Best cork products for shop owners?
WORLD OF CORK FASHION
more demanded cork products - Case STUDY
In January 2020 we conducted a study to evaluate the cork products that had more value in a sample of 50 cork shops in Porto, Lisboa and Coimbra. We interviewed shop owners to ask their opinion and invited them to share their experience with us.
Cork products by Revenue $
We first asked about what products generated more revenue in each cork shop:
Cork SHoes
58%
Cork Handbags
32%
Small Cork Accessories
10%
These results can be quite surprising. Although we knew cork shoes were inside the most demanded cork products the difference when compared with the others is very significant. 58% of the interviewed referred cork shoes represented most of their revenue. Cork handbags also represent an important part of the revenue with 32% of shop owners revealing most of their revenue came from here. The owners mentioned in the past they could sell better the handbags, however the competition is now bigger for this kind of product and cheap and low quality bags penetrated the market confusing the consumers.
What shop owners say
The small cork accessories do not have too much margin. When I sell a pair of shoes is the equivalent of selling 5 small wallets.
João Pires
Shop Owner in Lisbon
Cork shoe is what makes my shop unique. There is less competition than for other cork accessories. You need to invest a bit more in inventory but it totally worth it.
Marta Fonseca
Shop Owner in Oporto
Anyone can make at home a cork bag or a cork wallet. The shoes are much difficult to make and this makes them much more unique than any other cork product
Diana Silva
Shop Owner in Oporto
What Product characteristics people look for?
We then survey the shop owners about what characteristics they perceived as important for the customer before selecting a product. Bellow you find the most mentioned features shop owner mention.
Uniqueness
75%
Made in Portugal Label
30%
Cork certification
60%
It can be worn
90%
Cork Softness
20%
Natural cork colour
60%
We can highlight that people do prefer products they can use their everyday life (it can be worn). Customer also want to find something that is exclusive and won’t find anywhere else (uniqueness). Finally, we would like to highlight the importance give the cork certification – this might be a consequence of cheap cork imitations that have been spreading and people give better importance to these label of trust.
conclusion
This study compares and analysis the importante of the different cork products and their characteristics in a shop owner perspective.
First, we evaluated the economical benefits of the main cork products segments: cork footwear, handbags, and small accessories as wallets, hearings or small coin purses.
The results show shop owners perceive the cork footwear as the type of product more revenue give to them although they recognize the investment is bigger in this type of product as you need to stock more.
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Treec® - Cork Shoes
Treec manufacturers sustainable cork shoes inspiring sustainability and conscious fashion in all the designs. A family owned business who favors quality, culture, nature and the future.
