Interest from a major chain - erhm, what next?

[Pish_Pash]

You're right that it's perhaps too early to deem it a failure...but I'm sensing they're being a bit half arsed about the product (i.e. not thought through the distribution, really poor description - terrible resolution/reproduction of the photos I provided, not on their website).

re getting people talking about it...I've made some efforts in that aspect ...also the manufacturer is going to run some facebook advertising starting on Monday (last time he ran such advertising, I saw a 100% increase in my own sales for the product).

the thing is, I have about 160 products...this particular one product is a good product, but it's not the be all & end all (i.e. this is not a 'do or die' scenario) ...the other 159 products still keep my kids in Nike trainers!

 

[Twinkle Toes]

I wouldn't be so negative it hasnt failed yet. Why don't you get people talking about the product, start selling the USP and tell them where to buy from. It's your product and your money so you should be out selling it instead of relying on the retailer.

If it hasnt gone to plan regroup and keep pushing.

Goodluck

The product is a closely guarded secret!!

Basically it has gone as I predicted, only in a handful if stores and then out of sight. But the op knows better. And personally I doubt if they would advertise a product as he describes when they have such low stock.

But hey, I'm just trolling again......

 

[APW]

Putting myself in the retailers shoes...why would I pay loads of money to actively advertise a brand new product when I have thousands of other products currently making money and if it doesn't sell it wont cost me a penny because I can send it back.

Maybe thinking like that could explain the lack of involvement by the retailer.

You should be getting all your friends and family to go to your local store and ask the manager if they have them in stock, thats what I would be doing.

 

[APW]

The product is a closely guarded secret!!

Basically it has gone as I predicted, only in a handful if stores and then out of sight. But the op knows better. And personally I doubt if they would advertise a product as he describes when they have such low stock.

But hey, I'm just trolling again......

While we have had similar dicussions on my thread regarding something similar, I can understand the OP's lack of details so far, if it fails then it fails in private.

 

[APW]

Also now the product is out there and the OP is concerned about returns this forum would be the perfect place to increase sales.

Get people on this forum to go out and find the product, you never know they might actually buy one or recommend a friend gets one and even if they don't its still publicity - good or bad.

If it was a tenner and I would use it once then I would support your business and buy one atleast

 

[Twinkle Toes]

.

Also now the product is out there and the OP is concerned about returns this forum would be the perfect place to increase sales.

Get people on this forum to go out and find the product, you never know they might actually buy one or recommend a friend gets one and even if they don't its still publicity - good or bad.

I have to agree with you on that. It's simply bloody ridiculous to have a product in a store and not let anyone know it's there. This is his last chance, he should be shouting from the hill tops. He should have let everyone know from the off so the mystery product sold out in days and repeat orders came in.

 

[Pish_Pash]

While we have had similar dicussions on my thread regarding something similar, I can understand the OP's lack of details so far, if it fails then it fails in private.

Exactly, the purpose of this thread wasn't to big up the product, but just to document the trials & tribulations of the journey...I'd much rather fail in private than everyone know about me. Also, I've shared some confidential stuff in this thread that I wouldn't really want the retailer to know was on an open internet forum.

As it goes, I have shouted from the rooftops...just not on here (i.e. in places where nobody could trace the comings & goings back to this thread!). There was one fellow poster on here that was documenting his negotiations with John Lewis...I'd never purposely want to name the retailer - that can come back to bite you.

Putting myself in the retailers shoes...why would I pay loads of money to actively advertise a brand new product when I have thousands of other products currently making money and if it doesn't sell it wont cost me a penny because I can send it back..

I am not sure they have spent lots of money on advertising my product .... the product I have supplied them with is in their flyer (which is about 12 pages) ...my product is only a small part of their September launch/offering.....in other words, they've not gone all in with just my one product...they'd have incurred the cost anyway (I've just been lobbed in!).

And if we're going to say "Why would they bother?"...well IMHO the lifeblood of any retail operation is having new, interesting & innovative products coming along (else your range gets stale)...and a retailer won't know how well a new product is going to do, unless they trial!

