Wholesale Newsletter: Highlights & Hopes

HIGHLIGHTS FROM Q4 2022

A HUGE and GENUINE THANK YOU to our growing base of eclectic stores nationwide that helped Xplorer Maps enjoy our greatest sales year ever; punctuated by record Q4 holiday sales as more and more folks are turning to Xplorer Maps for those unique family & friend gifts for all occasions. It certainly felt serendipitous as we celebrated our 10th anniversary this past year with our immediate family of 28 visiting from Toronto, Calgary, Kenya, Hawaii, Colorado, and the U.K. for the entire month of July; a truly special year for our growing family business that has our mum incredibly proud of her two sons.

We are always committed to improving the wholesale buying experience and have some exciting things planned for Q1 of 2023 to help serve you better. But first, here’s a brief look back at the last few months of 2022. 

Q4 HIGHLIGHTS

PHILANTHROPY: PLA PARTNER FEATURES 

• October - Shenandoah National Park Association - Donation of $2,519.17
• For the month of October, we featured our partner the Shenandoah National Park Association. We highlighted special events in the park and shared information about the Shenandoah National Park map. We had the opportunity to present the association with a donation check in March of 2022 at the annual Public Lands Alliance convention and trade show.
• November - Great Smoky Mountains Association - Donation of $2,074.82
• In November of 2022, we highlighted our Great Smoky Mountains National Park map which was created through a collaborative partnership with the Great Smoky Mountains Association. We are so grateful for this partnership and all they do for the preservation and conservation of the Great Smoky Mountains. This year, we donated $2,074.82 from map sales. We appreciate their ongoing support of Xplorer Maps and are excited about our partnership's future.
• December - Southern Nevada Conservancy - $1,453.81
• For our December 2022 partnership feature, we showed off our Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area map. The conservation area is supported by the Southern Nevada Conservancy, which operates the visitor centers and supports interpretive programs within the park. For 2022, Xplorer Maps donated $1,453.81 from map sales.

TRADE SHOW SCHEDULE FALL 2022

Holy moly; Xplorer Maps was very, very busy in Q4 exhibiting at 6 different shows (2 of which were brand new for XM) as we teased you guys with new hand-drawn custom “story” maps of Pennsylvania, Chesapeake Bay (MD/VA) and Cape May (NJ). At the same time, we also received the remaining products for our other 2022 maps (Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii, and North Carolina). So beginning later this month, we are now shipping all 17 of our map products for all 7 of these maps above. What a great feeling to begin the New Year!!

UPCOMING SPRING TRADE SHOWS -

• Dallas Market Center - Jan. 4-7 Booth #120018
• Alaska Gift Show (Anchorage)- Jan. 18-20 Booth #116
• Vegas Market - Jan. 29 - Feb. 2 Booth #E650
• Philadelphia Gift Show - Feb. 5-7 Booth #907
• Rocky Mountain Gift Show (Denver) - Feb. 19-22 Booth #1304 & #1305
• Public Lands Alliance (Portland) - Feb. 28-March 1 Booth #106-110
• SF Now (San Francisco)- April 27 & 28 Booth #611
• Northern Michigan (Gaylord) - April 3-5 

...& HOPES FOR Q1 2023

Clearly, our show schedule listed above is extremely busy and has our team traveling from coast to coast and places in between to get the XM brand in front of as many buyers as possible. Each of the shows above is a very targeted area and an important wholesale market for Xplorer Maps and our pre-show outreach and the subsequent feedback on our new products have been very encouraging. Here is what’s coming this quarter.

NEW PRODUCT RELEASES 

Travel Drinkware (now available for all 50+ maps). 

• 16 oz. stainless steel (hot or cold) with a spill-proof lid
• Tall and Slender fit snugly in all car drink holders
• $12.50 wholesale and $29.99 MSRP

Natural Stone “Collage” Coaster Sets 

• Available Feb.15th for all 50+ maps
• $22.50 wholesale (includes custom box package) and $50 MSRP
• This custom-to-order product has a lead time of 3-4 weeks

Kitchen Towels (March 1st ship date) 

• Available for all 50+ maps on March 15th 
• 100% Cotton Flour Sack
• $6.25 wholesale and $14.99 MSRP

Note: And as always, please remember there are ZERO minimums with Xplorer Maps!

NEW MAP RELEASES

We have three entirely new custom hand-drawn maps officially being released Q1 of 2023: Pennsylvania - Chesapeake Bay (MD-VA-DE) - and Cape May (NJ). Additionally,  we now have 17 unique map products available for our New Hampshire, Maine, North Carolina, and Hawaii maps. 

Clearly, the main thrust of our 2022 custom map production was focused eastward as we joined forces with two new Rep Groups: McCabe & Associates covering the New England region and Philip David Company repping the mid-Atlantic states. We are excited to grow the brand in these areas and look forward to years of partnership success working with these super-talented sales reps to help build a successful retail experience for your stores.

NEW WHOLESALE PLATFORM

We are listening and responding to what you guys are asking for. So, beginning February 15th, Xplorer Maps is rolling out a password-protected wholesale login page to help better serve our customers.

We fully understand and appreciate how busy you folks are and want to make placing orders as convenient and simple as possible. Along with all five of our Rep Groups (the others being Rocky Mountain Concepts covering MT, CO, ID, SD, WY, and UT; Algers covering Michigan; and The Lundgren Group (covering CA and HI), Kevin and our amazing customer support team in Missoula, MT are still available to answer any questions you have and to help process your orders. 

But now, you will also have the convenience of logging directly into your personal wholesale account 24/7 and your orders will be automatically placed in the production queue with a confirmation email response to assure your orders have been received and processed in our system.