wendy bellisimo gone

[greersmom]

i went to my local wendy bellisimo baby store today and was told that something was up with the manufacture. I went to their website and all seems fine. The store said that Wendy Bellisimo has got some issue and that most stores will no longer carry it ? Does anyone have any info on the pretty linen line ? I am worried about ordering it now !!!

thanks in advance

[leighton]

Be careful.

[tapr]

I was thinking of ordering the fireman set. Is there a problem?

[caheinz]

Today's BBB e-newletter says that they're not selling in stores anymore, only direct to the public (online).

The whole story sounds a bit nasty... apparently, they've put their (soon to be former) retailers in a potentially bad position... (retailers had to put a lot of infrastructure in to sell the lines, and now they've simply been told they can't sell it anymore.)

Cheryl
EDD #1:3/24/04

[greersmom]

i think the are going out of business
all my local stores will not order any bedding and they are all selling their samples off !!

[traciann]

does this mean her wendy bee line will not be available?

Traci

[tinkerbell1217]

From the looks of the site, they are out of ALOT of the sets, or the fabric out of stock. Mostly the ones that would be great for boys. Alot of the girly stuff is in stock though. Don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Kelly

[caheinz]

From the Baby Bargains E-Newsletter, 3-2-2004:

1. Wendy Bellissimo pulls bedding from stores; will sell only online

In a move that stunned baby retailers, Wendy Bellissimo announced it was pulling its products from retail stores and will only sell online.

"After careful consideration and heartfelt debate, we have decided that wholesale distribution to independent retailers is not a direction in which can afford to continue." said company owners Wendy and Joe Bellissimo in a letter to its dealers on Feb 27.

Repeated calls to the company for additional comment were unreturned.

Effective April 1, Wendy Bellissimo will no longer accept any orders for their products from its dealers. "At that time, we will independently and for an indefinite period continue to produce, market and sell our products direct to the public."

Retailers who spoke to BABY BARGAINS said they were livid about the decision, considering the thousands of dollars Bellissimo required them to invest in the line. Bellissimo mandated retailers buy a special software program for nursery design, as well as expensive fixtures, samples and other sales material to promote the line. Retailers were also required to spend a certain amount of money to promote the line in advertising. The total investment for one retailer in these materials/fixtures/software alone ran $10,000.

Even more galling, Bellissimo asked retailers to remove any mention of the brand from their stores by July 1. "After July 1, we kindly ask you discontinue use of and remove from your premises as well as on the internet all Wendy Bellissimo related sales materials."

Retailers told us Bellissimo seems more interested in promoting her name as a "celebrity brand" than building a bedding company. As an example. Bellissimo debuted a lower priced line of imported bedding called Wendy Bee a couple of years ago. Yet, after the introduction, the company only came out with one or two new patterns (and no new designs in the last six months). "The bedding business is like fashion," one retailer told us. "When you don't come out with new looks, the line will die." Meanwhile, the company was busy pushing a book by Bellissimo called "Nesting," which was published by the same vanity press that has done celebrity books by Jessica Simpson, among others.

Bellissimo is taking a large risk with the only online sales strategy, as almost all luxury nursery linens are sold in specialty stores. Or in the case of Pottery Barn, in conjunction with brick and mortar stores. Parents who want to buy $600 crib bedding want to touch it first, not buy from a picture.

If you have ordered bedding from Bellissimo, we suggest you contact your retailer immediately to check the status of your order.


-----------

Hopefully it's okay to post this in its entirety here -- the newsletters are available elsewhere on the windsorpeak site, but there seem to be a lot of questions that this might help to answer!

Hopefully the Fields will post more info here as it becomes available!

Cheryl

[Joe Bellissimo]

Hello,

All of this has been brought to our attention and you can calm down. We are not going anywhere. This change in business direction is the first step in what is going to be an exciting evolution at Wendy Bellissimo baby 'n' kids and Wendy Bee. Our first step is to gradually pull out of boutiques (we have given them very clear and fair notice) In the meantime, we are still accepting orders from retailers and fulfilling all shipments 100 percent.

