Updating a Vintage Look
When Johanna Kraemer began her career with the Wine Kitz franchise about 15 years ago, she never dreamed that her part-time job would turn into an all consuming passion and that she would in fact become the owner of the south Calgary store.
Looking back, Kraemer wasn’t prepared for how much she would thrive on the customer contact involved in the retail profession. Her career with Wine Kitz flourished as she discovered the pleasure of discussing wine with likeminded wine fans and supplying them with premium winemaking supplies. “It’s all about the customers,” Kramer says, and she estimates that she has approximately 4000 regular patrons, many of whom she and her staff know by name. “We have some great customers, some-long time customers,” she emphasizes as she greets shoppers with a friendly smile eager to offer a piece of advice or idea about how to make the kinds of wines they prefer.
Kraemer has owned her Calgary store since 2003, and has never regretted the decision to become an owner-operator with one of the world’s largest and most respected winemaking retailers. Wine Kitz is one of the best-known names among Canada’s wine and beer making enthusiasts, and for a good reason - it is vintage 1950s, having been established in 1959. Originally called Wine Art, the company underwent a name change twelve years ago. However one tradition continues—as Johanna demonstrates in spades, they are commitment to quality products and excellent customer service.
Kraemer’s zeal for wine and knowledge of winemaking are unmistakable as she imparting wide ranging information to eager learners. She’s won numerous awards for her home-vinted wines in city, provincial and international competitions—in some cases pitted against professional or commercial winemakers. Her accolades are proudly displayed throughout the well-established Fairmount Drive store location. She recently brought home an honorable mention from the 2008 amateur Wine Makers of Canada competition held in Wolfville, Nova Scotia with a 2007 Cabernet Sauvigonon Shiraz Wine Kitz Australia Kit.
Undoubtedly much of the success of Kraemer’s retail store can be attributed to her devotion to her customers and to the quality of the Wine Kitz brand. Possessing these crucial strengths alone is frequently enough to attract scores of customers in. However, until earlier this year the store was plagued with one serious weakness; it suffered from what many agree is the most widespread flaw of retail outlets specializing in kits or supplies for home winemaking. By Kraemer’s own admission her business lacked an attractive store design or a welcoming environment in which to shop.
“It looked like a warehouse,” she remembers. “Everything was grey and burgundy and the lighting was quite dark and gloomy. Wherever you looked, it was boxes and stacks of wine kits.” Kraemer became anxious to redesign her retail space—she wanted to establish a brighter and more up to date appearance. Her desire to renovate intensified after the owners of the strip mall in which her store is located decided to modernize the exterior façade of the shopping centre. In Kraemer’s judgment this only accentuated her small wine shop’s need for a facelift.
In December 2008, Kraemer sensed that the time was finally right for her to completely refurbish the store. By this point she had become aware that the Wine Kitz head office was diligently making plans to update the image of some of its retail locations and she wanted to be on the cutting edge. What makes Kraemer’s achievement remarkable is that she didn’t wait for the franchise to offer her the green light; she also didn’t hire professional contractors to do the actual renovations. She knew the atmosphere she desired and she was confident that she was capable of executing the plans herself.
Timing was everything; Kraemer took into consideration that she would be forced to close her Wine Kitz outlet for a week to ten days. Renovations or closure over a peak retail period can damage or even destroy a small business. Some years ago, a well-established independent bookstore in Calgary was required to miss both the peak autumn and Christmas seasons when their upgraded building at a new location wasn’t finished on schedule. This unfortunate incident contributed to the demise of one of Calgary’s only independent book retailers.
Shrewdly, Kraemer picked one of her weakest retail periods and chose to close her store from December 29, 2008 until January 6, 2009. Kraemer first enlisted the help of her staff of three employees to prepare the store for the renovations. They took one full day to tear out all the old shelving and flooring—essentially leaving a blank canvas for construction to begin. The stage was set for Kraemer’s old Wine Kitz store to be reborn. “We rebuilt the store form the bottom up,” she proclaims.
As is the story for many independent merchants, Kraemer was fortunate to garner the support of her family for the actual construction. Her husband, an accomplished handyman who performs carpentry as his major hobby, donated his time and expert knowledge to the project. Under his direction, a four-person renovation crew was formed. The crew consisted of Kraemer, her husband and their two children, a son and a daughter both in their early twenties.
