1. They have more SKUs (items) than you do. A lot of product businesses start out as a 1 SKU line. This is a formula for failure. You should never try to get retail distribution with a 1 SKU line. Create an infomercial and go direct instead – you’ll have a better chance of success. It’s not that hard to come up with more SKUs – different flavors, colors, sizes, scents. You get the picture.
2. They have the right reps. Retail sell-in is all about relationships. You can cold call retail accounts and send fancy sample packs all day and get nowhere. The guy who has product on the shelves has a rep that was in the buyer’s wedding party and goes to his/her house for barb-e-ques. You don’t have a chance against this relationship. Get the right rep and get a real appointment in front of a real retail buyer.
3. They can give the buyer the margin they require. This comes down to price. Their price is better than yours. Most pet retailers require margins between 50-80%. Consumer electronics depending on the category is between 25-40%. Grocery is 5-8%. If you can’t meat the retailers requirements – you don’t have a chance. It’s all about making money on the product.
Good luck & good selling. Need help? Contact us at info@bulldogms.com.
Tags: distribution, Marketing, pet product, retail, sales
I agree and have two more to add:
1.) Muiltiple competitors in the same category have already saturated the distributors that hit your target market. Unless you have retailers asking for the product, there will be little incentive for a distributor to add yet another line, acquire inventory, and train reps/customers when it currently has several lines to offer.
2.) Many distributors want to see the product already in accounts and then pick up the fulfillment and delivery part of the process. They would prefer the accounts be established and already selling product before they add the line. This means the manufacturer has to do the hard work of marketing the product and securing initial sales.
this is awesome man