Good News Blog

Clear Water Outdoor Enjoying Great Online Sales!

2011-05-18T15:22:00.000-07:00

Big Hairy Dog has literally hundreds of customers who have found their niche in active outdoor sports. One such customer is Clear Water Outdoor, located in the beautiful Lake Geneva area of Wisconsin. This innovative sports retailer has a young, active staff who experiences first hand a wide variety of rugged sports such as Trail Running, Hiking, Backpacking, Swimming, Skiing, Stand Up Paddle Boarding, Kayaking, Mountainbiking, Golfing, Roadbiking and Fly Fishing. It's no surprise to us that they have found great success assisting their customers, with a personal experience list like that!

Clear Water Outdoor is enjoying increased sales through their successful online store. Brian Waspi, CTO and E-COMMERCE Expert, says, "Since the launch of our custom e-Commerce system, online sales are increasing at an average of 100% from the same month the year prior."

Congratulations to Brian and the entire staff at Clear Water Outdoor, for managing this new expansion to their retail operation! If you are ever in the Lake Geneva area, stop in and say Hi! You can also visit them online at: CLEARWATEROUTDOOR.COM.

Continental Display says "Business is Picking Up!"

2011-05-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

A local Sacramento BHD customer, Continental Display, Inc. has been in business for over 30 years. With a 45,000 square foot facility, they have grown to be Northern California's LARGEST RETAIL STORE FIXTURE OUTLET. Another 20,000 square feet of warehouse displays 'Nearly New' Store Fixtures, at 50 to 70% discount.

Leta Nichols, President of Continental Display & Fixtures shares their good news, "Business is finally picking up! We are seeing new store openings, more remodeling and retailers confidence rising. We have learned that not all news applies to our industry. We listen to the news that pertains to retail/wholesale and ignore negative reporting that doesn't help business. We're thrilled with any increase in business and love to share the good news!"

Thanks, Leta for that great report! BHD loves to hear good news from our customers. and wants to congratulate Continental Display for their continuing success!!

Help BHD Support HOPE PRODUCTIONS FOUNDATION

2011-05-09T11:42:00.001-07:00

Is that our own little Joe Malaney as the youngest member of KISS?

Every year during our Hope Productions Foundation fund-raiser, we count on all of our great customers to help us meet our goal. This year, we are working towards our goal of $8,500.

You can call 800-377-7776 to donate and receive tickets in the mail for our raffle of 10 FREE Tech hours, or an award-winning Chili dinner for 8. You may also donate your tax-deductible gift online.

Welcome to Baby Reid Dillin Smith

2011-04-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

BHD warmly welcomes the newest member of the extended BHD family.
Darrell Franklin's grandson, Reid, was born on April 20, 2011 at 5:53pm.

Reid weighed in at 9 pounds 1 oz, and measured 21" long. Reid is doing well, and his family is happily adjusting to this newest member.

Congratulations to Darrell on the birth of his first grandchild!

Turners Wild West Reports Business is Steady!

2010-11-14T17:25:00.000-08:00

Turners Wild West, a western apparel shop in Angels, Camp, CA has good news to share to all BHD customers.

Their business continues to do well, and sales have remained steady through 2010. They are hoping for even a better year to come in 2011.

Congratulations to Turners Wild West and we wish the best of luck in the coming year.

BHD Customers Feeling the Economy Turning Around!

2010-10-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

We've heard from a number of our customers that sales are up and stores are expanding. It's a good sign for retailers everywhere!

Douglas Feed and Pet Supply, in Granite Bay, CA reported an expansion to nearly double their current space. Local to the Sacramento area, and family owned for 30 years, this is a favorite retailer to many animal owners in this area. Their website tells the amazing story of their growth through the years and we know that their outstanding customer service has played a big role in their success. Douglas Feed and Pet Supply is one of the few companies who will still deliver - literally - top of the line products to their customers.

BHD is happy to share the good news of our customers, and we congratulate Douglas Feed and Pet Supply on this new expansion.

If you have good news you'd like to share, call Jan at 800-377-7776, or email at: janw@bighairydog.com.

