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Hello ,

Greetings from AW HQ.

I'm here in Sheffield working with the team on this years plans..
Last week I was telling you about Salt Lamps and other Adventures.. you can read about it here.

This week has been a bit crazy, so many projects so many things happening all at once. Not only have we had containers rolling in every day but new stock coming on line, new staff, new products and new initiatives.
We have been trying to plan ahead for the year, but its all go, it's been like Christmas and try as we might we cannot catch up with the orders.
Now salt lamps are in stock, lots of Indonesian products back in stock, Chill Pills and bath bombs coming back on line.. and brand new things like the Aroma Atomisers (see below) means the warehouse and production area are buzzing like crazy.

We are trying to find ways to speed up processes and ship more orders but it's taking time.

Meanwhile we are busy investing in so many ideas and and new products all hopefully to help you expand your business.
These days we seem to be a victim of our own success, struggling to meet orders rather than get them, and thinking maybe about restricting new customers in order to look after our existing ones better.

It all got me thinking about core values, every business has a USP (Unique selling proposition) without that.. then.. well why would anyone do business with you, unless of course you had a monopoly. So I was thinking back to the days we started AW. Over seventeen years ago, as a wholesaler. Before that, back in the day I had retail shops in Derbyshire - so yes guys I understand retail.

Well we set out to be the complete giftware wholesaler. You can see on the top of the website: Our Mission: To provide the gift trader with the best in wholesale giftware.
A lofty task, but anyway that was the plan then and still is today. But you know, we wanted to do it differently, not only give us a better USP, but to actually find a better way to serve our customers.

Five things we do differently..

1) So first off, (and this was at the birth of the internet) we decided to be online. AW was the first Wholesaler (of any kind) to offer an online order service. Amazingly for three years no one competed with us.

2) Next, we took the radical step of simply not employing salespeople. It seemed to me the future was the internet, and the cost of sales staff, must really add 10% to costs (expense accounts, cars and commissions). So this should give us a competitive advantage, and more money to spend on marketing and little surprises like first order bonuses and free bottles of wine. (This is why we never appear at trade shows)

3) As a child I grew up in a bakery, my parents had wholesale bakery business in Sheffield, and also chain of bakery shops. I learned that manufacturing and retailing were two completely different mind sets, and it was hard to do both successfully, moreover retailing bread buns in one shop and then wholesaling them to another in the same area just caused problems. So from the outset, we decided at AW not to compete with our customers. We are purely importers and manufacturers, we wholesale but never retail. Check out how many of your other wholesalers are (maybe secretly) competing with you with shops or line retail.

4) In a similar vein, we made a conscious decision not to sell to big business. This amounts to the same thing as competing with customers. Think about it.. if we sold to a big chain store, we'd be forced to give maximum discounts, and those shops would unfairly compete with you. So no thank you to the big buyers. Anyway I had friends who had gone down that route, neglected the lovely independant customers and when the big fish swam away, soon went bust.

5) Finally we care about where stuff comes from. Because we know you do. Sure we import from China, but not gadgets from faceless factories, we always get to know our suppliers and are reasonably confident that no workers or subcontractors are being exploited. If you read this newsletter regularly you will know this. As you come round the world on buying trips with me.

So online ordering, no sales people, no competing on any level with customers, and a commitment to trading fairly. I think we are still the only Gift Wholesaler that ticks all these boxes..

So thank you for trading with Ancient Wisdom, congratulations you're doing it differently. And thank you for refocusing us on our core values, we will be trying harder in 2018 to provide you with the best in wholesale giftware.

Soon I'm off to China, and onward to Indonesia and India :) .. more news next week.

Take Care.
David

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Ultrasonic Aroma Humidifier

The natural wood effect creates a perfect home decoration ideal in any room in the house or office. The humidifier uses an ultrasonic motor to pump out the water so it’s very quiet during use. A clean stream of aromatic steam and colour changing LED light. Will also auto switch off when the water well is exhausted.

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Salts Lamps Back In Stock

We are happy to announce our Himalayan Salt Lamps are back in stock.

Each Salt Lamp comes complete with light fitting, bulb & plug. Rather than sell them by size we sell them by approximate weight. Items are marked with sizes to give a rough idea of size only, each lamp is completely unique.

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AW Chill Pills 1.3Kg - Display Box

AW Chill Back In Stock They are mini bath bombs, toss them in the bath for a mini fizz, or use them as a bathroom decoration. Quite a fizzing product .. and fast selling.

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Jumbo Bath Balls - 180g

Back In Stock. Bath Bombs are just the thing for anyone looking for a high-quality bath addition that looks and smells great. Now sold in New Improved Packaging where dividers help to secure bath bombs whilst delivering.

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Wholesale Vedic Masala Incense Sticks

NEW FRAGRANCES. The range of Vedic incense sticks has been crafted carefully to capture the essence of ancient Hindu Vedic teachings.

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Luxury Soap Flowers

Beautifully packed wholesale Soap Flowers are a perfect gift, Valentine's, wedding favours, Mother's day or just a little treat for yourself.

 
 
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