Blog posts from September, 2012

National Event Supply is pleased to announce that we once again have our full line of Snow Drop and Angelika European fine dining dinnerware available for sale. We were a little delayed getting these fine dining plates back in stock due to our factory shutting down for 4 weeks in July for holidays and retooling, but we now have all items in stock!

Our Snow Drop line of fine dining plates have a traditional French-country look to them, and are quite popular for weddings, kosher events, corporate events, and in numerous fine dining restaurants. With this shipment, we now have an ample supply of the Snow Drop Dinner Plates, 12" Plates, Pasta Plates and Soup Plates to fill the backorders we were holding for these products. In addition, we restocked the accessory pieces that we running low, like our Salt and Pepper Shakers, Creamers, Sugar Bowls, and the like. Our Snow Drop 12" Plates and Pasta Plates both sell for $10.50/ea, while the dinner plates sell for $5.50. Most other pieces (Cups, Saucers, Side Plates, etc.) range in price from $2.25 to $10.00. For additional pricing information or to receive some Snow Drop samples, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Snow Drop wasn't the only line of dinnerware to get restocked; we also received a shipment of our popular Angelika Dinnerware, including Angelika 12" Plates, and Pasta Plates. These gorgeous looking porcelain plates have a nice clean look which is ideal for giving your food that presentation pop you get when great food is combined with a fabulous looking plate. Pricing for our Angelika Fine Dining Plates is similar to our Snow Drop pricing, with 12" Plates and Pasta Plates selling for $10.50, Dinner Plates selling for $5.50, and other pieces ranging in price from $2.25 to $10.00. If you have any questions about specific pieces of our Angelika Line or would like to receive some sample, again please feel free to contact us.

In 1807, Giuseppe Gaetano Descalzi from Chiavari, Italy was asked by the president of the Economic Society of Chiavari to rework some chairs. The result was the Chiavari Chair. And so, a chair that would change special events was born!

Although they are often mistakenly spelled Chivari Chairs, there is no mistaking their popularity in modern media. From award shows to reality competitions, Chiavari Chairs are popping up all over your television. Whenever a movie or tv show wants to imply elegance, class, or sophistication at the event they are filming, they lean on Chiavari Chairs. And there has been spillover from the media into reality. Chiavari Chairs are quickly becoming the Chair that brides and event planners clamour for.

Available in numerous colours and materials, it can be daunting to pick a Chiavari chair that will get you your best Return on Investment. Do you go with a standard white resin Chiavari chair knowing that it will be easy to decorate and is suitable for any environment, or do you go with natural wood Chiavari Chair in your more rustic facility.

Five things to know before investing in Chiavari Chairs:

1. Resin Chiavari Chairs that are factory assembled will be the clear winner in the strength category. Depending on their structure, some factory-assembled Resin Chiavari chairs are rated for drop tests of above 300lbs and can hold up to 1000lbs of static weight

2. Wood Chiavari Chairs can look more natural than their resin counterparts. Because they are made of wood that has been stained using furniture grade lacquers, some people find that wood chiavari chairs look more natural than their resin counterparts.

3. Aluminum Chiavari Chairs need a plywood-base cushion or you can warp the seat. Aluminum Chiavari Chairs need cushions because aluminum chairs are designed to be used only with something that provides support. If manufacturers were to manufacture aluminum Chiavari Chairs with seats thick enough to support the weight of a person, the chairs would be very expensive.

4. Knockdown chairs are cheap to ship but expensive to maintain. Knockdown chairs require constant maintenance to keep Chiavari Chairs from becoming wobbly. After every event you should be making sure that all screws or bolts are tight so that a chair doesn't collapse under a customer. Factory assembled chairs are designed to be put together forever, and use fasteners that their customers don't have.

5. Regardless of the Chiavari Chair material, these chairs are incredibly versatile and have unlimited decor options. With Chiavari Chairs you can change out chair cushions; use different coloured chair covers or sashes; or add bows in order to make the Chair fit the decor. The only limit is your imagination when it comes to decorating these chairs.

