With news reports all over the Chicago media earlier this year about Fannie May going out of business, die-hard fans of the Chicago-based candy company flocked to its web site and opted into its informational e-mail program. Then, though its stores were all shut, a new owner emerged to keep the candy brand in business online. Fannie May sent 100,000 e-mails to let customers know they could still purchase candy online, getting sales from 6,000 of them, Bill Pozdoll, vice president of direct markets for Fannie May Confections, a division of new owner Alpine Confections Inc., tells InternetRetailer.com.
“People just kept coming to our web site, even though we had ceased search engine marketing,” Pozdoll says. “We provided no incentives to sign up for e-mail, just a note saying we would provide them with updates about the company.”
Fannie May gathered 20,000 new e-mail addresses, adding to the 80,000 in its database, Pozdoll says. When a new owner emerged with a plan to keep the brand alive with sales on FannieMay.com, Fannie May sent e-mails to all 100,000 subscribers to let them know that some candy was still available both online and in some Chicago-area grocery and drug stores.
Fannie May’s former owners, Archibald Candy Corp., sold the Fannie May brand, its recipes, web site and other assets to Alpine, UT-based Alpine Confections as part of bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year. Alpine expects to continue rebuilding the site’s product offerings as it rebuilds candy manufacturing with suppliers, and will let customers know through e-mail as more products become available, Pozdoll says.
Alpine also plans to re-open 40 Fannie May stores by the end of this year. Meantime, e-mail and the web site will keep the keep the brand in front of customers, Pozdoll says.
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