June 10, 2013
Shop Talk
Q&A With Sheila Shechtman Of American Gourmet Group, Hebert Candies
Sheila Shechtman, CEO, American Gourmet Group, parent company of Hebert Candies
By Rick Saia
Hebert Candies, with its 65,000-square-foot Tudor stone mansion on Route 20 in Shrewsbury, have been synonymous with Central Massachusetts. And last year, they were acquired by American Gourmet Group of Hartford, Conn., a food and gift basket company led by Sheila Shechtman, who has been running her own businesses since 1980. She recently called the deal a rebirth for Hebert's, which was founded more than 90 years ago. She also moved 18 employees up from the Hartford area to the mansion, which will serve as the new headquarters for her company's gift basket operations.
You're taking a long-standing business into a new era. How exciting is that?
It's extremely exiting. It's actually what I'm most passionate about. It's a heritage brand that was asleep for a long time, and when the opportunity came about to rebirth Hebert, I jumped right on board.
Is that a hard thing for others here to accept?
In the companies that I've run for many years, culture, and how we cared about our employees, was critical to me, and I think we actually brought that to Hebert. We have a great team of people and everyone is on board with the excitement and the future.
You're moving a few employees up here from the Hartford area. How difficult is that to achieve?
Very challenging, because some of our employees actually live south of Hartford (where the company's 50,000-square-foot plant is located). So, we've set up car pools with, of course, very generous compensation for them.
How are the renovations going here (at the mansion)?
I guess as you would expect any renovations (to go). Slowly, but consistently. We're going to make our area right behind (the first-floor seating area) more of a Willy Wonka feel (alluding to the iconic 1971 film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory"), so chocolate will be made every day of the week and people can see it. And we're giving it good housekeeping and refreshing a place that has really needed it for a long time.
How important for Hebert's future is the online sales channel?
We've just started to engage online. We've put a lot of energy and (are) investing in social media, and online is the wave of the future. Hebert's demographic is a more senior population, the people who are loyal to the Hebert brand. But anyone under the age of 35 and certainly not from this area (has) no connection with the brand whatsoever. So, social media is extremely important.
Has anything prior to what you did in 1980 help inform you with starting your own company?
I would say more than anything, probably my determination and passion. I had trained and mentored with Dean & DeLuca (a New York City-based gourmet foods specialist) and I was turned down by 10 banks that called me a housewife that was going to fail like the women in the suburbs. I kind of joke a little bit now that I'm still standing and lots of those guys aren't around. For me, I believed in what I was doing, I have a creative bent … I previously was an account executive in an advertising agency and did a lot of photography. But you know what? I truly grew up in a merchant family. (Her father started his own retail store in Connecticut.) Merchant blood. It's in the DNA.
What advice would you give a business owner who is looking to acquire another company?
For me, having passion for what you do is critical. Sometimes it's the only thing that pulls you through. And determination, and believing in what you do. I would suggest, in buying a business, that understanding the business thoroughly, the distribution channels, the opportunities, the market competitiveness — all those important and traditional factors are key. But it has to be something that's differentiated in the marketplace.
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Shop Talk - Sheila Shechtman, Hebert Candies
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