Test Market

Going retail is not so easy as I discovered today when I took the stash of 100 fleece hats and scarves to the only local place of trade- Pension Day at Mountain High. For the last two weeks the Peace Corps funded sewing machines have been cranking out the fleece – hats and scarves in all sizes and prints with even dull navy for the school set. The endeavor is to make the Occupational Therapy Program at Mountain High Hospital sustainable after the Peace Corps volunteers go home. Selling 1500 hats and 1000 scarves before Winter (March 2008) would create a fund that will pay for the Volunteer Coordinator and handcraft materials for the AIDs patients for the future. Without a sustainability program, the patients, who are confined here for 3 months, will have nothing to do with their long days and may abscond.

The hats have unique finishing touches like pom poms or tailored buttons and are a great bargain at R10 for adult and R8 for the kids. ($1.50, $1.10). So with high hopes and boxes of newly created chapeau, I headed off to the Pension Day melee held at a tuck shop/liquor store 3km from the hospital.

A word about Pension Day! In South Africa the retired, disabled and unemployed mothers of small children must physically present themselves to a neighborhood site and sign for their stipends. Pension Day brings out the hawkers and thieves so the event is well attended by the marketeers ( including Mountain High Hospital with fleece treasures) and those wanting to take advantage of the populace receiving their pensions plus a coterie of welfare workers and security guards. Pension distribution points in very rural areas, such as our home, are defined by geographic features including large trees, creeks, or tuck shops. (very small mini marts). This seemed like a good place to test the market for the fleece hats, not to mention that the pensioners have cash in hand and come ready to spend at the displays set up on the ground around the distribution points. Pension Day is unmistakable in South Africa as a cow pasture next to a large tree is taken over by entrepreneurs selling fresh fruit, sewing supplies, underwear, children’s school uniforms, and always muti (herbal medicines).

The forum for the first sale of the fleece product seemed perfect – close to home, an audience that would be familiar with the Hospital, buyers with cash in hand, and cold weather to boost sales. However, the cold weather turned very wet early in the day. The Volunteer Coordinator showed up but had to go home with the flu and the day grew colder and stormier. The Jabule group had a Bingo Game as planned but many patients stayed in their beds on this cold wet day. I was not to be deterred from my test market and at 1 pm jumped at the chance for transport to the Pension Point, loaded with boxes and bags of hats and scarves.

By the time we arrived at the small tuck shop the rain was coming down in torrents and I was unwilling to join the hawkers with their wares laid on tarps next to the dirt road leading to the tuck shop as I did not want to get sopping wet and ruin the my stock. The driver let me off in front of the tuck shop. I grabbed the two boxes, one plastic bag of goods and the black plastic chair that I planned to use for display and ran into the small covered porch in front of the tuck shop. There was just enough room for the chair and me to stand in the crowd enjoying pension day. Unfortunately the tuck shop shares the porch with the only liquor store in the area and the patrons were already feeling the joys of Pension Day. I set up my small sign and samples of the beautiful fleece. Several well juiced young men sauntered up to see what was up. Trouble!!! The young men brought out the young women who started to titter. Flashes of fleece bolted before my eyes. Gales of laughter belted out. This was not the target market or optimal market conditions. One young man started a conversation about the hats while another skirted around the side. Finally, a go-go walked up and told me to stack all of the merchandise and put it back in the plastic bag. She helped me load in back into the containers and told me that she was the mother of the young girl who had tried to teach me Zulu a year ago when we first came to South Africa. She then held up the hats and made two sales. A man came forward and greeted me as Jabule, my nickname meaning happiness. He had been a patient at the hospital a few months ago and participated in the handcrafts program. Of course he was not interest in purchasing any fleece as weekly he sewed his own hats and scarves but his kindness was appreciated in this audience. After an hour, only a few more hats were sold. The driver from the Hospital appeared and it was time to go. I loaded my stock in the back of the pick-up and headed home. At the gate the driver stopped to let off some passengers. After he parked in the grounds I tried to retrieve my remaining stock of hats and scarves and discovered that one box was missing. The driver shook his head and pointed back to the gate. I ran to the gate and found the box sitting in the mud with the lid off. All of the hats were intact inside.

So how does the income generation project look at the end of this stormy day?
I believe my location was not the best as it was in direct competition with liquor sales but the afternoon was certainly a learning experience. Never do this as a solo! Never do this on a stormy day! Never get near liquor sales! And for sure try again as the fleece products were initiated by the local populace and meet a need.