In 1995, Coach Deborah Ford emblazoned the T-shirts of her girls’ volleyball team with “G.R.I.T.S,” her acronym for “Girls Raised In The South.”
Although the shirts were an immediate hit among friends and her players’ mothers, she never dreamed they would radically change her life.
Things moved quickly after she went on a blind date with Jim Ford, a marketing and licensing whiz. Jim Ford recognized the business potential in Deborah’s gift for turning a clever phrase. Together, they founded Grits Inc., a Birmingham-based company that manufactures and markets a broad range of T-shirts, hats, tote bags, pillows, stuffed animals, and other products silk-screened and embroidered with Deborah’s clever Southern sayings.
The sayings and products are geared toward women, and focus on the charm and traditions of the South. “We’re portraying Southerners in a different light, as gentlemen and ladies,” said Deborah, who grew up in an old-fashioned, Southern household with five sisters. “The ideas just come to me from my experiences growing up.”
Unlike many entrepreneurs who struggle for years, the Fords sold $65,000 worth of merchandise at a gift show in Atlanta while still waiting for their trademark registration to be finalized.
The company is growing like kudzu, a fast-growing Southern weed, based on an aggressive marketing strategy that combines mass retail distribution with a variety of lucrative licensing deals. Grits merchandise is not only sold in 2,000 retail stores, but it is also widely available in Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, a 370-store restaurant chain based in Lebanon, Tenn. No one minds waiting for a table at the popular family restaurant because customers love to shop at Cracker Barrel restaurants almost as much as they love to eat there. The bustling shops are piled high with homey gift items, especially around Christmas time.
The 270 Cracker Barrels that carry Grits merchandise helped boost the company’s revenues to $4 million in 1996. Today, Cracker Barrel sales account for 40 percent of Grits’ current revenues, which Jim Ford predicts will reach $7 million in 1998.
Meanwhile, Deborah has expanded the line to include educational toys. She’s created a family of talking gophers who dispense important life lessons and advice on proper manners, women’s wisdom, work ethics, friendship and sportsmanship. “A book comes with each character,” said Ford, who works closely with the artists she hires to illustrate her sayings, sending the designs to a local embroiderer.
The Fords run the company on their own, relying on outside suppliers and contractors to handle everything else. The Fords’ magic touch has also gained them acceptance in the very competitive college licensing arena. Grits is negotiating with College Licensing Co., the Atlanta-based organization that grants collegiate licensing approval, to produce a line of women’s products for the Southern College Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“Fifty percent of every dollar spent on licensed merchandise is spent by women, yet most licensed products are designed for men,” said Jim Ford. “Deborah has taken it to the next level and created something a man is not going to wear.”
If and when the contract is approved, Grits merchandise will be sold by 200 colleges the first year, bringing in an additional $3 million in sales. The college licensing deals may push Grits’ revenues to $12 million in 1999.
“College football is a religion in the South,” said Jim. “We could not have done this anywhere but in the South.” Jim said Grits is also working on potential licensing deals with the NFL, NASCAR and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. The NTRP’s top slogans “Go Baby, Go” and “Pay the Lady” fit perfectly with Grits’ focus on female-oriented slogans and designs, Jim said.
This year, Jim also signed up with a new sales rep group. He negotiated a smart deal where reps are paid a commission on new accounts, but only earn commissions on old accounts when they write up new orders. The new arrangement boosted Grits’ sales reps to 32 and resulted in a total of 2,000 accounts. Jim also hired an outside consultant to guide the company through the tricky college licensing approval process.
With sales projected to double in the coming year, the Fords are considering taking the company public, with an initial public offering possible by the fourth quarter of 1999.
At the very least, the licensing programs will push the company to expand from a regional to a national venture. And though the decision to expand beyond the South is tricky, according to Jim, he said they might not have any other choice if they want to continue to grow.
“For the stores who merchandise it properly, it sells like nothing before,” said Jim Ford. “Our biggest concern is, will we hit the wall and reach a saturation point?”
Jane Applegate is a syndicated columnist and author of “201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business