 

[APW]

I understand not wanting to name the retailer for fear of backlash over previous posts but I would be happy to buy one (if myself or partner would use it) and support businesses - especially a UKBF user.

If you want you can pm me where to buy and what it is and I will head out at the weekend and annoy the manager with questions. If not I understand.

 

[beasty]

Why would he PM you the info?
He does not know you, you might copy his product, find his supplier etc
Pointless risk

 

[APW]

Why would he PM you the info?
He does not know you, you might copy his product, find his supplier etc
Pointless risk

Fair enough although I do have my own things going on. I was simply offering to support an ACTUAL business on this forum, does that make me a bad person lol

 

[beasty]

Not at all, but the reality is it would be stupid to start PM ing people on here details, he has done a damn fine job of keeping this private to this point and sending a PM to one person could blow this.

 

[APW]

Not at all, but the reality is it would be stupid to start PM ing people on here details, he has done a damn fine job of keeping this private to this point and sending a PM to one person could blow this.

While I can see your point I think it is a bit of an over-reaction. His product is in stores already, whats to stop anyone of the thousands of people copying it?

Oh they wont due to the investment required, contacts to acquire, product sourcing, investing time and ofcourse do all this before the OP takes the market on.

 

[Pish_Pash]

Listen, I realize it might seem odd not to use the chance of free publicity here ...& it must make this thread incredibly frustrating to read & not even know what the product is, but the thread has had 6,300 views - I have to keep discretion firmly in mind (both from my perspective & the retailers)....just look at the thread's title - it's not something I'd wish to permanently align myself with!

I'm off to another store tomorrow (where I know they have my product in stock), just to see if I get a better vibe there (unlikely), but more importantly to see if the store manager can give me any insight as to whether there have been sales (apparently they can check in-branch on their internal system to see which stores have seen sales - if any!!)...this will give me an indication of what to expect from HQ (i.e. if they'll call, whether it's likely to be good or bad if they do...where am I going to store the 'returned' stock lol!)

 

[beasty]

APW i disagree with you entirely but lets not derail the thread, he is not about to share the info so its an irrelevance.

 

[Talay]

Where is the marketing campaign, social media etc. which is driving this ? Absent.

I think that speaks volumes.

 

[The Byre]

As I wrote right at the beginning of this thread, the OP has missed out several important steps along the way. Trying to sell to a multiple BEFORE you are in the independents is the equivalent of reaching for the brass ring before you are on the carousel!

It's a bit like trying to become a rock star, by going into a recording studio, making a CD and sending that CD to all the major labels (in the vain glorious hope that they will jump all over you!) without becoming a pub band first and then doing the usual round of minor festivals and building up a following. You don't get the lead role in a major movie, until you have done some walk-ons, followed by bit-parts, followed by minor roles.

Selling on-line and selling to retailers are two different things. Anybody who has ever run a shop will know that wholesale reps of all shapes and sizes seem to camp on your doorstep. Ting-a-ling! In they come and out come the brochures, the price lists and the special offers and rebate conditions. What the retailer wants is a range of products, backed by a marketing campaign.

Very typically, a handful of wholesalers, sometimes as few as three, will more or less fill a smaller independent shop. The rest is covered by small wholesalers selling auxiliary products. With all the other hassle of running a shop, dealing with daft customers and doing the thousand-and-one things a shop keeper has to, the last thing he or she wants is to buy one item from one guy. Buying stuff costs money - not the cost of the item alone, but the process of sitting down and working out what to put on your shelves.

You can easily get into a smaller shop, if you have a reasonable range, unique products that have a USP and you provide them with sales aids, like brochures and display stands. I have a close friend who runs an auto-parts store and one wholesaler filled an entire wall with a large display stand for spark plugs, fan-belts, headlight bulbs and stuff like that. Once a week, he points his data reader at those items that are low and fires off an order. Job done!

Selling to a multiple is the other way about. They are wholesaler and retailer at one and the same time. They have an army of buyers BUT they need to fill the stores. If you are Halfords, you need to buy bicycles and batteries for some 480 stores. Never forget - buyers are performance accessed, just like anybody else!

