Saturday, July 02, 2005

Anatomy of a Strap-Mate failed negotiation

Steve Gable of Strap-Mate (I know, they're actually called "LG Accessories," but I like the name of their flagship product better) sent me the play-by-play for a failed negotiation he had with Spanx, one of the companies I recommended he contact as part of the "sample ploy". Steve originally tried to contact CEO Sara Blakely, but the contact was expanded to a specific office when Blakely, now a star thanks to Rebel Billionaire, did not respond. It's really disappointing that the Spanx representative was not a bit more open-minded about Strap-Mate products, but you'll probably guess that she has a company strategy to follow and she followed it closely. She does deserve snaps for being prompt with her rejections. :-) :-) :-)

UPDATE: Steve also tells me he went after Spanx with LG's laundry bag product instead of the flagship Strap-Mate. His feeling was that the laundry bag was a better match.
Hi Stef! Just got your samples. Thank you for thinking of SPANX with your patented laundry bag, but at this time I don't see that we are interested. Good luck with everything and thank you again for showing me!

Jadideah Duckham
Product Development Manager
SPANX, Inc.
Thanks for your quick response.

I really wish you would consider running a web-site test. I currently have about 500 of the 15x17inch divided bags in bulk, not individually packaged, which would enable you to have a supply on hand. You could run it as a limited introductory product. Suggested Retail about $7.95 or $8.95.

We would be willing to sell you bags in bulk, not individually package. This supply for your resell of 500 is $1.95 per bag plus shipping from our warehouse in Dayton, New Jersey. Of course, we are willing to sell you less or more. The beauty of your web-site is that you do have the ability to test to your audience.

Jadideah, one of the reasons, I thought the Easy Care Laundry Bag would do exceptionally well is because you also sell specialty products for people who care about their products. There are those who do not do well selling soap type products but do selling mesh bags.

The Easy Care Laundry Bag with all of its features really is ideal for your audience. They will buy and say thank you.
Hi Steve. I really appreciate your email. But honestly as the designer of the products and packaging, this bag isn't really up to my standards of what I would make or sell under the SPANX brand. We just have really high quality and design standards that are more unique then many of the items out there. With retailers such as Saks and Neimans, we constantly have to keep the values high. Plus when we decide to introduce laundry bags, I would have one of our manufacturers make it for us instead of going through a middle man and paying an upcharge. I know you understand that [...]

So thank you again for thinking of us and I do really appreciate your efforts. I wish you the very best!!
I would only want you to have the highest standards!

What is unique is the divided bag. I hope that you will consider at some point utilizing the patent which could generate some royalities for Lisa.

Please know that the door is open if you want to test with our existing product, which really reduces your time line. You really don't know if it will go - was giving you a way to sample the market, reducing your R&D costs.

Thanks for your candor. I am so very happy that you provided the opportunity to have a frank discussion. Please keep in touch.
Thanks Stef. To this date we have never paid any royalties for someone's idea. I know that it's hard to get patented ideas into a large company because usually no one is willing to pay royalties unless it's a really huge idea. And although I understand the concept of the divided bags, it's not unique enough for us to use it and/or pay to use it. Again I appreciate your time.
Finally, Steve writes to me...

Just wanted you to see that I followed this to extract the core of how the organization operated. If I wished to pursue it further my role would be to convert it into a hugh idea for Ms. Duckham - for now, I will work on the other suspects.
What's disappointing about Duckham's responses is
  1. While showing the utmost politeness, it's clear she's cutting Steve off as though he were a Jehovah's Witness at the door. Maybe she gets a bucketload of such proposals every day.
  2. She doesn't say how Strap-Mate products fail to meet Spanx standards, and I frankly question that statement altogether.

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