Bermuda pride and guerrilla marketing

Jessie Moniz Hardy

Published Jul 30, 2018 at 8:00 am (Updated Jul 29, 2018 at 10:45 pm)

Guerilla marketer: businesswoman Marjorie Richardson-Caines shows off her new Bermuda themed knapsack at her Front Street store, Lifestyles Co (Photograph by Blaire Simmons)

More than 13 months after the America’s Cup, Marjorie Richardson-Caines still has boxes of the event-themed trays, bags and picture frames she had hoped to sell.

Simply put, it was not the financial success the businesswoman had anticipated.

“I definitely didn’t make back what I put into it,” the owner of Lifestyles Co Ltd said. “I thought I would be able to sell everything. I didn’t.”

She’s hopeful, however, as her contract with the America’s Cup hasn’t yet expired.

“You live and learn. I’m determined I’ll sell the stuff before the end of the year,” she said. “I’ve still got time.”

She and former business partner Carlita Burgess won their America’s Cup contract after an intense screening process and thought they’d get a stall in the village.

Two months before the May 2017 start, they learnt that wasn’t the case. “I still remember the day I got the e-mail,” Ms Richardson-Caines said. “I cried. I thought we were going to have a larger presence there and we didn’t.”

America’s Cup organisers only wanted to sell their products alongside merchandise from other vendors, and would only accept limited quantities.

“They would only take 12 picture frames from us,” she said. “In the beginning they made it sound like they’d be taking masses of products from us.”

She resorted to guerrilla marketing to help the business along.

“My best friend and I went to the opening ceremony,” Ms Richardson-Caines said. “I took along this Bermuda pillow we were selling.

“During a live feed of the event, I held it up [so it would appear on the village’s main screen] to get people to see it.”

Then she spotted Wyclef Jean, the event’s headliner, passing by.

She and her friend flagged him down and handed the pillow over. “He took it with him,” she said. “I thought that was pretty cool.”

The pillow has since become a hot seller at her Front Street store, particularly with locals wanting Bermuda memorabilia to take to college.

“The America’s Cup had its pluses but it had its negatives,” Ms Richardson-Caines said.

“It granted us exposure and the tenacity of people able to work with a global brand like the America’s Cup. Last year I got a call in the middle of the day from a personal assistant or concierge.

“He said he had some VIP clients who wanted to buy from us. He asked if we’d open up the store even though it was a holiday.”

She was happy to comply. “They were Chinese visitors,” she said. “I ended up spending four hours with them.”

Now she’s working on rebranding Lifestyles Co Ltd, selling products that celebrate Bermuda culture such as scarves with a map of the island printed on them.

Several of her products, such as her popular canvas shoulder bags, now say Bermuda instead of the America’s Cup; she’s also added a backpack to the line up.

“With the America’s Cup and the success of Flora Duffy, I think Bermudians are feeling very proud to be Bermudian,” she said. “They’re not afraid to wear something that says Bermuda on it.”

Despite her experience she wasn’t completely put off by the America’s Cup.

“If I did it over again I would not offer products in the same volume,” she said. “We were told we would have a larger presence at the America’s Cup and we didn’t. Did I learn from it? Yes. Do I regret doing it? No.

“I am proud that I was able to represent the America’s Cup. It is something to put on my resume.”

The store has also added an outreach arm. It closes every Monday to allow Ms Richardson-Caines time for community work.

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