This week we will close the punch bag business on Wednesday at lunch time knowing we are ahead of the orders. This is the first time in 16 months since starting this business we are a good 3 weeks ahead of the next scheduled delivery dates.
I was looking at the orders which start up again around mid January and the numbers are not crazy. The business is steady without the spikes we saw 12 months ago. This is what a consistent supply has created and there is no surprises with retailers asking for an extra 1000 bags.
The January orders for the 3 brands we supply total around 2600 and we are already 70 percent done so literally another week or so and those orders are completed. A dream scenario is the possibility we can be 1 month ahead which will take all the stress away.
We are getting a hang of the market these days and this is a seasonal product which should see the numbers dip between February and April. To some degree this is still guess work as we are the first supplier to supply consistent numbers keeping retailers fully stocked. The out of stock situation was all too common and the size of this market was a pure thumb suck.
The good news leading into our second year is that we have some concrete numbers which assists us in planning ahead. Knowing we have a few quieter months ahead will allow us to create a stock pile allowing us to fulfil orders immediately as they come in. This also helps with the buying of the raw materials which also impacts profitability. This is where the future savings and increased profitability lie.
Those 3 quieter months will allow me to deploy a new strategy which I have held back on for over a year. As a business we have taken no profits from this production line and these only take effect in the New Year. This sounds really crazy and is as I was given this business for nothing and felt obliged to assist the company who offered the business in the first place out of their financial struggles first before benefitting. I would guess this would amount to somewhere between $120K and $250K for the 17 months of no charge running at pure cost paid for by the other company. We agreed over the last few months that charges apply for 2026 and the free ride is over. I have paid my dues and in an around about way paid for the business and nothing is ever for free.
The new strategy will see the profitability rise by a minimum of 30% without raising the costs to our customers. Holding back has been hard to do and supplying making sure we supply the best product possible was what this year was about. Making sure the company supplying the business was financially secure was just as important as this is a stand alone business when run properly. The important part is I have done right by all the parties concerned which is probably very rare in this day and age with most people screwing over everyone including family.
