Serving the 680 Corridor in Contra Costa, Alameda and
Solano counties/www.680BusinessJournal.com/Vol 1, No. 15;
December 2000
REPRINT from December 2000/Page 3
By MERLE ROSS
| BENICIA - For
28 years, Alan Bauer was involved in the floral and gift wholesale business,
working with a partner in San Francisco. This year, that partnership
came to an end. "I decided to do it myself," he says.
With his wife, Judy, and his son and daughter, he launched Bauer Pacific Imports from his home in Danville. "We sell glass containers," says Mr. Bauer," and mirrors and polished rock. The big craze now is for fountain gardens in homes and offices. We sell to the people that make those." He also has a nautical line for gift shops. "I bring in any components people want," he adds, "birds, butterflies, different things." To keep his business running smoothly, Mr. Bauer needed a dock-high warehouse and parking for big rigs. He found what he wanted at 3195 Park Road in Benicia, where he leased 4,000sf in unit G. Larry Hazard of CRS in Walnut Creek arranged the lease. Bring it in, blow it out Mr. Bauer wants to keep his product line small and change it every six months. "It used to be that the florists and display people wanted to use the same products over and over again," says Mr. Bauer. "Now, the market
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changes so fast with all the big
stores. So if you've got a new product, you have to bring it in and
blow it out before they do."
To keep the operation small, he runs it as a family business and sells at floral and gift shows. "We used to have a sales force," he says. "But I found that they didn't generate enough to cover the extra $20,000-$30,000 a year I was paying out to provide samples for them. So I decided to put that money into shows." He hits all the big shows - the Dallas Gift Show, Holiday Expo, the Los Angeles Show, the Silk Floral Show, and many others. By not having a sales force, he saves the 15% commission and can pass it on to his customers. When Mr. Bauer isn't at a trade show, he is on a buying spree. He has been to Asia and South America this fall. "I'm looking for newer, more exclusive lines," he says. Because Mr. Bauer started Bauer Pacific Imports so late in the year, he doesn't have a Christmas line this season, but he is already working on one for next year. "You have to place orders one year in advance. We will do a lot of Christmas next year, but not this year." For more information, call 707-747-0129
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