By ALEXANDRA KAPTIK
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
THE PROBLEM: How do you get your product onto a TV home-shopping network?
QVC offers the kind of exposure inventors and small-business owners dream about. A unit of cable giant Comcast Corp., QVC reaches 84 million households in the U.S. and features more than 1,600 items on air each week.
But the competition to get on the show is stiff. Out of 13,000 inquiries received last year from potential vendors, only about 2% to 3% led to a purchase order from the West Chester, Pa., retail giant.
Sara Blakely of Atlanta, and Kim and Scott Holstein of Wilmette, Ill., are among the entrepreneurs who saw QVC (www.qvc.com) as a possible path to glory.
Five years ago, Ms. Blakely was searching through department stores and boutiques, trying to find body-shaping pantyhose she could wear with pants and sandals. All of the brands on the market had feet, which precluded wearing them with sandals. And besides that, says the 31-year-old Ms. Blakely, "I tried all of the other body shapers on the market, and they were all lumpy and bumpy."
So she took a pair of scissors to her control-top pantyhose and cut off the feet. Her invention provided a slimming effect on her hips and thighs, and allowed her to wear open-toe shoes. Ms. Blakely realized she had stumbled across a product that might solve a nagging fashion problem for women. Even though she had no experience in the hosiery industry -- or retail fashion, for that matter -- she decided to go into business.
But first she had to work out the kinks in her product. The stockings fit fine, but the edges soon began to fray and roll up her legs. Determined to perfect her idea, Ms. Blakely turned to the Internet to research information on hosiery patterns and patents. Then she took a week's vacation from her job as a sales trainer for office-supply company Danka Business Systems and traveled to North Carolina, where a majority of U.S. hosiery mills are located. After meetings with a number of mill owners, "most of them thought the idea was crazy," says Ms. Blakely, but one company, Highland Mills in Charlotte, N.C., agreed to help her develop samples.
With her product, which she called Spanx, in hand, Ms. Blakely wrote the patent herself -- with help from a lawyer and books she found at her local bookstore -- and invested $5,000 of her savings in her new business. She ran it out of the spare room of her Atlanta apartment.
Ms. Blakely knew breaking into the $3.2 billion hosiery industry, dominated by Sara Lee's Hanes and L'eggs brands, would be a challenge. She relied on her sales background to help persuade stores to carry Spanx, which sell for $20 a pair. Ms. Blakely recalls, "I kept saying to myself, 'If you're spending all this time and energy to sell one fax machine to one customer, you can come up with an item you can sell to the masses.' "
She turned to hosiery buyers at major department stores, asking for meetings to demonstrate her product. Within a few months, Spanx started showing up on the shelves of Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom.
By late 2000, Ms. Blakely, who had left her job and started up her company (also called Spanx, www.spanx.com), was elated with Spanx's success, but she and her staff of five began looking for other opportunities to market her brand.
"I wanted the ability for the product and brand to reach the mass market without having to go to middle- to lower-middle-tier stores," says Ms. Blakely. But for widespread distribution, "you need corporate backup, merchandisers and the ability to pay people to train staff. I was just a small company."
In the course of her research, Ms. Blakely decided to make her pitch to QVC. "I chose QVC, and was very determined about it, because it was free advertising," she says. Spanx "was not only a new brand, but an invention that needed explaining."
Meanwhile, the Holsteins' road to QVC began in the frozen-food aisles of a supermarket in Wilmette, a suburb of Chicago. The Holsteins had dreamed of creating unique flavored pretzels and quickly found that "all you could buy was a plain salted pretzel," says Mr. Holstein.
The couple saw an opportunity. They began experimenting with flavored soft pretzels in the small kitchen of their studio apartment, taking plain soft pretzels and baking in mixtures of fruits, cheeses and spices to create distinctive flavors such as cheddar jalapeno and sun-dried tomato and herb.
The Holsteins launched Kim & Scott's Gourmet Pretzels (www.kimandscotts.com) in May 1995 with $25,000 borrowed from family members and charged to credit cards.
But the couple knew very little, if anything, about the pretzel business. Neither had studied in the culinary industry or had prior experience selling baked goods. Mr. Holstein had sold mortgages before he and Kim married in 1996. His only other foray in the food industry was running his family's Ben & Jerry's ice-cream franchise in Chicago during the summers while in college.
So, the couple sought advice from local chefs and bakers, and conducted an informal focus group to see whether their idea would fly. Satisfied with the response, the couple decided to shop their gourmet creations around to local cafes, restaurants and hotels.
"We tried different locations, everything from a movie theater to a corporate cafeteria," says the 36-year-old Mr. Holstein, who quit his job and worked full time peddling the pretzels. Neighborhood restaurants and coffee shops agreed to carry their line, including apple-cinnamon and traditional Bavarian pretzels.
By 1997, the business was busy enough for Ms. Holstein to leave her job in advertising and pursue "pretzels with a passion." Over the next few years, the Holsteins' pretzel line was introduced in area hotels, sporting arenas and universities.
Then Kim & Scott's Gourmet Pretzels began to get a national following. The Holsteins attended prominent food trade shows and acquired larger accounts with regional and national food-service companies. The pretzels began appearing in large chains such as Sam's Club, Barnes & Noble and Borders. Their product line began to expand, too. Last year, the Holsteins developed stuffed pretzels, marketing them more as a meal than as a snack. Flavors include mashed-potato dill, cream cheese and mixed berries, and a breakfast version with bacon and eggs.
But the couple became concerned that they were losing their branding. With the pretzels appearing in so many outlets, people thought of them as restaurant products rather than Kim & Scott's.
