Why Not Just Relax In The Off-Season? November 2014, Athens Greece

Because EPIA packaged ice producers have... staff to retain and money to make in the winter! So what can we do? Who amongst us is good at... selling ice to Eskimos? If we cannot sell large quantities of packaged ice, how do we retain our best personnel to ensure they will be with us next season? Some sales to bars, restaurants, conventions and even some grocery stores. Some personnel retention for these sparse off-season sales. Packaged ice is cyclical to the extreme! weeks of intense sales and fulfillment calls weeks of wondering if the rent and utilities can be paid.

If ice sells in the summer, what sells in the winter? Where do we look for another cyclical product that has a complimentary cycle to ice sales? Heavy clothing sells in the winter—totally different market and difficult fit. Skiing equipment sells in the winter—saturated and totally different market. Snow shovels and ice scrapers—not my customer base or market. Firewood sells in the winter—been tried along with coal forever, even today. How about wood stove pellets—if you sell firewood add pellets.. Provide cold storage container space for the public—let’s explore this further. Make and sell holiday wreaths, decorations, and gift baskets—interesting idea.

Firewood sells in the winter Traditionally some ice companies sold coal and firewood in the off-season and some still do We have the delivery trucks and labor to support this business. The added income keeps the lights on in the off season. ProsCons Provides work for retained personnelRequires new customer base Utilizes existing delivery trucksMust package carefully to protect delivery trucks Long season—October through MarchMust depend on a reliable supplier for product Does not impact cold storage spaceRequires dedicated sheltered storage space

Provide cold storage containers to public European home refrigerator/freezers are small and cannot hold bulk quantities of frozen food. Warehouse stores (e.g. Metro) sells bulk frozen food products (meat, poultry, other multi-portion frozen foods) at great discounts to single serving packages. Flexible cartons from 10 lt. to 50 lt. or any standard size to be placed in the cold storage room for retrieval by employee on demand. ProsCons Long season—all year longCould impact storage space during ice busy season Retention of some personnelLow personnel needs and no use of trucks during winter season Cold storage already in use for lower ice sales with unused space Requires separate sales/marketing and billing system for different customer base Flexible pricing based on space used and access frequency Requires accurate record keeping and security measures

Holiday wreaths, decorations and gift baskets Hand made decorations using natural components is high profit Make the products in the October/November months for delivery in December ProsCons Good cyclical match—personnel retention September, January-May still idle time Utilize empty warehouse area for production and packing Requires different type of sales/marketing concept--online Local delivery to retailers with delivery trucks Requires separate billing system for individuals not found with bulk ice sales Most delivery via package delivery companies who will pick up at factory Spoilage of unsold product at end of season

Open discussion and lessons learned---- We tried ________ And our experience was______ We are considering _________