Automatic Merchandiser

MAY 2012

Automatic Merchandiser serves the business management, marketing, technology and product information needs of its readers including vending operators, coffee service operators, product brokers, and product and equipment distributors in print.

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C O V E R S T O RY to learn the business from the ground up. Arwin's hospitality back- ground had instilled in him some strong marketing skills. One thing he realized right away was that the company needed a better name. He enlisted his wife and children in this effort. His brother went to the Uni- versity of Florida, home of the Gators. The alligator signifi ed strength. Hence, the name "Gator Vending" won out. But alligators are also mean. So he reasoned he needed a friendly alliga- tor. He hired a professional designer to come up with a cartoon image of an alligator holding a beverage and a snack. "We wanted to be known as a fun company and a professional company," Arwin said. The Gator logo adorns his shirt, his Website, his truck and all mar- keting material. Being aware of the importance of the Internet, Arwin launched a Website almost immediately. After six months, he decided it was time to hire a driver so he could focus on fi nding new accounts. He ran an ad on Craigslist, an Internet Website, and interviewed dozens of applicants before deciding to hire someone. That person quit after three weeks due to the physical strain of the job. His second hiring attempt was more fortuitous. Arwin came across James Amatuccio, a former vend- ing driver who had left the business but wanted to come back. Amatuc- cio proved a reliable employee and remains Arwin's right hand man. Arwin realized he could grow faster by using bottler loaned cold beverage machines. But he quickly learned that customer preferences vary, and bottler machines limited his product choices. The cold bever- 58 Arwin wears many hats at Gator Vending, taking a ser- vice call in the afternoon. Gary Arwin fixes a coil on a snack machine. be prepared for unforeseen developments. Arwin bought some loca- tions from a locator associ- ated with an equipment manufacturer, but quickly decided this was not a fi nan- cially smart way to grow. As a rule of thumb, he began seeking accounts with at least 75 people, making excep- tions for locations with multiple shifts or close to an existing loca- tion. He has not pursued school accounts, largely because of the strict nutrition rules. He works out of a 1,600-square- age market was becoming more diverse all the time, so he opted to own all his beverage venders. In retrospect, this has proven a good decision, as his beverage sales con- tinue to increase. Reliance on refurbished machines He also learned that buying refurbished machines was more economical than buying new ones. Hence, he made it a practice of buying refurbished machines. He has made it a practice of paying for equipment with cash or using equipment manufacturer short- term fi nancing. He looks to recover his equipment outlays in one to one and a half years. Six months after buying that fi rst route, Arwin was able to purchase a location with 30 machines in vari- ous employee areas at the Orlando airport from a business broker. This became his second route, necessitat- ing the purchase of a new delivery truck and hiring a second driver. The airport location grew over a period of a few months. However, the airport management eventu- ally required that vending deliver- ies be accompanied by a security employee. This has been an incon- venience. It made Arwin realize that being in vending, he needs to Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com May 2012 foot warehouse in an industrial park. He does all product ordering himself, as well as most of the equip- ment deliveries and repairs. Arwin didn't pick the best time to get into the vending business in Florida. The recession that hit in 2008 was especially brutal to Florida, which relies heavily on tourism. Nevertheless, he learned there is always room for an aggres- sive service provider committed to good service. "The big guys can't provide the same personal service that I can offer," Arwin said. Key sales tool: a good Website He realized in his fi rst year he was getting a lot of service inquiries from his Website. He reasoned that if he had a better Website, he would get even more inquiries. He hired a professional Website designer who also offered some help with search engine optimiza- tion. This proved a smart invest- ment as the inquiries increased. An important feature on the Website is the information request form which allows him to qualify the leads. Most of the two to three leads he gets per week do not result in sales, but he has gained some of his best accounts from the Website.

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