The real kicker that I counted on was that stores could buy nine bottles and get three free, so some stores could sell at higher prices and make higher markups, while other stores could get great deals on a brand that “looked” more expensive to customers. The whole idea eventually failed, though the line did exist for ten years and did find a small, loyal following. One buyer in Tucson, named Richard, did quite well as he took extra pride in a brand with his name on it. I had counted on a chain called Richard’s Whole Foods in Sarasota, FL to do big business with this name, but my hopes were never realized and the line became less important as years went by. I learned my lesson. Stores that bought into NOW’s discount plan didn’t want to stock another brand or sell at higher prices anyway. Stores that didn’t like NOW because our prices were too low, didn’t like the Richard’s brand either because it still came from NOW. Even in business, “there are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24) BEST CUSTOMERS AS FRIENDS By 1990, NOW’s top retail customer was a little store in New Port Richey, FL called Queen’s Nutrients. Jack Queen, the proprietor, had recently retired to Florida after having a successful career in Pennsylvania. There Jack had built a little empire of four health food stores, a restaurant and even an import/wholesaler company for nuts, dried fruits and condiments. After moving to Florida, Jack’s entrepreneurial skills surfaced again and he decided to open Queen’s Nutrients to give him something constructive to do. The store opened in 1988 with less than 1,000 sq. ft. and was only open Wednesday through Saturday. With hours like that it’s surprising that any legit retail business could survive! Jack was a sly veteran who knew his market and who knew how to build a business. Within three years of opening, the store was doing nearly $1 million in sales and the three days off had become full working days keeping the store stocked. I recall one story that Jack told me that really helped to build his business. Initially his store sold the normal selection of products at mostly normal prices. In an average week, he would sell only about three small pints of Dannon yogurt for $0.79 each, which netted him less than $1 profit for the week in that product. Jack decided to buy a big volume of Dannon at a discount and sell at one cent over cost to build and attract regular customers. Soon, the store was selling over 150 per week, drawing many new customers, and netting the store $1.50 per week. This experiment led to discounting everything in the store by 20% off retail and rather dramatic sales growth ensued. The business was a bona fide success story, and Jack proved to be ahead of his time in many respects. Unfortunately, Jack’s wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and he sold his business in 1993 to help care for her. Years later both were still doing well in retirement and Wright’s Nutrients has picked up where Jack left off. Another unique customer was Michael Schwartz, who first opened Life Natural Foods in Miami in 1982. He moved to Syracuse, NY in 1985 and opened a 400 sq. ft. store called Discount Health Foods. The business was successful and grew to 800 sq. ft. in 1987 and 3,000 ft. in 1989. In 1993, another huge expansion put Discount Natural Foods in 18,000 sq. ft. of selling space, a real superstore with a deli, bakery and vast selection of thousands of different products. That lasted until 2000, when Michael had enough of big store problems and downsized to avoid employee hassles and focus on mail order 66 BEATING THE ODDS