A byer who comes up with hit products that fly off the shelves and make money will get the bonuses and promotion. A byer that wastes time with some one-off gizmo that just goes into 20 stores and has no marketing behind it, may soon find that he is asked to clear his desk and leave the pencils behind!

If you want to be a wholesaler, be a real wholesaler and not a hole seller!

You need a range of goods and back these up with marketing effort in the form of display stands and brochures, websites, etc. You then go to one retailer and offer him your wares. You provide him with a display stand, a two or three year guarantee and all the other things that our pet retailer expects form his wholesale suppliers. Then you move on to the next one and the next one and so on.

Once you have a certain size and geographic footprint, you find out which trade fairs your existing retailers attend and you put a stand up there. Back in 49BC, when I was a retailer and had hair, I found my suppliers at trade fairs - and nowhere else!

If you have just one product, you have to bring that product up to scale, organise yourself to be able to supply the market and display that product at a trade fair. If it is any good, you will find distribution on the first day of the fair!

A guy from the Highlands of Scotland called Andrew Bond invented a carbon fibre guitar that had steps instead of frets. He put up a tiny stand at the Musik Messe in Frankfurt and the boss of Musik-Meyer, Europe's second largest music instrument wholesaler after Yamaha, had him signed to an exclusive distribution deal BEFORE the fair had even opened!

 

[Pish_Pash]

Mr Byre - a great contribution ....and once again, you are bang on the money with your input.

I have on my hands a portfolio of products...most are 'bread & butter' products for their genre...no particular strong USP (either price or features) other than the products are good quality & sourced from a good brand (albeit only known in their domestic market) but there's a premium to pay for the quality (there's demand, nut it's somewhat niche....buyers 'in the know' seek these products out )...the problem I have is there's this one product that does have a strong USP.

Therefore I can't go to an independent & offer them a portfolio of products (as you say, it's a range that they ....not a one off)....even if I could, the independents would not be interested when they learn of the price premium (leaving a bread & butter business for me with the rest of the products)......this leaves me the main option of getting into a big retailer with one potential blockbuster ...you are right, I've not played Brown Sugar to a p1ssed audience at the Dog & Duck, so I'm sort of winging it while I learn the three chords necessary to jump into the mosh pit of large scale retail...hence this thread!

As it goes, used to be guitarist/keyboard player in a band playing working mens clubs in the North East (while at night I would record on my 4 track portastudio hoping to make it big - never did...unless you count getting your songs played on Metro Radio that is!)...but oh, as a young 19yr old lad, how I used to look forward to those Sunday Morning CIU club gigs when we'd share the changing room with strippers!

 

[direct clearance]

Is the major chain Wilko by any chance

 

[Twinkle Toes]

Just to add to The Byre's excellent post, which will hopefully open Pish Pash's eyes a bit more to the wonderful world of retail.

When I was in retail we were approached by the major player in a particular market. The product was low cost, but highly rated and sought by consumer's, and also a impulse purchase. A dream product!

On placing a order for about £1,500 they backed this up with a fantastic display unit which to buy would cost around £600. Also a £200 competition prize together with a £300 advertising budget to promote the competition plus a eight mile exclusivity zone. This was just for my little old independent shop. Other, smaller producers always supplied at the very least marketing material and a 50% contribution to initial advertising.

You have to put the resources in to get the sales, after all why should a retailer risk advertising and giving shelf space to your product?

I'm going to say, with almost certainty (80%!), that the retailer was testing you to see how you supported your product. And you failed. Lesson learned though.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Nip out to a few stores and buy up your stock to show it sells and sell it back to then next order

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Many years ago I was involved in a promotion by a 'biscuit' producer who had lost the space of one pack of biscuits in Sainsbury. They spent £1 million on advertising to get it back. A banner in WHS window to promote a book cost £400 per shop to the publisher.

 

[The Byre]

Well, whilst we're talking about the music business (and let's face it, sharing a changing room with strippers is the business!) that reminds me of the time I was doing a gig with a soul band and one of the doo-wop girls took me back stage and with the words "Honey, you ever seen anything like this?" turned around, pulled her pants down and showed me her rectal scars.

But back to the Batmobile - I have a friend called Dave and we started out in business together and both of us Brits in Germany. He sold all sorts of stuff as a wholesaler. He exhibited at the most important trade fair for his core business. But one thing he had was a minor range of speaker drivers. He got to talking to a major electronics catalogue mail-order company and they decided to take his drivers and put them on half a page in an otherwise HUGE catalogue of about 700 pages.

Despite already have a few employees and doing a good turnover, that one half page TREBLED his turnover.

He still remained a wholesaler, because he knew that what was given, could also be taken away! It was just five or six speaker drivers, but they were such a big hit, that he ended up (long story!!!) buying the speaker manufacturer and a few years later, selling it at a goodly profit.

The one thing I learned from Dave was to be prepared and be totally thoroughly prepared before you do anything. Right from the word go, when his business was just himself, one girl who came in three days a week and one guy who packaged stuff in the afternoon, he structured his business as if he was already the employer of 200+ (which he later became!)

He bought a Nixdorf computer (80MB capacity - wow!) and automated all his invoicing and delivery. He rented a proper business space and had a proper storage facility. He built a proper fair stand and even provided his one store man with a uniform! This was back in the late 70s and early 80s when automated invoicing was unheard of, except perhaps in the largest of companies.

I was so impressed by Dave's thoroughness that I copied him and even had 'how-to-get-there' instructions for our drivers programmed into the delivery docs and a computer generated 'satisfaction with supply' form for every customer.

The moral of all this story-telling, is that you have to decide whether you are a mail-order company, a wholesaler, or a bulk supplier of a limited number of goods to the sheds.

Dave knew what he was - he was a wholesaler. He supplied retail and equipment rental outlets. He never deviated from that path. He catalogues and price lists specifically targeted at doing that one task and no other.

One of the components of success is singularity of purpose - to do one thing and do it well!

Back to the music business theme - Pink Floyd, Chuck Berry or ACDC did not start performing chamber music halfway through their careers. All three stuck to doing one type of music and doing that really, really well.

So you have to decide - are you a mail-order company, a wholesaler, or a bulk supplier? Pick the one that fits you and your present pallet of goods and your future plans, hopes, dreams and organise yourself. Think like Dave! Structure yourself for the company you want to become!

Remember, when you stand on your wooden horse to reach for the brass ring to win a prize, you also run the risk of falling off the carousel!

 

[Pish_Pash]

Before the thread turns wholly into an "I told you so" thread ...how many people slogging there way actually get a product into a large retailer?!! So I'm gonna give myself a high five!

I've just got back from visiting another store...spoke to the manager there - he knew of the product & had bought one himself a day or two ago! The product is placed in special a 'promotions' area (near the tills)...he checked his screens & there have been some sales ...so it's not all lost. I guess I'd hoped that they'd have got the message across better ...like I say the USP of the product isn't apparent....if it had been, then sales would have been far higher.

The Asian supplier is running a UK-centric facebook campaign on Monday...& I've done my own marketing.

Dicky...re being 'tested' ...I think I'm likely in the 20% part of your certainty - they knew I was small, I declared my hand that I was representing the suppliers in an 'agent' type role (vs a fully fledged 'big lad' distributor).....this retailer is big & frankly they've done an amazing job of their overall September promotion ...which this product forms a part of....but as I say, they missed shouting the product's USP (I guess that has come about because the product has probably been orphaned internally....i.e. the buyer who brokered this deal is now not at the helm)

The one thing I learned from Dave was to be prepared and be totally thoroughly prepared before you do anything. Right from the word go, when his business was just himself, one girl who came in three days a week and one guy who packaged stuff in the afternoon, he structured his business as if he was already the employer of 200+ (which he later became!)