Event rental companies, banquet halls, party planners are all realizing the advantages of having Chiavari chairs available. As Fuzion Banquets, wrote:

"We had been receiving numerous requests for Chiavari Chairs for quite some time and now that we have them available in our inventory, we are seeing an increase in our bookings. The new Resin Chiavari Chairs allows us to meet our customers' needs without adding the additional time and expense needed to maintain a large inventory of Wood Chiavari Chairs."

Want to learn more about this fabulous chair and perhaps even see it yourself? Stop by our showroom, contact us for more information about National Event Supply’s Chiavari Chairs, or if you're not ready to speak with one of our sales representatives, request a physical copy of our table and chair catalogue.

A few months ago we introduced our new Serenity line of Crystal Stemware. This line of crystal wine glasses has been selling very well, and has proven to be very popular with a number of our restaurant and party rental customers. Several customers have purchased large quantities of the 22 oz and 19 oz crystal wine glasses along with the matching 7 oz Champagne Flutes. The feedback so far from our Customers is their purchases have been performing very well.

Today, we are excited to introduce our New Eclisse and Copa Lines of Glass Stemware. These everyday value lines of red wine glasses, white wine glasses, champagne flutes, water goblets, and beer glasses are perfect for any event or table setting.

Eclisse Glassware

The initial pieces we are carrying in our Eclisse line of Glass Stemware are as follows:

• 7 oz White Wine Glass
• 10 oz Red or White Wine Glass
• 12 oz Red Wine Glass
• 12 oz Beer Glass
• 14 oz Beer Glass
• 5 oz Champagne Flute
• 11 oz Water Glass

Click to enlarge pictures.

Pricing for the Eclisse line of glass stemware ranges from $1.35/ea for the 7 oz white wine glass to $1.90/ea for the 12 oz red wine glass.

Copa Stemware

The initial pieces we are carrying in our Copa line of glass stemware are as follows:

• 9 oz White Wine Glass
• 12 oz Red Wine Glass

Pricing for both wine glasses in the Copa line are $1.95/ea.

Over time we hope to expand the offerings in both the Eclisse and Copa line of glass stemware to include more variety in the shapes and sizes of wine glasses, beer, and water glasses as well as highball and old fashioned glasses.

Many of our commercial customers regularly purchase the leading brands Arcoroc or Libbey glassware and often pay anywhere from $4.00 to as high as $6.00 for a wine glass. By offering our Eclisse and Copa Glassware all for prices under $2.00 a glass we are providing our commercial customers with the opportunity to dramatically reduce their purchasing costs while offering great selection and durability. For sizing and pricing information check out our website.

Recently, I went out to dinner with a group of friends at a local restaurant/pub. They had great beer and the food was delicious. One of the dishes we ordered was a plate of Yorkshire puddings filled with Guinness-braised boneless beef short ribs and topped with white cheddar cheese. It came on a very familiar white plate, and when we finished our appetizer, I had to flip it over to see if it was one of our 6" x 12" rectangular platters. It wasn't. It was an Oneida platter, and I filed the information away, so that I could tell the sales rep.

Earlier this week, one of our inside sales reps got a phone call from a high-end restaurant in the Toronto area who had found us online. He had seen our A0961 6" x 12" Rectangular Platters and wanted to know how much we sold them for. The caller was stunned when he found out the platter was only $5.75/ea. He had been buying an Oneida plate that was the same size for over $30.00/ea from Gordon Food Services.

Why was our plate so cheap? Was it because we use inferior materials or processes? Nope, our commercial-grade porcelain is highly vitrified and manufactured to the same standards as the porcelain from the Gordon Food Services. Was it because we're blowing them out because we will no longer be bringing them in? Nope, they've been a good seller since we started selling them. Our plates are $5.75 because we sell factory direct while the Gordon Food Services is a distributor. Like Jonathan wrote in his blog post about 6-ft plastic tables, with the $30.00 plates you're paying for the brand name and the multiple levels of the distribution chain.

