Introduction to TeaRetailer.com
Welcome!
In these pages you will find our theories, progress and experience of transferring the retail experience we've amassed online to the world of bricks-and-mortar. Rather than approach this project in the typical secretive corporate fashion, we've made the decision to embrace the input and participation of our customers and business partners. In doing so we hope to better align ourselves with the needs and desires of the market, and also provide valuable insights and strategies to the retailers that carry our products.
Our plans to open physical stores returns us to the idea that began the company. That idea was judged premature twelve years ago, as gourmet teas were still a novelty that appealed to a tiny sliver of the public. Large coastal cities with sizable immigrant populations, like New York and San Francisco, had stand-alone tea shops, but the rest of the country seemed inhospitable to the concept. What the rest of the country had were tearooms, foodservice venues where tea figured prominently but accounted for a small percentage of sales. With little interest in being restauranteurs, we opted instead for the simple model and far reach of internet sales.
The Adagio Teas website went live in June of 1999, found an eager audience, and continues to grow and improve. Since that time we've added staff, leased warehouses, and opened offices in Europe and China. The market for gourmet tea was also being transformed. Good teas were now offered in fine hotels, restaurants and shops, presenting an opportunity to reach large audiences outside the online channel. These days, our teas are sold on many store shelves, but these represent a small part of our assortment, and as the latter continues to increase, the disparity between what is and could be had grown more and more apparent.
The solution was a physical store offering a wide selection of teas we offer online, but with the added benefit of offering customer the ability to touch, smell and taste products before purchase. In other words, back to the original concept. Luckily, the marketplace had changed in our favor, with gourmet teas growing in popularity and health benefit esteem. The timing seemed right to test how successful we may be in bringing the accessibility and enchantment of gourmet tea we've created online to a wider audience via a chain of physical stores. This will be the story profiled in these page. We welcome your attention and, more importantly, participation.
Let the journey begin.
Adagio Teas
Twitter: @AdagioRetail
|
Voice your opinion about this article on TeaChat! |
|
Dec 12th '09 13:05
I think some of us would appreciate knowing some "fundamentals" at this point in time since we are asked to be "involved," answers subject to change of course. I apologize if you have answered some questions elsewhere already. This will also serve to hopefully foster further discussion. Perhaps other members have some fundamental questions to add, please do. 1. Will this be a "company store" that is fully owned and operated by Adagio or will it be a somewhat seperate entity? Will it be named Adagio? 2. This was asked in another category today, thought I would add it here. What form of ownership is Adagio? 3. Are there plans to open more retail stores? Or is this a model experiment to illustrate and educate? 4. Any idea about size of the retail store, has the location been picked, and proposed opening date? 5. More to come ... 
|
Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji |
|
Dec 12th '09 15:12
Good afternoon,A few of these questions would make good blog entries, and so I may elaborate more soon. That said, here's the nuts and bolts: 1. This will be 100% owned and operated by Adagio Teas. That said, Adagio is owned by some pretty impressive people. I don't want to jinx it but so far it appears that I'll have a great deal of freedom to apply what I've learned over the past five years in Tea Retail, apply the suggestions of our customer base, and experiment with the model in an effort to find the perfect balance. The store will most likely bear the Adagio brand and name, but there has been some debate over the options there. 2. Adagio is a privately held family company. More information at http://www.teamuse.com/article_061001.html. 3. I would like to continue our expansion but it depends on the performance of the store. Unless things go very poorly with the first, we will likely open a second and maybe a third, all in the Chicago land area. I'd hate to give up on retail because of some unique problem at one location. Expansion beyond the first two or three, however, will require a very solid business case. It is possible that these stores will be great for the brand and overall business, but not terribly profitable individually. Or they may be extremely successful on their own which would prompt us to expand to other key markets. 4. The location will most likely be somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 feet of retail space. Smaller is possible but then we'd have to give up some of our ideas for "experiencing tea". There are a handful of neighborhoods around the Chicago area that I'm targeting, but because I am aware of a couple other tea companies that are looking in similar areas I'll keep that secret for now. We are negotiating on one space currently, but the odds are always against any specific location until the lease is actually signed. The most important thing is that the location is PERFECT. The future of Adagio Retail depends on it! Any other questions... bring it on. 
|
Chicago, IL |
|
Dec 14th '09 9:58
Thanks Charles ... I hope other members will bring on some questions as well.
|
Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji |
|
Dec 30th '09 16:34
Portland (Oregon) is an awesome location for a second shop. Adagio would be epic there. I'm surprised you didn't pick San Francisco
|
|
|
Dec 31st '09 9:10
San Francisco has a great tea culture but the demographic and cultural sensibilities are very different from the rest of the country. A concept that works in San Francisco may or may not work in Chicago, NY, LA, Atlanta or Dallas. We chose Chicago, in part, because it is a much closer to the average American.
|
Chicago, IL |
|
Dec 31st '09 10:48
+1 on Portland! Even though I only get there a few times a year, at least it would be within driving distance!
|
Oregon |
|
Dec 31st '09 14:04
If Chicago works out well, any plans for NY in the distant future? I've got family in both Chicago and NY, and it would be great to be able to point them all to Adagio when the time comes to buy gifts (Sorry, Christmas still on the brain) for me or to themselves from me. Makes things very simple. |
Canada |
|
Jan 4th '10 16:06
There are three distinct options and lots of variation in between: 1. The retail model doesn't work and we stick to E-Commerce and wholesale. 2. The retail model works well as brand building and is good for exposure, but isn't profitable enough to open more than a handful of flagship stores in key markets. 3. The retail model is a smashing success and we open a chain of stores. Adagio has been successful online, through grocery chains and in wholesale. They've also been successful with loose tea, bagged tea, ready-to-drink bottled tea and custom manufactured teaware and accessories. The company doesn't NEED the retail model, but we'd love to see it work. Quite simply, it's a lot of fun to share our passion for tea directly with the customer! |
Chicago, IL |
|
Jan 5th '10 12:34
Charles, you already asked what teas should Adagio carry, what about a topic for teawares? viewtopic.php?f=55&t=11549viewtopic.php?f=55&t=11548&start=15#p137655 How about a TeaRetailer article on the subject of teaware, and then of course a topic under TeaChat > TeaRetailer where we could discuss possible additions to the line up? |
Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji |