Approaching Retailers - John Lewis?

[Naomia]

Hi All, We have a long term client who has a new range of bathroom items. I can’t be too specific but basically he got in touch with a manufacturer in Indonesia which he met when he was there. This manufacturer showed him a range of 3 bathroom pieces of small furniture. There is no one selling these bits of furniture in the UK although there is a massive bathroom retailer in the US who is selling the exact same items and it is very successful. He received some samples of each of the products. He only has 3 sets in total. One of the smaller items he has 10 of. These items are perfect presents, wedding list items and impulse buying items and would retail at around the £40 - £90

Now, considering they are currently not packaged well (they are all in just a brown box, very safe for sending out, but no fancy printing or marketing on it), how would you go about approaching some retailers with these items? Would you just make a list of three retailers (john Lewis etc) and send them the samples with a nice covering letter? Would it be better or worst if he places it on his successful furniture website first to generate some sales first? Any tips or advice would really be appreciated!

Many Thanks,
Naomi.
p.s I asked him to register and post himself but he asked me to do it for him.

 

[Lasting Designs]

Having used to work for a company who dealt with producing packaging for many off the major retail outlets, they do like to see the finished article, to gauge its attractiveness on the self. There could be a case for client to be a middleman for a big store such as John Lewis, repacking the items in JL boxes, they will usually have their own designers/agancies to work on this for them. IIRC the self branded stuff was worth less to the supplier than being sold as a finished item. It was also better for them as they still had the option to sell to other companies too. PM me if you want to discuss this further.

 

[Aspect Investments]

We may be interested in taking some.

Can you email me some prices and some pics if you have them to info @ xcat.co.uk

 

[Naomia]

Thanks for the advice Alan, He has a designer but will need to get the packaging sorted before printing. Will printers do such small qualtities to begin with?

 

[Lasting Designs]

Thanks for the advice Alan, He has a designer but will need to get the packaging sorted before printing. Will printers do such small qualtities to begin with?

For mock-ups, go the digital route, using same artwork for cutting & creasing and/or window patching planning. It does depend on size though. Theres nothing to stop you producing blank packaging to get its construction right for your C&C die, you can then work backwards in logo placement etc... Then when you are happy get the printing done.

 

[Silky]

I totally agree with Alan on this one, you'll find a number of retail buyers have very little imagination and it increases your chances significantly if you present the product in EXACTLY the same guise as you'd consider it looking in store. This means the colour / style of the product as well as the packaging.

Don't just send the product in and hope for the best, it's far better to build up a story and try and secure a meeting with the buyer. Consider :
Why would they take your product?
How does it compare with other products in their range?
Where would you position it and why? (look at doing a head-to-head analysis with their current range to show where your products sit, and why)

One thing to consider - many large retailers constantly rationalise their supplier base and it's very difficult for a supplier to break in if they're only offering one or two products. In this case it may be worth looking at alternate routes - John Lewis still work with some wholesalers for example - or consider selling to someone already established either in this area or complementary products.

Your designer should be able to make a good mock up of the packaging on a good quality printer (with a fair amount of SprayMount and some card no doubt), a model maker could help if you need to alter the product aesthetics.

Best of luck!
Silky

 

[Lasting Designs]

I totally agree with Alan on this one, you'll find a number of retail buyers have very little imagination and it increases your chances significantly if you present the product in EXACTLY the same guise as you'd consider it looking in store. This means the colour / style of the product as well as the packaging.

Don't just send the product in and hope for the best, it's far better to build up a story and try and secure a meeting with the buyer. Consider :
Why would they take your product?
How does it compare with other products in their range?
Where would you position it and why? (look at doing a head-to-head analysis with their current range to show where your products sit, and why)

One thing to consider - many large retailers constantly rationalise their supplier base and it's very difficult for a supplier to break in if they're only offering one or two products. In this case it may be worth looking at alternate routes - John Lewis still work with some wholesalers for example - or consider selling to someone already established either in this area or complementary products.

Your designer should be able to make a good mock up of the packaging on a good quality printer (with a fair amount of SprayMount and some card no doubt), a model maker could help if you need to alter the product aesthetics.

Best of luck!
Silky

I agree with everything you said upto the bold part. DON'T USE SPRAY-MOUNT- it tends to seperate and looks dog-earred. Glue it down using PVA, sandwich the thing down between two pieces of conti-board (the stuff they make kitchen unit carcases from) and put a weight on top of the boards and leave to dry for an hour or two.

TIPS

Make sure the glue is well mixed with water to a consistancy of Tomato ketchup (this is important, as too thick it will dry lumpy and too thin it will curl, soak through and stretch the paper. Use a 2" paint brush and remove any hairs that fall onto the glued area. Always glue the paper, glue from centre to edges and try and stipple it on and when you get to the edges drag the brush quickly and positively from paper to the past the edge of the paper onto a waste sheet of paper under the sheet you are gluing. Work clean.

When dry, use a sharp craft knife and a bone folder (a piece of polished bone to assist folding and creasing- good craft shops or ebay sell them £3 ish) or get somebody who knows what they are doing to do it