the life of their cutlery purchases. If they understand how to sharpen their knives, they'll extend the knives' lives, and you, the retailer, can help ensure that they're happy customers.

Take a cue from Mayer's knife-sharpening program or develop your own Cutlery 101 Class. Offer the class at a discount for customers who recently purchased a knife, thereby providing them with an incentive to return to the store for knife skills and sharpening tips. Once they're in the store, you can begin to expose them to the accessories you stock - knife sharpeners, magnetic bars, etc.
As for your cutlery business' future, if you want to be on the "cutting edge," you need to continue to promote the category. Doing so will help grow the market's high end because many consumers haven't yet upgraded to better-quality knives. What is required is the education. And that is up to you.