Windows 7 Update:

2010-07-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Windows 7 has been approved WITH QUALIFIERS LISTED BELOW for use with Retail Pro Version 8.6 and 9.2 by RPI, Inc. Big Hairy Dog is still in the process of testing W7 wtih both of these versions before we also give our approval. We are concentrating on things such as polling, peripheral equipment and some of the older 16-bit tools to make sure they work correctly.

As of now, W7 can be used on any non-polling PC and we have been shipping it out to new customers that are single stores.

Once we finish our client trials and find no problem, we will be using W7 on all PC's going forward.

QUALIFIERS:
For Retail Pro version 8.6 you must use the 32-bit version of W7.
For Retail Pro version 9.2 you can use either 32-bit or 64-bit versions.
BHD will only be testing and supporting Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate versions.

BHD RAISES NEARLY $9,000 FOR HOPE FOUNDATION!

2010-07-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

This year's BHD fund-raiser was a HUGE SUCCESS, thanks in large part to our great customers, friends and family. Our goal was to raise $6000 for The Hope Foundation, which donates to 14 separate and local children's charities.

Even though the deadline came and went, BHD continued collecting money from many big-hearted people, allowing us to raise nearly $9,000 to present to Hope Foundation! THAT'S $3,000 OVER OUR GOAL!

Our raffle winners are:

1. Barbara from Bud Lillies, a wonderful customer who owns a fly-fishing (and more) shop up in the wilderness of West Yellowstone. Barbara won 10 FREE hours of tech support, which is a value of $2,500.

2. Mark, Drobney, Attorney at Law, was the winner of the chili dinner for 8.

CONGRATULATIONS TO BARBARA AND MARK and a big THANK YOU to all of you who contributed to making this year's fund raiser such a big success!

BHD Customer, Le Petit Chateau, Finding 'Positive Outlook' for the future!

2010-03-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

Le Petit Chateau is a 'One-of-a-Kind' shop offering fine home furnishings celebrating European luxury living. Located in Granite Bay, California, just outside Sacramento, this is a unique shop that has found its niche in a world of retailers.

While recently speaking to Debbie, from Le Petit Chateau, she informed us, "Our Clients outlook is much better this year and overall energy in the store and with our clients seems to be moving in the right direction. Customers are starting to spend more money and investing in their homes again, and it has been a breath of fresh air to again feel positive in our day-to-day dealings with our customers...... We are here because of them and for them and are pleased to look toward a bright future."

We love to hear positive feedback such as this, and are eager to share these comments with our other customers. Thank you and Congratulations to Debbie and Le Petit Chateau!

BHD SUPPORTS YOUR PHYSICAL INVENTORY

2010-03-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

Big Hairy Dog has many services available to help you with your Physical Inventory. We understand that a business inventory can take a lot of preparation, and the results must be accurate.

We provide:

Hand held data collectors available for purchase
Hand held data collectors available for rent
Training available for using the data collectors and scanners
Rent-A-Tech available to assist you anytime outside of our regular tech support hours
FREE Videos which describe the inventory process, and how to use the Retail Pro Inventory tool.
FREE Webinars available on Physical Inventory (Check the BHD website for dates)

One of our great customers, Mountain Hideaway, had this to say after their BHD-assisted Physical Inventory this year.

"Our Inventory went very smoothly. We completed a 14,000 item count in 7.5 hours and had descrepancies done in 2.5 hours. Best of all our inventory adjustment was only .47%, by far the best we have had in 18 years. The Retail Pro system with accounting link to Quick Books is fantastic!"

When you schedule your next Physical Inventory, don't forget to call BHD and let us help make it your best inventory yet! Call 800-377-7776 today!

BHD Customer, Capitol Cellers, Featured in Sacramento Magazine

2010-03-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

The owner of Capitol Cellers, Marcus Graziano, was interviewed by Sacramento Magazine, and is featured in this month's edition, March 10, 2010. (Read the entire article.)

Capitol Cellars is now located in Roseville:
110 Diamond Creek Place
Ste. 100
Roseville, CA 95747ph.
(916) 786.9030
fax (916) 781.9031
info@capitolcellars.com

You can find information on Events, Tastings, Monthly Specials, Featured Wines, Newsletters and much more at the Capitol Cellars Website.