I've structured everything with the intention of doing £500k turnover from my dining room (I'm almost two thirds of the way there) ...hopefully I will achieve that within two more full trading years. To go any higher...well "Honey, we're gonna need a bigger dining room". What I mean by this, is everything from stock forecasting/ordering, keeping Amazon warehouses supplied with sufficient stock ...al the way through to the sales data 'plopping' into accounts software ...it's 80% automated (the 20% that's left can't be - answering phones, emails, packing order & of course posting on business forums)

 

[Twinkle Toes]

Glad you still know best Pish Pash, despite evidence to the contrary. There is a graph on another thread (can't remember which one, try "advice") you might care to take a look at.

Anyhow, hope you have got the finance and logistics in place to collect the returned stock.

 

[Pish_Pash]

Many years ago I was involved in a promotion by a 'biscuit' producer who had lost the space of one pack of biscuits in Sainsbury. They spent £1 million on advertising to get it back. A banner in WHS window to promote a book cost £400 per shop to the publisher.

As I read stuff like this, I'm heartened that not every retailer is "Show me the money"...there hasn't been one hint of that - at one stage, when the buyer learned the packaging didn't have a euro slot, i was told "So supply us with 600 counter hangers" ....as if there was no cost. We redesigned the packaging to have a euro slot!

Glad you still know best Pish Pash, despite evidence to the contrary.

I'm not saying I know best, but I clearly do know more about the background & thrills/spills of this particular transaction than you do ....btw: there's a fine line between handing out useful advice & simply patronizing....don't you think Dick? (also, it's worth recalling that you earlier accused me of making this whole thing up - do you really think I'd be posting mainly warts & all if the deal was fictitious? So your track record isn't so great on this thread. Just sayin')

 

[Twinkle Toes]

As I read stuff like this, I'm heartened that not every retailer is "Show me the money"...there hasn't been one hint of that - at one stage, when the buyer learned the packaging didn't have a euro slot, i was told "So supply us with 600 counter hangers" ....as if there was no cost. We redesigned the packaging to have a euro slot!



I'm not saying I know best, but I clearly do know more about the background & thrills/spills of this particular transaction than you do ....btw: there's a fine line between handing out useful advice & simply patronizing....don't you think Dick? (also, it's worth recalling that you earlier accused me of making this whole thing up - do you really think I'd be posting mainly warts & all if the deal was fictitious? So your track record isn't so great on this thread. Just sayin')

I'm still not even 50% convinced you actually have a product, but I was giving you the benefit of the doubt. You do seem to have an answer to everything i.e from your product being just bundled in with similar items then suddenly being on a promotional stand s when it was pointed out that you were told that would happen

The fact you've resorted to child like name calling kind of suggests you're a touch insecure, and maybe not telling the whole truth.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Before the thread turns wholly into an "I told you so" thread ...how many people slogging there way actually get a product into a large retailer?!! So I'm gonna give myself a high five!

I have actual experience of getting my products into Smith's, NT, Clinton's, Waterstones and others. On the whole very few of the multiples were as good for sales as my top 100 small shops.

 

[beasty]

I'm still not even 50% convinced you actually have a product, but I was giving you the benefit of the doubt. You do seem to have an answer to everything i.e from your product being just bundled in with similar items then suddenly being on a promotional stand s when it was pointed out that you were told that would happen

The fact you've resorted to child like name calling kind of suggests you're a touch insecure, and maybe not telling the whole truth.

Richard you called him a liar pages back, why are you still posting on a thread about a product you do not think exists? If it does exist which I believe it does, then you called someone a liar with no cause but stuck around to tell him why his fictitious product in your mind is not doing well, odd.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

Richard you called him a liar pages back, why are you still posting on a thread about a product you do not think exists? If it does exist which I believe it does, then you called someone a liar with no cause but stuck around to tell him why his fictitious product in your mind is not doing well, odd.

As I said I gave him the benefit of the doubt, even tried to show, by actual experience, why his product was failing. But as the op's story is ever changing (I gave a example of this) I've pretty much gone back to my original opinion. However I tried to eat humble pie and offered advice, which considering my previous comments have come to fruition (unless the op is looking for a "out" as to why his product failed, and therefore doesn't want to say what it is) thought he might actually take notice off. Think I'll give up now. Another thread where I look forward to the big reveal of a mystery product!!