We also urge you to demand from the "author" of this "newsletter" to make an attempt to corroborate or substantiate what they print. NOT ONE CALL WAS EVER MADE BY BABY BARGAINS TO OUR COMAPNY REGARDING THIS ISSUE. It disappoints me that the Fields' are not spending their time (and more importantly, yours) praising us for this new direction. One thing they were right about is the fact that this IS a risk we are taking...a risk that ultimately is about making our products more attainable to the consumers who want them.

If for any reason a retailer or any other person leads you to believe otherwise, please contact us directly so that we can keep your experience a positive one and make sure you get the baby bedding you've been dreaming about.

Thank you and I hope you will pass this along to those you have been chatting with.


Joe Bellissimo

[greersmom]

mr. bellisimo,

exactly why are you "pulling" your line from the retail stores.
If i can not see it in person how am i going to order it on line ?
There are alot of bedding lines out there that are on the net. We have to touch it before we order it !!

[carseatguys]

Your post is an eye opener for the stores who were backing the whole line. Mr Joe stated to us he was not shipping to people who had a store in thier area. This was due to the fact that some stores made an investment of 10k to 30k to support the line. In fact he was doing just that " We showed it and He sold it! " the reason he cancled his relationship with the retailers was we didnt support it. The exact oppisite existed. We as stores had to pay thier advertising and stock the items and buy the display items ect...

Several posts ask questions like are they done? Get it while you can one year from now or less they will be looking for jobs.



Great line but unreasonable people! Greedy and rude! Wendy and Joe you are not all that and then some. Your ego has got in the way of good business decisions we as retailers will not miss you.

[alandenisefields]

Joe and all our readers:

I (Alan) called Wendy Bellissimo and left TWO voice mails on Joe's extension (818-932-9915 x505) to talk about this story. One message was left on Tuesday at 4pm. The second was left Wednesday at 3pm. At that time, we told Joe (via voice mail) that we were going forward with the story at 5pm. Obviously, we wanted to give the company a chance to tell their side of the story. But we had to run the story to let our readers know what was happening; we couldn't wait forever to hear back. We made a decision to run the story, noting our calls went unreturned.

Amazingly, we see this post today. And still, we have not received a phone call from the company explaining what is going on.

No notice of this change appears on Wendy's web site. The only word of this came in a letter from Wendy and Joe to their dealers. We have decided to post this letter online for readers to read and draw their own conclusions:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/babybargains/wendyb.html

Thanks again for reading our book. And Joe: our number is 303-442-8792. Call us.

Alan & Denise Fields
BABY BARGAINS

[JElaineB]

Wow, how rude. Mr. Bellissimo, you should know people on this board totally trust Alan and Densie, and don't know your from a hole in the wall. I would hope after this rude display members of this board are no longer interested in your products. Sounds like you are getting too big for your britches.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[Imperia]

My goodness Mr. Bellisimo,

you seem awfully defensive and angry. The tone of your "statement" leads me to suspect you have something to hide and/or you have little or no respect for the readers of this board, the Fields, or your "ex" distibutors. Without customers you will not go very far in business. I, personally, found your statement that we :

"demand from the 'author' of this 'newsletter' to make an attempt to corroborate or substantiate what they print"

to be belittling and extremely rude. Perhaps there has been some miscommunication, but the Fields did state in the article that they attempted to reach you for comment, are you saying they flat out lied in their article? And the idea that the Fields should be "praising" and basically promoting your new direction is abhorrant. This book is not about free advertising Mr. Bellisimo, it is about objective reveiws, if you want advertising, either pay for it or earn your customer's trust so that they spread it via word of mouth.

