SFD Enterprises has a core business and a core customer base, says company controller Dave Wilson. “Our primary customers are Baptist churches, and we sell them three different kinds of sheets,” he says. “We sell sheets to churches, who use them for fund-raising.”
However, the company often has more sheets than it can sell, and that’s where the flea market and swap meet industry comes in. “We’ve ordered quite a bit, so we have overstocks. We’re selling to vendors to cut down the inventory and get our money back on those items,” says Wilson. “Our sheets are proven items that sell at flea markets. We’ve sold there before and done really well. But we had enough business catering to our churches that we didn’t have to do the wholesaling.”
Now the company is returning to the vendor community to get back into that market. “We’ve refocused, and we’re back to the swap meet and flea market arena,” says Wilson. What’s more, the company is resolved to make this move with a clear goal of explaining the convincing reasons that its products offer a competitive advantage.
For one thing, SFD offers a remarkable flexibility in ordering pallet and half-pallet loads. “We are one of the only companies, maybe the only company, who lets vendors pick their own array of colors and sizes,” explains Wilson. “When you order a pallet from someone else, the variety is preset. With us, we let you pick the sizes and colors you want. If you want to stick with a heavy black assortment, we’ll let you do that.”
Another competitive advantage is quality. “Our products are better quality, better weight, and we have a two month guarantee. In a month, we’ll be offering a two-year guarantee,” says Wilson. “I don’t believe anyone else will stand by their product with a two-year guarantee on a close-out item.”
The company’s sheets are currently a microfiber product, and a cotton variety is in the works as an upcoming new product line. The company makes three sheet lines, each in a range of sizes and colors: original basic, damask, and satin. SFD Enterprises is also selling its new blankets and decorative throws on the wholesale market to flea market vendors.
“We are returning to flea markets and swap meets with a new marketing campaign and with a better product than our competitors,” says Wilson. He says that although the cost for SFD’s sheets is a little higher, the products’ advantages make up for it, and vendors can still expect margins in the 75 percent to 100 percent range. For orders of a full pallet of 360 sheet sets, the company offers free shipping.
For more information, contact Dave Wilson at SFD Enterprises by phone at (248) 987-4003 or e-mail dave@sfdenterprise.com.