Congratulations to Marcus Graziano and Capitol Cellars for this great recognition.

William Glen's THE BISTRO awarded one of Sacramento's Top Lunch Spots!!

2010-02-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

The Sacramento Bee's 'Dining' Section has awarded The Bistro, located in the William Glen store, one of the top 12 lunch dining spots in Sacramento.

If you've ever shopped at William Glen, you are familiar with the great aromas that float from The Bistro at any time of day.

We love our customers!!! Congratulations to William Glen and The Bistro for this honor of being recognized among the best.

Lindsay Wildlife Museum reports GOOD NEWS!

2010-02-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

Lindsay Wildlife Museum is one of our customers who has so much to offer to the community. They are a unique natural history and environmental education center where live, wild animals are all around. Founded in Walnut Creek in 1955, the museum’s programs connect people with wildlife to inspire responsibility and respect for the world we share.

We recently heard from the Museum, when they reported some good news for our Blogsite!

"Being a non-profit, the sales in Lindsay Wildlife Museum is even MORE important to our customers. We found this year that many of our customers were happy to spend in our store, as they felt that their money was being doubled! The money not only provides their purchases, but also supports the care of our animals. It always feels good to spend money wisely and our customers feel supporting our store is a great way to support Lindsay Wildlife Museum. The fact that we have a very unique store which offers many items to help kids and adults learn about the world around them is a plus."

Thanks to Lindsay Wildlife Museum for sharing your good news, and congratulations on your success!

MADE IN OREGON - OPENING NEW STORE!

2010-02-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

Made In Oregon Stores offer the highest quality products made available from the best Oregon vendors since 1975. Their success comes from providing an excellent shopping experience for local Oregon customers as well as Visitors and Tourists.

Made In Oregon currently consists of nine retail stores. At the end of March, 2010, they will be opening another store at the Portland Airport on Concourse D. If you fly into Portland, please stop by and see all the great products they have for sale, and just say HI from another BHD/Retail Pro customer.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MADE IN OREGON!

Lewis & Clark Outfitters Reports "SALES ARE UP!"

2010-02-01T19:45:00.000-08:00

We recently spoke with Lewis & Clark Outfitters, one of our great customer who transferred to Big Hairy Dog, after receiving our Emergency Tech Service (ETS).

Lewis & Clark Outfitters is an outdoor sports retailer located in Springdale, Arizona. Rob stopped by the Big Hairy Dog Booth at the Outdoor Retailer Show and reported their sales were UP 32% for the last quarter of 2009. In December, their sales increased by a whopping 61%!!

BHD appreciate Lewis & Clark Outfitters, and all our wonderful customers who stop by and visit us a tradeshows. Congratulations to Rob and Lewis & Clark for a great ending to 2009.

Pendleton Woolen Mills have made a huge strategic move in partnering with Humberto Leon - a designer to use the Pendleton designs in new styles.

2009-12-28T17:10:00.000-08:00

Mort Bishop III, the fifth generation to lead his family's business, celebrated Pendleton Woolen Mill's 100th anniversary this year. "We've learned something about fit through these collaborations," Bishop said of the Opening Ceremony line. "The draping of that fabric -- we'd never thought of that. Isn't that fabulous?"

Pendleton celebrated its 100th anniversary this year with a rebirth of sorts, watching its iconic Navajo prints -- well-known to many Oregonians as the blanket slung over the family room couch -- revamped this fall as miniskirts and tailored coats with price tags starting at $400.

Pendleton, one of the nation's oldest operating mills, has partnered in recent years with Nike ACG, Adidas and Vans. Yet in 2009, much smaller and more upscale fashion brands came calling, including Opening Ceremony and Comme des Garçons, a Japanese label that snips and sews patches of corduroy, canvas or leather onto Pendleton shirts that sell in Paris for $1,600.

"MacGyver" fixes Nike

2009-12-13T20:43:00.001-08:00

One of BHD's senior Techs, Paul Jones, recently attended the Honolulu Marathon, in Honolulu, HI, where he assisted Nike with their retail sales in the event center.