"We were national, but not selling directly to consumers, which had always been our goal," says Ms. Holstein, 35 years old. "We've always been frustrated with getting our brand name out there, letting people know that it is us and our products. One thing in selling to a restaurant, you can't tell people [the product's brand name]. The restaurant wants it to be their product."
The couple hoped that a spot on QVC's lineup would provide the perfect venue for them, directly selling their products to consumers.
THE SOLUTION: Ms. Blakely turned to QVC's vendor Web site, www.qvcproductsearch.com, for details on product requirements and submission guidelines, which she carefully followed.
QVC's Vendor Relations department, which runs the site, fully evaluates the submissions and serves as the internal advocate for sellers, presenting their products to QVC buyers. Marilyn Montross, director of vendor relations, says her team of specialists looks for a "a perfect marriage of medium and product": an item that solves a common problem, has a unique feature or distinctive name and can be easily demonstrated for consumers.
Once QVC receives a submission, it takes several weeks to evaluate it and respond to the vendor, whether it is a pass on the product or further inquiry about price and manufacturing. Then QVC and its vendors may go through several rounds -- and many months -- of rigorous quality control before a product is actually sold. Whether it is a "drop test, package-integrity test or a quality issue, if it's not coming up to our standards, the vendor may have to go back and make changes," Ms. Montross says.
Ms. Blakely began calling QVC to inquire about her application a month after submitting it. She got good news: Spanx passed the initial tests. Vendor Relations Specialist Linda Simmons, who receives 50 to 100 products a week, reviewed the pantyhose and was impressed by the high-quality stitching and waistband. "The sample she sent happened to be my size," says Ms. Simmons. "I tried it, and that's all it took for me."
But Spanx wasn't such an easy sell for the network's buyers, since QVC already carried a line of pantyhose. The buyers also examine every potential on-air product to see if it fits into one the network's current programming schedules, including apparel, health and beauty, kitchen, food or do-it-yourself items.
After several phone calls to Ms. Simmons and four months of waiting, Ms. Blakely learned that Spanx would make the lineup at the hosiery buyer's request.
Spanx first appeared on QVC in May 2001 and sold 8,000 pairs in under eight minutes in the product's first airing -- more than double the network's initial purchase of 4,000 units. Prior to QVC, Ms. Blakely sold about 30,000 units in three months. "The momentum and the amount of product you can sell on QVC is mind-boggling," she says.
She had hired a hosiery mill with enough capacity to fill the extra orders. "They just cranked up several more machines," says Ms. Blakely.
Ms. Blakely became the product's spokeswoman, appearing anywhere from three to 12 times a month on the channel. "I had to explain why a woman would need footless pantyhose," she says. "There were so many consumers who didn't get it and make the connection."
It isn't a requirement for inventors to act as the pitchman for the products, but it certainly adds credibility to the sell. "It's truly all about the product," says Ms. Montross. "If the potential on-air guest has a great stage presence, that's a plus."
Spanx began selling internationally last October through QVC UK and QVC Germany, reaching an additional 11.6 million and 34 million viewers, respectively. Today, QVC -- which carries four out of Spanx's five product lines -- accounts for more than 30% of Ms. Blakely's business, and last year Spanx totaled $8 million in retail sales on QVC.
The Holsteins, meanwhile, took a different route to the airwaves. In the fall of 2001, they heard that QVC was conducting a national product search and jumped at the chance to apply, submitting photos and descriptions of their pretzels.
Ms. Montross says 1,300 vendors from around the country submitted applications for the search held last spring at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. The Holsteins were among 600 inventors invited to the contest, vying for the interest of QVC's buyers.
Mr. Holstein wasn't sure what to expect when he arrived at the Mall of America. "To be honest, we thought we were going to their corporate office," he says. When they arrived, the couple was surprised to see lines of vendors demonstrating everything from shovels to wallets.
The couple spent about 10 minutes explaining to a buyer how their pretzels were made. "We have a lot of fun with the pretzels, and don't really get nervous" when making presentations, says Ms. Holstein.
The couple were confident in their product, but tried to prepare themselves for bad news. "If it didn't fit for QVC, we weren't going to take it personally," says Mr. Holstein.
Shortly after the product search, the Holsteins followed up with QVC's food buyer. They submitted more samples for quality-assurance testing. Their product was one of 23 to receive a purchase order from the contest.
The Holsteins began selling their pretzels on air last December. "We have done a lot of local shows in Chicago, but we've never done anything like this," says Ms. Holstein, who attended QVC's on-air-guest classes with her husband to help prepare for their appearance.
In their first airing, the couple sold out their Three Cheese Stuffed Pizza Pretzels, which sell exclusively on QVC for $29.75 a dozen, plus shipping and handling. "When we sold out that first night, we were almost crying. It was literally our dream," says Mr. Holstein. "To do it that quickly is unbelievable." In only 14 minutes of air time, they've sold 120,000 dozen-pretzel packages, and Ken O'Brien, QVC's director of merchandising for housewares, says the product has staying power.
The couple plans to expand their offerings for QVC with other flavors, including grilled cheese and spinach and feta cheese.
The Holsteins continue the distribution through their other channels, but project sales of their gourmet line to reach close to $10 million this year since their newfound success with QVC.
THE LESSON: Believe in your product and keep pushing: There are a lot of hurdles to getting on the air. To improve your chances, be sure your product fits into one of QVC's established categories, and be prepared to tinker with it to meet the buyers' needs.
-- Ms. Kaptik is an editor for The Wall Street Journal Online in New York.