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continued. . .
DeVine says that after Varga redefined and evolved its
designs – within two years under his wings – retailers sat up and took notice.
"We started with a small base of independents," he says. Then Saks and Neiman
Marcus signed on. "Those platforms took us from level one to level two."
Accounts now number 250, mostly carriage trade merchants. Akos feverishly combs
the country whenever he returns from Budapest visiting accounts – up to 15 in a
two-week period – chatting up collections and staging sales trainings. "It’s
really important we do this," he says, "because not everyone on the floor is up
to speed. We take them through the cutting and engraving process that goes into
each piece. I show it from start to finish so they remember how intricate it is
and how important it is to keep this art alive." After he leaves a store, sales
increase. "I enjoy these trainings," he says. "I’ve been to more states than
most Americans." But, he continues in earnest, "The more events I do the more I
realize that business is based on personal relationships. It’s not only our
products, it’s our personalities."
The strength of business has long been stemware, but now,
thanks to innovative new designs, giftware, according to DeVine, is "taking
off." DeVine boasts a roster of steady stemware sellers including the just
launched Athens, $265. The stem was designed three years ago, but DeVine
didn’t think the market was ready for it at the time. "Most of the time, Tim’s
right," Akos allows, "and we think that’s the case with Athens. It’s a
more intricate design at a higher price point and it really shows our engraving
and cutting capabilities. We think the market is ready for it now." Stemware
starts at just under $100 and goes up to $265; the average stem is $140.
Oversized shapes represent a new direction and a response to retail feedback.
Clear stemware is where a collection starts followed by giftware and colored
stems. Color has been a Varga strength since its launch here; raspberry’s the
top hue currently. Springtime – that top selling pattern
which changed Varga’s fortunes here – sports the greatest number of gift SKUs.
Gift items range from $80 to an $80,000 one-of-a-kind statement piece; the
average retail is $500. There are more than 100 giftware SKUs ranging from
lighting to cigar trays to letter openers and vases.
The U.S. receives almost three-quarters of Varga’s
production, copper and diamond wheel engraving motifs that include landscapes,
animals, portraits, and historic scenes. Most design ideas emanate from Sandor,
up to 100 a year, although just five are launched here. After almost three
decades of watching his father work, Akos remains in awe. "Ideas come to him in
an instant," he says. "We’ll sit for lunch and I’ll tell him what customers are
looking for. Between two sandwiches, he comes up with an idea. It’s what he does
all the time. It’s his love. But it’s not just the cutting and designing. He
does it all. He maintains the machinery and invents new tools. His mind is
always on design and shape."
Take the Herend stemware he designed simply because he thought the dinnerware
was so amazing he had to recreate it on crystal. That inspiration led to a
licensing agreement with the company eight years ago, and fueled subsequent
partnerings with Boehm, Mottahedeh, and, most recently, Royal Crown Derby. "We
haven’t pursued licensing," Akos says, "but every now and then my father creates
pieces based on someone’s dinnerware and they like it." For a perfectionist like
Sandor Varga, laboring at the wheel making the hundreds of convoluted cuts and
tortuously tangled twists to recreate detailed dinnerware designs that have
become icons throughout time seems quite fitting, really. For a family of
perfectionists like the Vargas, we can only hope that the auspicious approaching
anniversary marking three decades of crystal marksmanship is merely the next
marker of the magic that awaits us.
. . .end of article
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