TOPSFIELD - Some small stores struggle to shift business to the Internet;
Dazzling Dot is doing just the opposite. The online business is branching out - to its first store.
Within The Dazzling Dot's headquarters off Route 1 in Topsfield, self-described employee "elves" carefully but quickly fill baskets with maple leaf-shaped bottles of syrup, boxes of Cranberry Bog Frogs and containers of artichoke pesto.
The business is in the midst of its third Christmas rush, but has tweaked its technologies so busy executives can e-mail a spreadsheet to the business, placing dozens of orders at once and automatically generating UPS mailing labels.
Yet at the same time, the company moved off-line to open a 250-square-foot store in the Cummings Center in Beverly, said Heidi Bond, a co-founder of the company and its chief financial officer. While the location is small and doesn't offer big signs or street-front visibility, the business campus brings together more than 400 companies and plenty of foot traffic. That helps make it easier on people who want to see what they're buying.
The business is expanding in other ways, such as partnering to sell gift baskets at local wineries and negotiating for thank-you presents to be placed on the seats of newly sold cars. High levels of customer service - including gift boxes printed with the sending company's logo - help keep gifts personal.
Bond spoke with The Salem News about the company's growth.
Why open a dedicated retail store in the Cummings Center?
The corporate business is huge. ... They approached us. There is everything you could possibly need under one roof, but there was no company doing what we're doing.
Is the Cummings Center store geared entirely to businesses?
The physical locality of the Cummings Center puts us in a corporate environment, but we're dealing with individual people all the time.
What were some of your unusual requests?
We've had pet-themed gifts, horse-themed gifts, an unusual amount of gifts to go to veterinary hospitals for care. ... Nothing surprises us. People want things to be special.
Did you consider creating a regular retail store in Topsfield?
I'm not sure if Topsfield is the best place for us in terms of traffic flow. ... Just being established in Topsfield is great for us. They know we're here.
I think that was driven by the corporate market and the uniqueness of the Cummings Center. It's amazing, the draw for us. The Cummings Center draws people for all reasons.
We're just looking for the company to grow. There's potential to expand the corporate and personal gift markets, and we're exploring the wedding market. ... We're having a good time. ... It's great to see a person smile when they see a gift.
"We hope to tap into a whole new market," said Heidi Bond, chief financial officer. "We're hoping especially to grow our corporate customer base there."The privately owned company started three years ago as an on-line venture called Craving Gifts. But two months ago, it changed its name to The Dazzling Dot.
"Our boxes all have silver polka dots," Bond said. "We wanted a name tied to the theme of our packaging, but also something very unique so that people would ask us who we are."
The Dazzling Dot specializes in upscale gifts for all occasions - holidays, birthdays, new babies, even corporate sales. Gourmet cheese and chocolates, handmade soap, and books are among its gift items. Some baskets have themes, such as Boston and New England.
"We wanted every item to be unique, " Bond said. "These aren't things you would find on a grocery store shelf. We want it to be special when someone receives it."
Bond is one of four owners of the company, which is a bit of a family affair. Stephen Moses owns and operates the company with his wife, Meghan, and sister, Kristin Reynolds.
Bond declined to disclose revenues for the privately held company. But she said that revenues have doubled each year since the business started. The holidays are the busy season, followed by Valentine's Day, she said.
The small firm also hopes to become a bigger player in corporate gifts. Already, it has assembled Boston-themed gift baskets placed in suites at Fenway Park. A local car dealer has also signed on to put gifts in the front seat of every new car sold from the dealership. "There's lots of possibilities," Bond said. "People give gifts for lots of different reasons."
