Great Dollar Store Items From Kole

The dollar store business is booming, and it’s a great time to be in it.  Kole Imports knows this first-hand, as they are enjoying their best year ever as a wholesale direct importer of dollar store items. 

In business for 20 years, Kole Imports helped create the dollar store phenomenon, and has grown along with it.  Staying at the top is hard work, and Kole’s philosophy helps them to stay there.  “We’re totally committed to providing the best high-value items to our customers:  Items that will fly off their shelves and make shoppers come back again and again,” says co-founder Danny Kole.

 In 1998, Kole Imports carried 1,800 different items.  Now there are more than 5,000 to choose from, in 33 different categories.  “Our customers always have the option of buying something they’ve never had before.  This keeps shoppers coming back to their stores to see what’s new,” says co-founder Rob Kole. 

Kole buyers are constantly reviewing new merchandise and selecting only the best items to add to their line.  New items arrive every day.  Kole Imports’ in-house artists design all of the packaging for their items, so Kole customers can be sure that they will get attractively packaged merchandise.  Also, lines of merchandise have private brand labels and similar high-quality packaging, so a section of merchandise in a store has a cohesive look to it.  A great example of this is Kole’s Krafters Korner line of craft items.  All items are in attractive bright yellow packages, resulting in a unified look.  Instead of seeing an aisle full of mismatched packages, the shopper sees 50 items that go together, and they are more likely to purchase multiple items.

As part of their commitment to customer service, Kole Imports has invested heavily in technology, creating koleimports.com, one of the most comprehensive websites in the discount store industry.  The site features online ordering, low internet prices, pictures and prices of new items, special closeouts and a weekly tradeshow calendar. In short, all the things that make the Kole experience so valuable to begin with.  In fact, koleimports.com has been such a success, the company recently moved to a more powerful server to keep up with the traffic, averaging 75,000 visitors per month.

Business keeps getting better as more retailers are adding dollar sections to their stores.  “We’ve had a lot of business from convenience stores, pharmacies and supermarkets, who want to add dollar sections to their stores to attract customers, and we’re experts in putting together small selections of great items for them,” says Danny Kole.  “Dollar merchandise isn’t just for dollar stores anymore.”

The keys to success in this competitive industry are value, inventory, and price.  The consumer has to believe they are getting good value from their purchase, the store owner needs to get the item at a competitive price in order to make a profit, and the supplier must have sufficient inventory to deliver merchandise quickly without back orders.  Kole Imports excels at all three, selling high-perceived-value items at competitive prices, and carrying enough inventory to keep up with demand.  “If a customer sends us a list of items they want, we average 90% in stock, and we have great substitutes for anything we’re out of,” boasts Danny Kole.  “We pride ourselves on our ability to give our customers what they want.”

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