According to Kraemer the construction progressed smoothly, they encountered no unexpected problems or unforeseen complications. Together they set about replacing the flooring in the 800 square foot store with a beautiful rich hardwood. The antiquated warehouse style shelving has been replaced with a sleek modern look. Perhaps the most striking difference for those who patronize the store is the stylish and attractive shelf lighting. Attention has also been paid to the front counter area, where customers enter, it has been redone with fashionable wall paneling and a more appealing countertop put in.
The store has retained essentially the same floor plan as before the renovations, it incorporates a conventional straight floor plan. This popular layout is highly appropriate for a small wine merchant. Each floor plan and store layout will depend on the type of products sold, the building location and how much the business can afford to put into the overall store design. The straight floor plan is usually an excellent store layout for most any type of retail store. It makes use of the walls and fixtures to create small spaces within the retail environment. The straight floor plan is one of the most economical store designs.
With the renovations completed, Kraemer held her grand re-opening on January 6, 2009. The windows of the store had been covered during the construction period in order to maintain privacy; it was also essential to generate anticipation and foster an element of surprise. According to Kraemer her customers where overwhelmingly pleased by what they saw, many were “wowed” by the unveiling. “Just about every customer that came in and saw the renovations right after Christmas had positive feedback,” she notes. “Now it looks like an upscale wine store and not a warehouse,” was the most voiced opinion.
Kraemer is one of thousands of Canadians for whom home winemaking goes beyond a simple hobby or passing fancy. An inviting retail space allows her to better convey this enthusiasm and to cultivate a bond with her customers. “People are more excited to be here, they wonder more and they stay in the store a lot longer,” she stresses. “They don’t feel that it’s all dingy and dark and grey. Make your purchase and get out so to speak.”
The freshly updated Calgary Wine Kitz is a testament to the evolving home brewing industry. In the early 1990’s, Canadian companies pioneered the development of easy-to-use kits that allow wine to be made in small batches—25 or 30 bottles—from grape concentrate. In some cases, the kits use a speeded-up secondary fermentation process that allows the wine to be fermented and bottled in just 28 days, versus months using traditional winemaking methods.
Retailers in the industry, including Kraemer, have benefited from an enormous surge in popularity in the past decade or two. “One major factor is the cost of a bottle of commercial wine that you buy versus making a really great wine yourself,” she explains. On average producing your own wine is an extremely cost effective undertaking. Typically even a beginner will be rewarded with halfway decent table wine for bout one-quarter what you would pay for comparable wine in the store.
Many people delight in the process of making their own wine as much as they enjoy the finished product. Experienced winemakers will use more expensive or sophisticated kits that require additional time to ferment. It can take months to bring the grape concentrate and other ingredients to their ultimate perfection. The delicious sweet smell of the wine fermenting will often permeate the house. One wine enthusiast compared the smell to living in Bordeaux or Burgundy during the autumn harvest, when the smell of grapes wafts into every corner of every little village.
Until quite recently people who brewed wine at home tended to be older. Kraemer remembers when middle-aged individuals as well as those having entered retirement were the key demographics. “It used to be the older generation were the ones making wine because of the cost and quality, but the younger generation is moving in with it,” she says. “They are finding out its an easy job to make some really exquisite wines.”
“There’s a wonderful selection of wine making kits being put out and it’s really easy. It’s not the old fashioned idea of making wine at home,” she adds. “You can make some great, exciting wines. In a lot of cases it can be better than store bought wine because it doesn’t have many of the chemicals of a commercially bottled product.” Wine Kitz customers can choose from hundreds of varieties in stock including such classics as Chardonnay, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, crisp Rieslings and rich Merlots.
In order to expand the merchandise mix, Wine Kitz is offering a new cherry chocolate port that customers can make themselves. Excitedly, Kraemer sneaks away to the back of the store to fish out a few chocolate infused cherries from a batch she has made—cherries that have been soaking in port absorb the flavor and are used to sample the beverage. Amazing!
Kramer has also expanded her offering into the community creating wine rooms in people’s houses. She has also begun making wine rooms for seniors housing complexes, an idea that was brought to her as a request, and that she has in turn, turned into another business unit. It just goes to show that where there are retail entrepreneurs, there are great ideas not too far behind!
As I prepare to leave, it’s mid-morning and the steam of people entering the sore is beginning to swell. Kraemer estimates that she gets an average of 30 to 40 customers per day. Now she can be proud that they come for the atmosphere as well as the quality products and excellent customer service. “It’s important that customers feel comfortable and that they don’t feel hurried. They shouldn’t feel like they can’t stand being in the store because of the way it looks,” she adds. One thing is evident; at Johanna’s Kraemer’s Wine Kitz you don’t see anyone running for the door.
Written by: Jacqueline Chartier
