Ted Teele was running the nation's biggest giftware wholesalecompany two years ago when he realized that many of his customerswere behind the times: Retailers weren't getting promotionalmessages to consumers quickly.
Owners of small shops filled with items ranging from jewelry todecorative photo frames and cutting boards talked in focus groupmeetings about how "everything was changing around them," Teelesaid. "Marketing and retailing were changing, and social media wasevolving into things like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter."
Big retailers had begun reaching out to customers via socialmedia sites, but small retailers were not. Seeing a need to helpthousands of independent retailers keep pace, despite limited timeand staff, Teele formed SnapRetail Inc. and created software thatowners of independent stores could use to send messages to customerswith ease.
SnapRetail was one of three companies created with Teele'sAtlanta-based wholesaler, OneCoast Network LLC, split into threecompanies on Dec. 31, 2009. The other companies, HomeStyle Inc. andIvystone Inc., still sell to retailers.
Teele boasts that SnapRetail's digital marketing system has an 18-month head start over competitors in the business of helpingindependent retailers promote products easily on the Web. "Whoeveris the lead is likely to be the big winner," he said.
So far, 550 retailers subscribe to SnapRetail's TrafficBuilderdigital marketing system, and dozens of major merchandise brandssuch as Yankee Candle and Vera Bradley work with the Churchill-based company. Entrepreneur magazine listed SnapRetail among "100Brilliant Companies" in last month's issue.
"It's made a huge difference," said Amy Hollifield, at The GiftBox in rural Gray, Tenn., which has used TrafficBuilder since March.Hollifield handles "all the computer stuff" for the store.
Here's how it works: Hollifield starts with a TrafficBuilderdigital template -- a holiday, special sale or other theme. She addsphotos of items The Gift Box sells and customizes descriptions,prices and other details. Then, with one mouse click, she can sendit as an e-mail to a list of customers and post it to Facebook andTwitter.
Customers "seem to come in, right after they see it" and usuallybuy more than one item, she said. "We tried doing this ourselves,"she said, "and it was just too hard."
Social media sites are ideally suited to small retailers, whotend to be the "fabric of their communities," as Teele calls them --and they're getting a boost from the "buy local" trend, he said.
TrafficBuilder users pay $99 a month to use the system to sendonline promotions. Merchandisers who supply retailers with productsuse it at no cost, so far. But SnapRetail hopes to finalize deals sothat the merchandise vendors will pay a monthly fee to provide theirtop retailers with the TrafficBuilder system. So far, 91 vendors useTrafficBuilder.
Accessories entrepreneur Lindsay Phillips signed on early withSnapRetail.
"He's such an industry leader and is always on the forefront ofconcepts and technology," she said.
When she was 16, Phillips came up with the idea for a flip-flopsandal with interchangeable straps. Now 26, Phillips runs a NewJersey-based company that sells her SwitchFlops and other items to3,500 retailers, mainly small gift shops. Through SnapRetail, storescan show her items online in a consistent way that's right for herbrand, Phillips said.
Phillips' shoes sit atop several office cubicles at SnapRetail,where the work force of 55 likely will keep growing, Teele said.
He seeks out "very bright, highly ambitious people" and stressestrust and respect when hiring. He wants to build a global company inPittsburgh, centered on helping independent retailers.
SnapRetail sends a twice-monthly newsletter, the Snap Advisor, to68,000 retailers. Its website features a Marketplace section, avirtual showroom where about 40,000 registered retailers can ordermerchandise. Sales there totaled about $7 million last year.
Along with TrafficBuilder, the company has developed otherproducts:
Snap-in-A Box, e-mails that ask store owners if they'd like topost online messages about items, with photos and productdescriptions.
SnapFinds, described as the small retailers' answer to Groupon.Stores are testing the discount deals system.
The company is adding partners, such as a deal announced lastmonth with the Association for Christian Retail. TrafficBuilder andspecial training will be marketed to about 1,000 Christian stores ata July conference in Atlanta.
Teele arrived in Pittsburgh in 1989 after graduating from HarvardBusiness School. He helped to found Internet startup Industry.Netand built its national sales team. Later, he became president ofsoftware firm Serviceware Inc. and started Aceda LLC with his wife,marketing consultant Suzy Teele.
Through Aceda, he ran a few companies that were seeking CEOs,before landing for eight years at OneCoast.
"I loved the industry. This is a very warm business," he said.
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