 

[MOIC]

Putting all the bickering to one side, what have we all learned from this thread?

My comments:

1. Don't sell to large groups, unless you have thoroughly done the research as to ALL of their requirements. (Including their returns policy, discounts . . . .and have read the small print in their contracts.

2. Don't believe that selling to a multiple group is the holy grail - It isn't and if things go wrong, can and will bankrupt you. (Not in this specific case)

3. Don't offer your prices until you know EXACTLY what costs you will be incurring to meet with all of the customer's requests/demands.

4. Don't assume you can do EVERYTHING yourself (if you are only used to a simple online business). You will need to rely on others to fully satisfy the needs of a multiple group.

5. Don't assume that all things will run to schedule and will comply with the customer's timetable - They won't

6. Do expect ALOT of additional work and processes that you are not used to.

7. Do expect discounting to take place, for any minor reason.

8. Do expect the buyer to make unreasonable demands that will change from time to time.

9. Do make sure that all your paperwork is 100% correct, (Delivery Notes, Invoices, Statements) and delivered in the format required, on time and to the correct department.

10. Do make sure that your product cannot be sourced anywhere else that the group have access to. - They will find the supplier if they feel that the product is worth sourcing.

Supplying the large multiple groups is not for everyone, and I would argue whether there is enough room for a "middleman" to include his profit.

Multiple groups, generally, will only work directly with a manufacturer or their sole agent.

If a product is available to all and sundry, this will impact on the continued sales & relationship with that group.

Multiple groups have large offices in the far east to source and buy.

Mugs, they ain't!

This thread should be a learning curve to all, who may find themselves in the same predicament as Pish_Pash.

I hope it all ends well.

 

[Pish_Pash]

I'll add some others...

1. Do expect to be queried about ISO certification (& all the horlicks that ISO certification is)...if you're a one man band operating out of your flat that might be tricky!

2. Do expect them to to expect you to pony up for any changes they make at the last minute!

3. Don't expect the buyer who 'saw the USP' in your product, to be still around when it finally gets delivered to their main warehouse (there was about 6 months between the 'first contact' & the product being delivered to their warehouse - this being a big company a lot of staff changes can happen during that time)

4. Do expect your product to be orphaned if 3. above is enacted (do expect to see crinkly lips in your reflection as you pass a mirror)

5. If you're using a third party to deliver your pallet(s), do make sure that the 3rd party actually shows up with all the shipping documentation (i.e. probably better to use a smaller pallet delivery company where the chain of command isn't long...it took me 5 days to get my product into their loading bay)

6. Find out early on about the receiving arrangements - I was told I needed a 'timed slot' at their warehouse.....it cost me an extra £70 (ok, not massive, but every penny counts)....it transpires because it was just one pallet, I didn't need a timed slot at all.

7. Do invoice as early as possible - the good thing about big companies, is that the buyer you are dealing with is not necessarily the same person who is dealing with your invoice. I asked that person "When would it be normal to invoice you?" (this being a sale or return, I had figured that he'd say "when it's been decided whether the 'sale or return' has been a success or not"...but he just said "you can invoice us now if you like" !! Being the 31st of July, I invoiced them within the hour!!

8. I would raise an eyebrow at some of the advice with respect to contracts, nitty gritty (obviously depending on the exposure)...it very much depends on your buyer. It was quite clear to me that my buyer wasn't really up for nitty/gritty...it was basically 'sign our standard terms & conditions' or we can't proceed. Therefore I threw caution to the wind & sold my soul to the Devil (as I say, my exposure here isn't life changing - it's £10k)...you can try & play hardball with terms & conditions all you like, but they're the Goliaths.....I know I'm David.