Another reason that the plate was over $30.00? The restaurant supply house was charging a premium for a smaller order quantity. Purchasing a new line of dishes can be a major investment. Restaurant supply houses are liable to provide a big discount on a large initial purchase of dinnerware because they know that they'll be able to make up the profits on replacements orders. While the restaurant supply house is willing to give you 50% off on your initial order, they won't be interested in providing any discount when you go to order a dozen replacement dinner plates. We, however, sell our porcelain at the same price whether you're buying 1 plate or 1000.

After taking a look at a sample of our rectangular platter, the customer who had been paying over $30.00 is now paying only $5.75. We know that samples can make the sale and that's why we've put together a sample set of our Quadrato Dinnerware. The sample set comes with a dinner plate, a dessert plate, and with our new stacking mug. If you're interested in getting a sample set for yourself, just ask for a custom quote!

One of the questions that we get asked every daily is "How much do your plastic folding tables cost?" On the one hand this is a very simple question to answer; on the other it is actually quite difficult.

It is simple because we, of course, sell plastic folding tables; as a result we have set pricing for our wide selection of NES Reliable Plastic Folding Tables. So then why is it also difficult? The difficulty comes when you choose to dig deeper into the specifics of the plastic folding table that you are looking to buy. Plastic Folding Tables range in price from about $30.00 all the way up to $330.00+, depending on a variety of factors including size, quality, brand, and which supplier you buy from. To take size out of the equation we will focus on the always popular 6-ft Rectangle Plastic Folding Tables. While many 6-ft Rectangle Plastic Folding Tables initially appear to be the same, there are three main differences that come into play to effect price which are quality, distribution, and brand.

Quality vs Price

The Quality of plastic tables sold currently varies dramatically. Some offer 6-ft Rectangle Plastic Folding Tables that are only capable of holding 250lbs evenly distributed across the top of the table, while others are capable of holding 1000lbs or more (including our 6-ft NES Reliable Rectangular Plastic Folding Tables). In terms of quality, the tables being sold by the vast majority of big box retailers (consumer-focused) simply do not compare to those being offered by companies that focus on Business to Business sales. The big box stores mainly focus on giving you the least expensive product possible, resulting in the lower weight rating. Many of these products will work very well for consumers looking for an inexpensive table that they will use once or twice a year for household parties and events. If you are planning to use the table more often however, you might want to consider the value being offered by a product at a similar or slightly higher price point. You also want to be cautious that you are really comparing two equal tables, especially if the price difference between them is low.

So what of the $180.00 6-ft Rectangular Plastic Tables?

The 6-ft Rectangles that cost $180.00 are normally so expensive because they are sold through distribution. Yes, some will have higher weight ratings, and some will have special features to help improve their value proposition but some have neither. A great example of a large business built on distribution is National Public Seating. If you choose to purchase a National Public Seating product, you don’t buy directly from them. Instead you will buy from one of their retail partners. This has pros and cons. The pro is that you can generally find someone in your immediate area that carries their product. As a result you may be able to pick up the product the very same day, or the next day. This can make purchasing their table very convenient, especially if you are in a jam and need the product quickly. The con is that their price is likely higher because of the double mark-up. The double mark-up occurs because National Public Seating needs to make money on the product sale and the retailer needs to make money on the product sale.

Branding: Marketing Dollars at Work

The final cost factor is Brand. It is fair to say that most well-known brands command a premium over their unbranded or lesser known brand counter parts (had a Coke/Pepsi lately?). Both Coke and Pepsi are able to command higher prices because they are a known commodity compared to many of their competitors. As a result when they sell at a higher price point many people are happy to pay it because they have known quality behind the brand. When you buy a Coca-Cola or Pepsi, you know exactly what you are getting but the same is generally not true for small brands or store branded products since you likely have not dealt with them before.

So the next time you are looking to purchase a plastic folding table consider what goes into the cost. While some costs may be justified to you, others may not be. Some may prefer distribution over brand, while others will prefer quality over distribution. If you are looking for pricing on plastic folding tables that offer excellent value please don’t hesitate to contact us.