And for goodness sakes, why would you compleletly remove yourself from Brick and Mortar stores? Linens are something which a customer has to touch and inspect before they buy, especially high end lines. Yes, youc an send a fabric sample, butpeople still like to inspect stitching and overall construction ahead of time. I am happy to pay more for a quality item, however, I want to see and touch that item first. If you are merely showing a picture of linens there is much which can be hidden from an unsuspecting consumer. If aren't planning to lower the quality of your linens, then cutting out the "middle man" will obviously make you more money on each item sold if that is your intention. Either way you slice it I cannot see how direct online marketing of linens benefits the customer in any way...it may benefit you, but how does it benefit us?

And to think, I once considered buying something from your company, I am certainly glad I did not, and I certainly will not in the future.

Imperia

[Toba]

Wow. After reading Joe's "statement," all I can say is that I am so glad I just spent over $1000 on a high-end Cotton Tale line instead of the Wendy Bellissimo one I was considering.

~Kimberly Anne~
Noah Nevan, scheduled c-section on March 12, 2004 (can't wait to meet you, Noie!!).

[greersmom]

forgetabout wend bellisimo
i found an incredible bedding company called "Angelino Steffano"
it is 3oo thread count egyptian cotton made in italy.
the fabric is phenomenal and sof t as can be !
pricey but seems worth it. If you were thinking of wendy b look at this line . It is availble at better retail stores and on line !

[charleyc]

My retailer must have been on to something in December when they ran a 20% off special on all in-stock (that's the key word) Wendy Bellisimo bedding.

Of course, none the wiser, I took them up on their offer and purchased the set we fell in love with...the Country Firetruck bedding set. I haven't even cut the tags off yet, as our furntiure hasn't arrived, but I'd consider returning it today just from Joe Bellisimo's rude response. I don't do business with companies who have no appreciation for the support we as consumers provide when we buy the products...and it sounds like that support was extended by the retailers who were required to make such lofty investments in the line(s) just to carry it.

UGH!!

[phirey]

I recently lent my gently used Wendy Bellisimo Moses basket to my best friend for her upcoming baby. Now I'm a bit ashamed to have supported such losers!

What a jerk!

[BabyPie]

I had considered buying Bellisimo. Now I am so glad I purchased an organic cotton set from Greenbabies.com.

[hwin708]

I'm assuming you're referring to Stefano Angelini.
http://www.babylinens.com/default.cfm
These are gorgeous, and I'm pretty sure I remember reading many months ago (when I was looking for bedding) that someone on these boards had a set from here, and loves them.
I don't think it's the same as wendy bellissimo, though. It's more of a simple, elegant line. WB has the special prints and "theme" bedding.
Upscale lines more similar are Brandee Danielle (which I have and love), Cotton Tale, Glenna Jean, and Banana Fish.
The thing I love about the WB and BD lines is the overstuffed bumper. Some people don't like this look, preferring the flat bumper. I love it, though.
WB needs to realize, however, that they are not the only ones offering beautiful, high quality baby bedding. Maybe they were when they first started, but not any more. If I couldn't see the set in person, there is no way I would spend that money when I have many other, just as wonderful options at the store. Mr. B also said nothing worthwhile is his post to defend what they have done to retailers, which tend to be the small, local baby stores, bear in mind, not BRU.
This, to me, seems like a poor way to run a business.
Then again, judging by Mr. B's ridiculously rude post on a board filled with potential customers, apparently business acumen is not their strong suit.

[greersmom]

i have found locally that all wendy bellisimo dealers are running that bedding at tremedous discounts. I saved 30% off the original price. I got a great deal on my bedding

check it out

[ChrisRapp]

I have been a huge fan of your bedding since my best friend bought the Olivia pattern and am designing my nursery based on images from the Nesting book which I love. I was planning on buying your Princely Picnic if I have a boy or Sir Leap's a Lot for a girl, but due to your rude post, I am looking into other bedding designers. Too bad, since my husband loved the jumping frogs.