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published: Friday, December 21, 2012
2 local businesses compete in shrinking market
RAISING CANES
2 local businesses compete in shrinking market
ROXANNE BROWN | Staff Writer
roxannebrown@dailycommercial.com
This is a story of two canes, or more specifically, two cane sellers. The similarities between the two companies are unmistakable, yet one has been stopped in its tracks, while the other ambles on.
Tom Siceloff began selling canes and walking sticks 10 years ago under the name Walking Canes. Patti Auchter started selling canes six years ago under the name Patty Canes. His home-based business is in The Villages, with a warehouse in Lady Lake, while her home-based business us just a few minutes away in Lady Lake.
Both specialized businesses were started for much the same reasons: Siceloff's wife at the time had Multiple Sclerosis, needed a cane to aid her mobility and he couldn't find any decent ones on the market. Auchter's husband was in a wheelchair and she wanted a home-based business so she could help him.
Both niche businesses relied on the Internet and mail-order sales, which, in the end, diminished for Auchter.
In the beginning, she said she competed with the big-box stores by personalizing her canes and hand-painting various designs on them. But after six years she could no longer compete with the big companies who could buy in bulk, dominate the Internet and ship at a cheaper rate because of distribution centers across the nation.
"The Internet is definitely the wave of the future, but I, being such a small company by myself, could not hang on any longer," Auchter said.
Today, she's looking for another Internet business so she can continue to work at home.
Siceloff carries on with disdain toward the big companies.
"We carry most true walking canes; the really fashionable, nice ones," Siceloff said, explaining that there is a difference between what he carries and what can be purchased at neighborhood retailers or big box stores. He said he has grown his business "many, many times over" by staying one step ahead of the competition and giving his customers what they want.
"Most of the people who purchase canes do it because they need one, but some people are collectors," he said.
On Siceloff's website, customers can browse a huge selection of walking canes, walking sticks and staffs at prices that range from $50 for the very basic to $100 for more elaborate styles and by as much as $5,000 for a solid gold selection.
Canes include adjust-able, collectible, decorative, designer, hand carved, hand painted, folding and heavy duty.
Walking and hiking sticks -- used primarily for balance and support -- include Free Form, Classic Country, folding hikers and sport related.
In addition, Siceloff said he has just added two new lines of distinctive walking sticks, one from a European buying trip to purchase items grown and hand made in the forests of Somerset, England, and the other, a very distinctive men's style of sticks imported from Italy.
"Quality and style are combined to offer a fashionable distinctive walking stick," Siceloff said in a press release about his line from Italy.
The new European line consists of popular Blackthorn walking sticks, which are made from the Blackthorn shrub grown mostly in England and Ireland.
Siceloff has noticed over the years that finding the perfect cane or walking stick that mirrors the buyers' circumstances, but can also display a fashion sense.
"It's truly a fashion industry," Siceloff said. "I would say a good majority of the people ordering canes need them, so even those customers want something different. They already have the disability, they need a cane and they want to look nice. Collectors are always looking for the beauty in canes and those into fashion, whether men and women, are looking for different styles and colors."
Siceloff said he purchases in bulk whenever possible and advertises consistently through a web-based public relations company. He carries hard-to-find brands from all over the world and is considered one of the top five American retailers for walking canes.
"I get orders form all over the United States every day," he said. "I ship one-third of the styles out my Lady Lake warehouse and the rest of them from the manufacturer," he said. "And nowadays, with technology, I can provide people with canes that don't have to be plain or boring.
"There are all kinds of handles, materials, prices and styles. There are canes that can be folded or adjusted to different heights and some can even be polished to look elegant. Check us out."
For information, call 888-928-1774 or go to www.walking-canes.net.