During the event the Internet went down in the event center. Our network remained up our router was functioning, just no internet, which means 'no credit cards'. Nike did not order phone lines for backup. I used my cell phone to get internet on my laptop, then used internet connection sharing and plugged the NIC of my laptop into the WAN port of the Router. This gave all 20 registers internet, and we were back up and running credit cards.

We ran Credit cards over my cell phone internet conection for 30 minutes while the Convention center fixed their internet problem in the building. 'MacGyver' fixed Nike!!

Tandy Leather Sales UP 10% !

2009-12-13T19:21:00.000-08:00

Since 1919, Tandy Leather has been providing leathercrafters with quality leather, tools, kits, hardware, conchos and teaching resources. They offer products to hobby leather crafters, wholesale businesses, professional leather workers, manufacturers, institutions and youth organizations.

This merchant of leather and leather craft supplies had an increase in sales of 10% worldwide last month ! Congratulations to Tandy Leather for their success!

Three cheers for our Pam Elliot!

2009-12-04T14:57:00.000-08:00

As a sales rep for BHD, Pam Elliot spends her days and most evenings working diligently to provide leading brand technology to retail organizations. In some ways, Pam saves the business life of retail stores. The technology she provides dramatically impacts the viability of a store. Recently Ms. Elliot had the opportunity to impact a real life too.

In November, during her morning commute- driving through a neighborhood normally not taken, Elliot observed a young boy lying next to his bicycle with 1 other assisting him. She pulled over to investigate and help direct traffic around the incident. As the person attending him said to the 911 operator, "he stopped breathing", Familiar with CPR, Pam ran to assist and conduct CPR with the other person. Elliot and partner continued CPR until the ambulance crew arrived to take the boy the hospital.

Elliot and her husband Doug continued to monitor the boy's health via the boy's family. It was discovered that the child has a heart defect which causes him to lose consciousness. Unless the child received life saving surgery he would not survive. Today, doctors confirmed that the child successfully completed the life saving surgery that gave him a one in a million chance for survival and is expected to live a normal life.

Pam Elliot saved a life.

Three cheers for our Pam Elliot!

She is our HERO.

SPORT AND SPECIALTY SPORT RETAILERS REPORT STRONG BLACK FRIDAY

2009-12-03T13:23:00.000-08:00

On Monday, November 30th Leisure Trends Group conducted an on-line survey among its retail panel, which represents over 2,300 retail doors, to gauge consumer buying in the Outdoor, Snow, Paddle, Running, Scuba and Cycling Industries over the Black Friday weekend. Responses were received from retailers representing 536 doors in 42 states. While trends vary from industry to industry the overall results are upbeat with 40% of retailers reporting increased sales compared to 2008!

Sales:
Most retailers report Black Friday weekend sales that were above or equal to last year.
40% of retailers report increased sales.

Traffic:
Looking at in-store traffic within sport and sport specialty channels, most retailers' expectations were reached or exceeded on Black Friday weekend.
37% of retailers report better than expected traffic.

Outlook:
These results leave retailers optimistic regarding the remaining weeks of the holiday season.
52% believe this holiday season will be better than last year.

How did sales this past Black Friday weekend compare to last year?
Outdoor, UP 78%
Snow Sports, UP 4%
Cycling, UP 35%
Running, UP 76%

'Cyber Monday’ sales rise 20% over 2008

2009-11-30T18:49:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK - Retail web sites kept amping up the deals Monday, the first day after Thanksgiving weekend's strong online sales, to try to maintain the momentum.

Though the Web is only about 10 percent of the holiday shopping pie, it's seen most of the growth so far this year — an encouraging sign after last year's first online sales decline.

Coremetrics, a Web analytics company in San Mateo, Calif., said that as of 1 p.m. Monday (11/30/09), sales for the day that the industry still pitches as "Cyber Monday" were up 19.6 percent over a year ago.

msnbc.com

BHD Extends Saturday Tech Hours

2009-11-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

Through the end of December, 2009, Big Hairy Dog is extending their tech hours on Saturday to 9:00am to 5:00pm. During this busiest time of year for retailers, BHD is responding to the need to be available on the busiest day of the week, when needed across the time zones.