Perhaps I was lucky in the this retailer didn't play hard ball over the quote (they actually accepted my first price...which had a degree of fat in it...fully expecting them to try & negotiate me down! They didn't), they haven't asked me to contribute to marketing ...& furthermore I don't feel I'm being assessed/analysed (I get the general feeling that being a big company they are in a degree of disarray) .....ultimately, what has (likely) beat me here, is something as simple as the buyer moving on/out ...with some 'johnny don't care' brought in to go through the motions (& not having a care in the world whether he's fully knowledgeable about the product)

Despite all the negativity, despite all the 'told you so', I'd still much rather be in this position worrying whether the product is going to sell vs. not having had a opportunity. And, actually (as with most things in life) it wasn't as hard as it's being made out...your mileage may vary.

I'll provide an update re sales when I have them (though I've 'adopted the position' already...I very much doubt it'll be what I was hoping for)

 

[MOIC]

Posters on this thread give their comments, some based on experience.

Its important not to dismiss out of hand what you don't agree with, as this may well come back to bite you.

For sure, some posters are offering their comments "blindly" but this is due to lack of information on your part.

I think I would add the following:

Supplying multiple groups is very very time consuming.

To what extent does it affect your normal day to day operation?

Do you need to employ additional "staff" to look after your day to day operation in order to satisfy the needs of the group buyer (from start to finish) of contacting, meeting, negotiating, ordering, delivering, ALL paperwork, accounting, all phone calls, all emails etc etc.................It can be a very long and winded process which takes a lot of time and effort, irrespective of how simple it looks on the surface.

I wonder if all the effort, time, energy, stock and finance given to this buyer, was targeted, at say another online platform or to an added product to further enhance your retails sales, MAY have not been more fruitful in the long term.

More control

More profit

Less headache

Having a retail online business means you no longer have to feel you need to supply the big boys, as ultimately your profit will be very small, your workload will be greatly increased and ULTIMATELY you will be targeting the same customer (If your marketing and SEO is done to it's maximum potential).

The vast majority of consumers will check products and prices online before purchasing, unless it's an impulse buy type of product.

I know of many UK importers who have supplied the "major groups" only to end up bankrupt.

I mean MANY.

 

[RedOnion]

1. Do expect to be queried about ISO certification (& all the horlicks that ISO certification is)...if you're a one man band operating out of your flat that might be tricky!

You list a lot of good points there, but I would disagree with your point about the ISO. For a small company (as in numbers of staff) ISO's are very straightforward and the easiest ones that I help with.

 

[japancool]

@Pish_Pash - as an old acquaintance of mine used to say to his brother, "'E 'oo dares wins, Rodders", so I take my hat off to you for giving it a go, even if it doesn't work out. Ignore the losers and trolls.

 

[MOIC]

. . . . Should he also ignore advice?

 

[Pish_Pash]

Well this is odd, I rang a couple of stores this morning (as I have a customer who wants to by this product so thought it'd be better if he bought from this large retailer - to paraphrase Tescos, every little helps!) ...alas, the two stores I happened to call said they've had NO sales (so still had stock)...boooh.

But, this afternoon I took a phone call *direct* from a store manager, with a follow up email, extract...

"These have flown out of the door and i still have customers who wish to purchase this product "

...he wants to buy 10pcs - oh dear, I don't get out of bed in the morning for less than 100pcs (joke - ok?)

I guess I was expecting all the branches to contact their main HQ for replenishments ....vs coming to me direct - the supplier - in piece meal fashion. Having branch managers calling a supplier direct does not compute..... (& at the very least there's a danger those that make the big decisions in head office might not realize there are pockets of heat at the coal face)

overall though, I'm thinking this isn't going well ... the tune "Return to Sender" is now permanently stuck in my head. Speaking of Head.... [cracks open a bag of popcorn & waits for 'ole Ricky to show]

 

[Twinkle Toes]

Well this is odd, I rang a couple of stores this morning (as I have a customer who wants to by this product so thought it'd be better if he bought from this large retailer - to paraphrase Tescos, every little helps!) ...alas, the two stores I happened to call said they've had NO sales (so still had stock)...boooh.

But, this afternoon I took a phone call *direct* from a store manager, with a follow up email, extract...

