Does it make sense for brands to have their own E-commerce teams (direct-to-consumer online) or leave it up to the retailers to sell the products online?

2016-10-27T19:50:35-06:00By |Categories: Resellers|Tags: , , , |

I always have a direct-to-consumer online channel, and I always start that way and may or may not get to retail later. Here's why: Direct-to-consumer online is much more profitable than through retail. I always try to develop pricing so that I have at least a 30% net profit when selling D2C. Whereas with retail, [...]

Comments Off on Does it make sense for brands to have their own E-commerce teams (direct-to-consumer online) or leave it up to the retailers to sell the products online?

How does category management enable suppliers to add value to the retailer’s business and not just its own?

2016-10-23T16:30:28-06:00By |Categories: Resellers|

This is a Quora question and here is my answer. Buyers are very busy and have tough jobs. Obvious ways in which suppliers can be helpful are strong product sales, marketing and tradespend support, and limiting out-of-stocks. Category management by the supplier also helps the buyer and can position the supplier as a strong category [...]

Comments Off on How does category management enable suppliers to add value to the retailer’s business and not just its own?

How do I get my products into retailers like Nordstroms, Barneys, and Independent Shops?

2016-04-08T20:28:30-06:00By |Categories: Resellers|Tags: , |

This is a Quora question and here is my answer. Here is a general list of requirements before approaching retail: Have a unique and differentiated product, enough to capture consumer attention. Have prior sales history, either online or in smaller retailers to prove your product(s) and brand will sell. Have marketing support to help build [...]

Comments Off on How do I get my products into retailers like Nordstroms, Barneys, and Independent Shops?

What is the typical margin that a lighting retailer in the US expects from a wholesaler?

2017-05-10T11:47:32-06:00By |Categories: Resellers|Tags: , |

This is a Quora question I was asked and here is my answer. I've never sold lighting products, so can't tell you for sure. But I have sold home improvement and margin in that channel to the mainline (Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, Menards, etc) averages 30-35%. If you are talking a lighting retailer, which I [...]

Comments Off on What is the typical margin that a lighting retailer in the US expects from a wholesaler?

How do I find consumer product distributors?

2016-04-14T14:47:41-06:00By |Categories: Resellers|Tags: |

In the last week alone, I got asked multiple times about how to find consumer product distributors, so it merits a quick post. My answer is to contact the retailers that you want to sell to and ask them who the distributors are that they work with.  Some retailers prefer that you go through a [...]

Comments Off on How do I find consumer product distributors?

What is the best initial approach when selling your product to retail stores. Cold call, email or just arrive unexpected?

2016-04-08T20:33:15-06:00By |Categories: Resellers|

I was asked this question on Quora and here is my answer. If I am not using a broker - and I prefer to use brokers - I check their website to find out the retailer's process for reviewing new products. If that info is not available, then a cold call works as well. If [...]

Comments Off on What is the best initial approach when selling your product to retail stores. Cold call, email or just arrive unexpected?

Why You Should Not Sell to Whole Foods Market

2020-12-14T09:10:19-07:00By |Categories: Resellers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Everyone wants to sell to Whole Foods Market. At least in my world of consumer products, most companies I come across who sell food and are not selling to Whole Foods Market, want to. I admit that Whole Foods Market has a great reputation and associating with them as vendors can elevate their brand to [...]

Comments Off on Why You Should Not Sell to Whole Foods Market

What are the retail legal requirements and considerations for selling a product I created (e.g. greeting cards) to retail stores?

2016-10-23T16:30:29-06:00By |Categories: Resellers|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This is a question I received and here is my answer. In terms of retail legal requirements, here's what comes to mind: Do you need to or should you file any relevant trademark/wordmark/copyright filings with USPTO to protect your works?  Check with an attorney about this.  Retailer's won't care, but should you be trying to [...]

Comments Off on What are the retail legal requirements and considerations for selling a product I created (e.g. greeting cards) to retail stores?

What are items to consider in setting up a relationship between a CPG manufacturer and distributor

2017-06-05T12:04:55-06:00By |Categories: Resellers|Tags: |

This is a Quora question I was asked about setting up a relationship between a CPG manufacturer and distributor.  My answer is below. I know and work in food, so I can only respond from that context. Does the distributor serve the market you want to directly target? Obvious question but needs to be asked. [...]

Comments Off on What are items to consider in setting up a relationship between a CPG manufacturer and distributor

What are Whole Foods Market markup/margin numbers?

2018-12-08T13:55:32-07:00By |Categories: Downloads, Resellers|Tags: , , , |

This is a question I received via a discussion thread and I am reposting my contributions to the thread here. As a rule of thumb, natural.organic is always a 50% margin. If selling through UNFI, Tree, etc. there might need to be another 15% added in for them, for a total margin of 65% to WFM, [...]

Comments Off on What are Whole Foods Market markup/margin numbers?

Go to Top