Back on the coffee cup path

If we're honest with ourselves, we've let a number of categories run without any input and they've been floundering a bit.
One of these has been our coffee cup category. This week has seen it change with the introduction of loads of new coffee and cappuccino cups by PPD designs that come in brilliant gift packaging that's almost as nice as the product itself.
To help restart the coffee cup category, we've made it a main home page category instead of being hidden in kitchen accessories.

A Couple Of New Novelty Toilet Seats

We've added a couple of fun toilet seats from Wenko to add even more colour to our Novelty Toilet Seat range (as if it wasn't colourful enough already!)
The latest seats feature a multi coloured Lips design and a pink furry Monster design. Both seats are fitted with stainless steel (rust free) hinges.
We reckon they'll be especially popular in kids bathrooms although we hope they'll appeal to anyone young at heart.

Narrow Towel Racks

It's been mentioned that our towel racks have been too wide for some customers.
This has been proven when some have been returned with the customer stating they're too wide, didn't fit etc.
Well hopefully the introduction of Narrow towel racks by Bathroom Origins that are approx. 45cm wide will not only fill a gap (a small gap that is) but also add good sterling value as they are at a  premium price level .
These racks are 45cm wide - that's about 15cm narrower than most so will cut the space required by up to 25%.

Hotellerie Division

We're planning to expand the multi pack options aimed at the hotel industry.
The latest offering is a pack of 3 extra wide shower curtains.
The pack price equates to a cost of under £8 per curtain (including VAT) and in addition to being an extra wide 240cm curtain, these are made from pvc so are totally waterproof and easy to keep clean.
Typical customers will be small hotels, guest houses and some bed & breakfast hotels.

Trade Packs

I guess that many customers who buy single items are individual consumers but the great majority of customers who buy more than one are trade users of some sort - anything from a hotel cum B&B through to developers or property managers.
To appeal to these customers, we are going to be introducing trade packs giving big discounts on additional products.
Our first offer is a trade pack of extra long shower curtains. It contains 2 curtains where the second costs only £6 which is less than half the singles cost.
The problem that I have to deal with is how to sell it as it is bland and doesn't stand out from regular products.
Something for Martin tomorrow!

2014 Plans For Ziggiziggi

Our plans for ziggiziggi during 2014 are evolving...we will be cutting  back on peripheral product areas such as kids & home products to concentrate on bathrooms and kitchens (although not exclusively).
Part of this concentration will see much more expensive, aspirational products such as the Swarovski crystal range mentioned a few weeks ago.
The thought process behind this is to create a brand which customers want to be part of - Even if they can't afford the most expensive offerings, they'll want to buy into the style &  design that Ziggiziggi offers.

A Very Romantic Shower Curtain

Our new Amour shower curtain by Ridder is definitely one for romantics.
With love written all over it in 3 different languages (literally) and then dotted with little red hearts, it gives a lovely look (or is that a lovers look) to your shower with a colour scheme particularly suited to either red or white bathroom themes.
And of course coming from Ridder it is a quality product made from 100% polyester and is generously sized to suit both standard and slightly larger showers or bathrooms.

I've done nothing for 3 weeks

Can't believe I have been so busy working on other projects that I haven't done anything on ziggi for nearly 3 weeks...no new poducts,  no blog posts, nothing on the company site or its blog.
Well today I'm back on things and I've been busy adding the new S8 series of Swarovski crystal bathroom accessories made by Sonia of Spain and distributed by Bathroom Origins (one of nicest and best suppliers).
They're blingy and in your face so ideal for someone with lots of money who likes to show off a bit.
It wouldn't be hard to spend £1000 just on the bathroom accessories and that's not including the bath or shower!

Gedy Toilet Butlers

We love Bathroom Origins (one of our favourite suppliers) so it's always nice to add more of their products.
The latest additions are new toilet butlers by Gedy.
Made from chrome plated brass and stainless steel they don't just look rather nice, they come with the usual 10 year warranty and are rust and tarnish resistant as well.
They should prove a nice addition to any bathroom or cloakroom.

Featured in Hello Magazine

Great news and a big well done to Joseph Tirelli for getting us featured in Hello Magazine.
They've featured the coloured Mount Fuji caddy which is one of those iconic products that really stands out in the magazine.
PR is one of those funny things that you just can't measure but when it works it is incredibly effective.
Well done again JT!

Modern coloured toilet seats

Just added, modern contemporary coloured toilet seats by Wenko of Germany.
To start we've got red and blue (I wanted green but they're out of stock). I know it's not much but they do make a change from the boring old sanitaryware colours that people buy simply as replacements.
Plus the old colours seem to be getting harder to source.
Time to take a break now - it's 6.30 and it's been a long, hard miserable day.
....and it's pissing down with rain too!

