Specialty Store Services have come a long way since 1986, when Marshall Weinstein and Mal Finke started the company out of Finke's Chicago garage. Finke had been in the catalog business and Weinstein came from a background in media packaging for audio cassettes and computer software. Weinstein had an idea for a unique product: a clear plastic sleeve to protect VHS movie boxes when they are on a store shelf.
"This was all in the mid-'80s when the video rental business was just taking off," explains Eric Weinstein, vice president of business development, of Specialty Store Services. "As a teenager I worked for the company [during] the summers and it seemed like everyone who called to place an order was opening a video store."
Today, the company's primary products are still video store related. Specialty offers unique products for retailers, such as customer printing services and The Flip Frame DVD display system, patented by inventor Weinstein. The Flip Frame DVD system can display up to 36 DVD titles in two feet of space.
Some of their best-selling items include cash-handling equipment, apparel displays, DVD displays, bulk display bins, showcases, Slatwall and Gadwall display accessories, shrink wrap systems, LED signs, security systems, cameras, bags and material handling.
"To be honest, a lot of the product line is the same as the next vendor," said Weinstein. "What distinguishes [us] from competitors is the quality of service we provide our customers. Customer satisfaction is our goal... service is our name."
Over the years their catalog has evolved from a four-page flyer into two separate catalogs-a 196-page media retailing book and a 96-page general retail catalog. During the 21 years they've been in business, the company has had to move four times to accommodate the growth of the company. Today, with 80 employees, they're headquartered in a 110,000-square-foot facility, where all aspects of the business take place, including their successful e-commerce business.
Specialty Store Services has no plans to slow down. Always keeping an eye out for new and innovative products, they recently attended the Global Shop Expo in Las Vegas, where they found new and interesting items that will soon find their way into Specialty's catalog and website.
Specialty utilizes their site to provide customers with information and ideas for more profitable retailing, and the number of customers shopping on Specialty's website is growing quickly. To keep up, they've been focusing on their site, making it a resource for customers to find and purchase items in the print catalog, as well as a place for an expanded selection of products not found in print.
Their site features a Catalog Quick Order page where customers can enter an item number and item quantity, and immediately proceed to check out. A digitized, exact replica of their print catalog is also available online, and it's connected to the website shopping cart for easy reference.
"In five years, Specialty Store Services will be doing what it has always been doing," Weinstein said, "helping all kinds of retailers grow their businesses by providing them with innovative and high quality displays and supplies with the highest caliber customer service. The fact is that the market is constantly changing, things come and go, but several things will always remain consistent: top quality product, low prices and great service."
Specialty Store Services
454 Jarvis Ave.
Des Plaines, IL 60018
800-999-0771