"We break every rule to take care of our customers."

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort Reports Sales are UP!!

2009-10-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort reports "Business is Back!" Located in Henderson, Nevada, in greater Las Vegas, Cindy, Store Manager, tells Big Hairy Dog that September and October sales have been up. "People are no longer 'just looking'. Our customers are now coming in to shop."

With a rich history spanning over six decades, Loews continues to offer ultimate travel experiences in 16 cities across the US and Canada.

Big Hairy Dog is happy to report this good news, and wishes Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort continued success in the coming months.

Cartridge World Continues to ‘Ink’ Record Sales

2009-10-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

The following is a Press Release from Cartridge World Corporate:

EMERYVILLE, Calif. – As more and more consumers are realizing the value of refilling and recycling ink cartridges, Cartridge World franchisees are reaping the benefits. The world’s fastest growing ink and toner refilling retailer is reporting double digit increase in same-store sales for the third consecutive month, with domestic same store sales increasing 14.7% over the same period last year.

Despite the tough economic conditions, 48 percent of Cartridge World’s stores experienced an all time high month at some point during the first
quarter.

“Our continued success clearly reflects the acceptance of our products from both consumers and businesses alike, as they realize the financial and environmental benefits of refilling and recycling their ink and toner cartridges,” said Steven Yeffa, President of Cartridge World Americas. “We are happy for our franchisees’ success during these challenging economic times and look forward to continued growth throughout the remainder of the year and beyond.”

Voted #1 in the category of toner replacement services by Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500, Cartridge World is continuing to see significant demand in the market in spite of the current economic climate. With the recession squeezing budgets, the ability to use Cartridge World for high-quality refilled and remanufactured printer cartridges is becoming an indispensable service for businesses and consumers looking to save money on office supplies.

“The simple fact that our competitors continue to experience loss in revenues while we continue to report double-digit increases further highlights that consumers are fundamentally shifting to value,” Yeffa added, referencing Hewlett Packard’s recent announcement that supplies revenue for the second quarter was down 14 percent.

In addition to the cost saving advantages, Cartridge World addresses environmental issues by showcasing its ability to refill ink cartridges an average of three to eight times, without sacrificing quality. By doing so, Cartridge World prevents more than 9 million cartridges from going into landfills each year for businesses, schools, organizations and the average consumer.

About Cartridge World
Emeryville, CA – based Cartridge World is the world’s fastest growing ink and toner refilling retailer and franchisor in the $80 billion printer cartridge industry. The company refills and remanufactures inkjet and toner printer cartridges, using state-of-the-art processes and high quality inks and toners. It offers consumers and businesses a more affordable option to buying new, provides a 100% satisfaction money-back guarantee and helps the environment by keeping cartridges out of landfills. Voted #1 in the category of toner replacement services by Entrepreneur Magazine Franchise 500, Cartridge World has more than 1,700 franchised retail locations in 61 countries. For more information call
(888) 99-REFILL or visit http://www.cartridgeworldusa.com/.

Big Hairy Dog congratulates all of our great Cartridge World stores for this impressive growth, and wishes continued success in the future.

BHD Customer, 'Rack N Road' enjoying its most profitable year!!

2009-10-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

From Sacramento Business Journal, Sept. 25, 2009

"The retail market is still bad, but Rack N Road is creating sales from what had been lost opportunities. As a result, the local retailer has just enjoyed its most profitable year.
Early in the recession, the Sacramento-based chain of eight stores renegotiated leases, cut staff, and reduced marketing and insurance costs. The seller of vehicle racks and travel gear also benefited from budget-conscious consumers’ switch to short road trips, given high fuel costs and tighter budgets.
The biggest change for Rack N Road, though, came from listening in on employees’ phone calls with customers. Monitoring and analyzing calls is somewhat Big Brother-ish, company president and chief executive officer Greg Bauer acknowledges, but it works. Sales increase, and customers get better service.

“We’re beating our 2007 numbers,” Bauer said."
Big Hairy Dog congratulates Rack N Road (formerly known as 'Sports Rack') on its innovative business practices, resulting in great success!