Personal and new favorite

I have decided to get personal on this blog, as opposed to sounding really commercial. After all, there are real people behind FRUGO, and they also happen to be our most critical customers. Sharing their feedback will definitely help everyone, and today the note-worthy product is an Avocado Cutter.

If you like avocado, you know the benefit of it. If you don't, then you might want to know that avocado is considered an almost complete food. It is rich in potassium and vitamin A, which is great for skin healing. It is also a great add-on to salad, shell seafood and many other things. There is even a site devoted to avocado recipes: http://www.avocadorecipes.net/.

However, cutting avocado can be a messy process. Our family has found that this avocado cutter really makes the job so much easier and better. The cutter has three edges for the different purposes: the long edge is used for cutting open the fruit, the narrow edge is used for taking out the large seed, and lastly the larger round edge is used for taking out the flesh. We like it when a gadget really solves a problem.

Trudeau & Frugo

FRUGO is proud to carry many of the famous Trudeau kitchen gadgets. Since 1889 Trudeau has built its expertise and reputation on supplying innovative and quality designed products. Here are just some of the items we have in the store. We also offer catalogue order for all the Trudeau products. Their products can also be found online at http://www.trudeau.ca/.

The hottest item right now is the Automatic Oil/Vinegar Bottle $6.99. The lid opens as you tilt the bottle, and closes as the bottle returns to the up right position. There is a lip around the dispenser, so the oil will drip back into the bottle and not onto the table.

To celebrate store opening, an array of giftwares are at 50% off. Some of the items have already been sold out.

Suit rack for a jacket and a pair of pants, can be folded and hid inside a closet or under the bed, originally $24, now at a incredible 75% off of $6. Only fewer than 10 racks left.

Beautiful handbags from Italian leather brand VIA SPIGA, American fashion brand Derion and XOXO bags at 46% off their regular price.

DKNY, Liz Claiborne, Ann Taylor winter overcoat and vests are 46% off.

New arrival of Trudeau brand of kitchen gadgets will definitely add fun and colour to your cooking experience. The dehygration bottle provides both drink and mist to hard working men and women at the gym for $10.99.

Frugo Markham is now open!

Finally, FRUGO Markham is ready and open for business on Oct 2nd. After three long and winding weeks of hard work and preparation, we could peel off the cover that was blocking the wall of windows from the sun shine. The entire store lid up right away after the cover was gone. It now looks spacious and airy. Come to the store and you will find something unique and interesting. A neighbourhood department store is born in a very nice neighbourhood.

After one month

The new FRUGO finally got the permission to go ahead with the renovation. After working on the premise in the entire August, we turned the previous travel agent layout into an airy retail design. The transformation of the carpet floor to a concrete floor was particularly difficult. The contractor had to wear spacesuit and protective mask to sand the concrete floor level and smooth, in the hottest days of the summer! (can't turn on AC as the dust would pollute the ventilation system). With all that hard work, we are finally at the stage of applying for the occupancy permit. This is the last of the 10 approvals issued by the city for a store to be able to open for business. In the mean time, merchandising and stocking are underway. A retail store is gradually taking shape, and we are all excited and exhausted.

After we hung the signage, we heard comments from people about the similarity between our logo and that of a supermarket clothing brand. This was really an undesirable coincident. Our logo was designed in house and was rolled out in Feb 2006 for the first store. We almost flipped when we drove by one of those newly renovated supermarkets and saw the new clothing brand signage. Oh well...

Unionville store now hiring

Nothing can be more testing than to wait for the building permits. Until then, the store renovation will just be sitting pretty. However, many behind the scene activities are still taking place. Now is the time to start staffing. If you are a reliable, friendly and honest person, especially one who likes to keep things tidy and presentable, we would like to meet you! Interested party please send your resume to customerservice@frugostore.com.

Update on Frugo Unionville

Store design is finalized and given to the engineers. They will draft the mechanical drawings and submit to the city for permission to renovate. If you've never started a business before, you can never imagine how much expenses that are upfront and unrelated to the actual merchandise. Normally customers won't appreciate those small items - the layout of the store, the fixture, the signage, the plans required by the city which cost a few thousand dollars and then are stored away forever. With the economy alarms sounding everywhere and everyday, we are still forging ahead to build a space which should be useful and beautiful. We would like to make the ambiance a bit loose and relaxed, so that anyone would feel comfortable walking in. Hopefully we can start some basic demolition going in the next few days. Fall is our target date and we are aiming for it.