"These have flown out of the door and i still have customers who wish to purchase this product "

...he wants to buy 10pcs - oh dear, I don't get out of bed in the morning for less than 100pcs (joke - ok?)

I guess I was expecting all the branches to contact their main HQ for replenishments ....vs coming to me direct - the supplier - in piece meal fashion. Having branch managers calling a supplier direct does not compute..... (& at the very least there's a danger those that make the big decisions in head office might not realize there are pockets of heat at the coal face)

overall though, I'm thinking this isn't going well ... the tune "Return to Sender" is now permanently stuck in my head. Speaking of Head.... [cracks open a bag of popcorn & waits for 'ole Ricky to show]

You've just proven you're tallking bollocks with that post. No idea how retail works, just all Jackanory. Bye bye.

No idea, wannabe troll without a doubt. Looking for a "out" are you!

 

[japancool]

Get him to contact one of the other stores that still has stock?

 

[Mark 007]

Having just read the whole thread from start to finish in order to pick up any good tips for my new role as a potential importer if nothing else the whole saga is highly informative so thank you to everyone. The running jousting match between the OP and Richard is actually very funny. As someone who had thought prior to spending 2 hours reading 12 pages of comments that going straight in to the bigger chains was desirable My Office In China has chipped in with some very valuable points that have steered me away completely from making certain mistakes that I may have otherwise. In other words this forum is doing what any trade forum should, imho. Pish_Pash good luck with it all and thank you for taking the time to outline your experiences here. I'd love to see the postscript.

 

[Pish_Pash]

Get him to contact one of the other stores that still has stock?

That's what I'd thought they do (move stock between branches), but seemingly not for this company. I also hoped this particular branch that ran out of stock would contact their head office, but nope, they can obviously see that the main warehouse has a big fat 0 in stock, so this particular branch came to me direct (alas, they are the only one to do so)...they said I should invoice the branch direct (this branch even took the shipping cost on the chin, as I said to them that I only deliver free to their main warehouse for a £10k pallet order)

You've just proven you're tallking ******** with that post. No idea how retail works, just all Jackanory. Bye bye.

No idea, wannabe troll without a doubt. Looking for a "out" are you!

Which bit did you think was Jackanory? And just think about it for a moment, if I was making this up, don't you think a good troll would research about the validity of what he was posting (to dupe everyone) vs. telling it how it is warts & all (also if I was being fictitious on a business forum, believe me it would be to big up the outcome...but I'm being candid, on the face of it, I'm thinking that this just hasn't gone as I'd hoped).

Nope, this is very much real 'as its happening'......& while I'm here, I'll tell you the latest....

To recap ....£10k of stock sent to their main warehouse, I now know more how they've peppered the limited stock amongst their branches (larger branches received 10pcs, medium branches 5pcs, small ...some 2-3pcs, some none. No stock has been held at the main warehouse, which negates the possibility of this product being put on their website (a major downer)

In-store sales in that first week were not how I'd hoped, so I opted to let sleeping dogs lie & not contact their buyer for an update ...the second week seems to have gone a little better. I was as surprised as anyone that one of their branches would contact me direct (they have our main contact details on their in-store screens, so to initiate contact with us is easy) ...but a branch did indeed contact me direct ....and asked me to ship them 10pcs 'asap".

I rang another store yesterday that I knew were initially supplied with 10pcs, they have 4pcs left...not blistering, but hey not a wipe out (& at least nulls the prospect of all the stock being returned).

My Asian supplier's facebook advertising to support the store's launch has gone very well - I sell this same product via Amazon & sales in the past 10 days are running significantly higher vs. what they normally are for this product (this is because buyers are discussing where else the product can be bought in the facebook comments ...& many of the comments have mentioned "it's on Amazon") .......I've seen comments on the facebook page such as "Tried my local store ...they've no stock!!!" ....many of the comments are 'where can I buy?"...so I've been busy answering! (this is real 'bayonets fixed' hand to hand combat to win even single sale!)

I garnered the will to initiate contact with their buyer yesterday (wincing), but he hasn't responded to my email (which can be taken many ways....busy, indifferent to me, not in the office etc. etc).