Trying it my way

We've been discussing our new Home Makeover Accessory category and there was a distinct difference of opinion over how best to describe the multi packs that we have created.
Initially Pamela wanted to have a description reflecting the products but we (the marketing gurus) wanted a funky, cheeky description that intrigues as much as describes.
We've agreed to try it our  way and the result is names such as 'Say Cheese' and 'Bathroom Bling'.
Hope it works or we'll be eating a bit of humble pie.

2014 Novelty Toilet Seats

The 2014 Novelty Toilet Seat collection arrives shortly!
We've sourced some great new designs from Wenko and also from Wirquin made from the usual variety of materials...resin, mdf plus (this is definitely a novelty) some new designs that incorporate an 'Americana' style metal inlay in the lid of the seat.
It's not my taste but lets see how customers react to this (they'll probably be popular with alternative cafes in Camden)

Don't Buy Separates

Don't but separates from zigiziggi!
Give your room of choice a makeover and save money by buying our new Home makeover value sets.
These special value home accessory sets will give your bathroom/kitchen/dining room a nice fresh makeover with the sets ensuring good savings over buying the products individually.

Hotellerie Hotel Bathroom Accessories

We've set up a new bathroom accessories category - hotel bathroom accessories which features a selection  of hotellerie/specifier bathroom and shower fittings that need to withstand higher levels of  use and to meet size requirements that are larger than typical domestic bathrooms, such as extra long or extra wide shower curtains which can be up to 120cm (4') larger than a normal shower curtain.
There is also a lot more brass based products as this is a rust and tarnish free material.
This category is aimed at servicing the needs of hotels, restaurants, clubs and public use bathrooms or washrooms.

Coloured Bathroom Accessories

We've been working hard to boost our coloured home accessories section, in particular the Coloured bathroom accessories  where we have a shop by colour section offering bathroom accessories in 9 colours including blue, green, red and orange.
A lot of the work is simple site housekeeping such as improving descriptions, meta data and product images. I've also updated the copy on the main shop by colour page as the old copy was a bit of a mess.
It's funny though that when  you make these changes, the search engines don't seem bothered (in fact they often seem to lower your rankings initially but there again this kind of work is for the long term).

New Kitchenwares for Ziggiziggi

Ziggiziggis' kitchenwares is getting a real boost with the addition of new kitchen accessories from Gusto - supplied by Imperial International who supply us with the Spirella range of shower accessories.
Together with this, we are getting into stock on Monday new Beau & Elliott kitchen storage accessories which fills a big gap in our range.
I haven't seen the products yet but hear they look fab so can't wait to see them on Ziggiziggi next week.

Ziggiziggis' New Look

We're evolving a new look for Ziggiziggi with a new logo coming soon together with colourful lifestyle graphics being added to different categories - it's part of a drive that introduces our 'Live life in full colour' theme.
Examples can be seen on the Shower Curtains range and on the Coffee cups category where colourful full width images have been added.
This rebranding coincides with a new marketing push that starts this month (more details to follow on a future post)

The Spring Fair 2014

We caught the Spring Fair on a quiet day - that gave it a really nice, calm atmosphere and a real pleasure to wander around.
New products that we found include suction fit bathroom accessories (hopefully better than the Wenko accessories which have been a disappointment), Gusta kitchen accessories and Spiegelau glassware. Both Gusta and Spiegelau are from Imperial International who we have worked with for a number of years buying their Spirella ranges of swiss shower accessories.

More Luxury Soap Baskets

We've added new Lounge Soap Baskets to our collection of bath and shower storage baskets.
Made by Gedy of Italy (and sold through Bathroom Origins one of our favourite suppliers), the Lounge baskets are made from chrome plated brass with a distinctly solid look rather than being made from wire which is the norm for most bathroom baskets.
There's a single and double which is big enough any size bathroom, shower or wet room.

Zone of Denmark

The Zone of Denmark category has been expanded and now runs to 6 pages of fantastic Danish designed products.
OK I know they're not the cheapest but the designs are lovely and they have that feelgood factor that quality brands give.

Wood Effect Seats

We're trying the Arley range of wooden seats (well wood effect seats)
They're made from mouldwood with a printed foil cover thus allowing customers to get a wooden look for the price of a plastic seat.
Personally I prefer the real thing but these cater for budget shoppers (a market that ziggiziggi doesn't normally chase)