Retailers: How do you like to be approached

[Sophie Parker]

Hello,

I'd love to hear from physical retailers (ideally independent gift shops/ lifestyle/ garden centres) about how you like to stock products & what your process is when deciding to buy new stock?

I own a physical product business (home fragrance). We've worked with around 120 independent retailers, but in all honest, this is the area of my business that is struggling the most. So to pull a strategy together, what do you prefer:

-phone calls
-sales agents
- trade shows (then how do you like to be followed up).
-Directly approached by an in-house sales manager (again, how).
-instagram messages
-emails

And can you please let me know about what sort of messaging you like to see (or hear), when?

Thank you so much,
Sophie xx

 

[DontAsk]

I'm not your target, but I often send samples out when I approach a potential reseller. Include all the info they need such as RRP, cost to them, MOQ, etc., ...

 

[fisicx]

I know a buyer for a garden centre and they are inundated with offers. Free samples with an offer of sale or return will get you noticed. Offer to pay for a table/shelf space and you have a much better chance of getting into the store. Essentially, you take all the risk. If the home fragrances don't sell there is not cost to the outlet.

Start with a parcel of goodies an follow up with email/phone.

 

[FreddyG]

I know a buyer for a garden centre and they are inundated with offers. Free samples with an offer of sale or return will get you noticed. Offer to pay for a table/shelf space and you have a much better chance of getting into the store. Essentially, you take all the risk. If the home fragrances don't sell there is not cost to the outlet.

I disagree!

That only works if you are already market leader (in which case you should not be doing sale-or-return anyway) or you are selling a generic product and people really do not care whose widget they buy.

Try opening a guitar shop without Fender or Gibson. You can open without Ibanez, Yamaha, or any other brand - but guitarists want Fender followed by Gibson and without those two, you ain't got no guitar shop. (Acoustic guitars are different.) Backline has to have Marshal amps, followed by Fender and Hiwatt, forget the rest!

If you open a chainsaw shop for professional loggers, you need Stihl and/or Husqvarna and you can possibly add Echo. After them comes a long list of nothing. If you start putting some Chinese no-names or DIY brands on the wall, you can end up damaging your sales.

As for the OP, sorry, but I know nothing about that market.

 

[Mark T Jones]

From customer experience (ie my customers selling to independent retail), agents can play a big role here - although running/managing agents is a job in itself.

One of my customers (in fashion accessories) really dislikes agents, but has concluded after numerous tests and experiments that they are the most efficient route to market.

You need agents who are in similar markets, but with non-competing products - then you need to keep your product at the forefront of their portfolio

 

[fisicx]

As for the OP, sorry, but I know nothing about that market.

My friend does know the market. Garden centres stock all sorts of things from brands you have never heard of. The one near us has a wall of fragrances and reed diffusers with all sorts of weird names. They end on the shelves because the seller has done a deal. They aren't guitars or chainsaws. They are scarves, books, cards, candles, cushions and so on.

 

[FreddyG]

They are scarves, books, cards, candles, cushions and so on.

How on earth does one plant and grow cushions and candles? The home fragrance market sounds fairly generic to me - so an attractive sale-or-return sounds as if it might work. I guy I know sells folk music CDs by placing CD racks with sample tracks available to be heard by pressing a button in tourist shops - that works!

 

[fisicx]

Garden centres are all about lifestyle and home products, cafes, water features, outdoor seating, sofas, tables, awnings, grills, gazebos and plants. Go visit a few and you will see more candles than roses for sale.

 

[thetiger2015]

If your company is the one I'm thinking of, you won't need to do sale or return - you've got a strong brand identity and highly rated products. Whoever did your packaging - give them a lollipop.

I had 12 independent retailers for my home fragrance business but you've got up to 120? That's great! You're clearly doing something right.

Why the change from what's taken you to 120?

For reference, I regret not doing the trade shows. Retail buyers small and large still love attending the big shows and you get to interact with them and find out how they want to be approached. It's costly but I can't think of any way to get that many eyes on your products across a weekend. Needs thought and planning, for data capture and making the most of it but it's something I just didn't get round to doing.

 

[thetiger2015]

How on earth does one plant and grow cushions and candles? The home fragrance market sounds fairly generic to me -

It's not - it's incredibly complex with a lot of competition across a variety of price points and brand aesthetics. Customers have varying degrees of interest in home fragrance, from passing interest once a year to obsessed with a particular brand or scent.

Some garden centres won't be interested, they don't see the difference between a £3 candle and a £30 candle. Others will have a buyer who loves fragrance, they'll have a whole wall of different brands, candles, wax melts, reed diffusers...incense!

It will come down to understanding the retailer first - no point sending samples to somewhere that sells cheap tat.

 

[ecommerce84]

I used to run the gift shop at an independent heritage attraction (a castle) and we would have been one of the main target markets for your sort of product (alongside garden centres as @fisicx says).

We’d be inundated with emails and brochures and they were sometimes easy to ignore but your product looks good and would appeal to day visitors and tourists.

What I would do if I were you is get in the car and drive around local businesses that you think would be interested.
Take samples, price lists etc and follow up with a non pushy email or telephone call and I think you’ll do well.

If you’d like a list of independent historic houses and attractions then have a look the Historic Houses Association here as a good starting point: https://www.historichouses.org/visit-a-house/

 

[Gecko001]

.... I had 12 independent retailers for my home fragrance business but you've got up to 120? That's great! You're clearly doing something right.

Why the change from what's taken you to 120?.............

I agree. In fact it is probably you that should be teaching the members here about how to run a successful fragrance business, rather than you asking the questions!

 

[DontAsk]

How on earth does one plant and grow cushions and candles?

Have you been to a "garden centre" recently? Full of The Works, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, FatFace, Hotter,, .etc., etc., ... Even Sainsburys have outlets, or used to. Got some real bargains when they moved out of the local Dobbies.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

-phone calls
-sales agents
- trade shows (then how do you like to be followed up).
-Directly approached by an in-house sales manager (again, how).
-instagram messages
-emails

All of the above.

Moving from independent retailers to regional or national is a big leap.

SoR or consignment are great options, but before you do anything, you have to ensure that you understand the financials:

• Basic margins
• settlement terms
• A&P support
• returns costs
• Agent/distributor commissions

etc.

 

[Picture Bute]

When it comes to home fragrance sellers, as I retailer, I prefer their approach to be 'not at all' given that everyone, their dog and sometimes their hamster have started home fragrance companies since covid.

 

[wayzgoose]

When we had our gift shop, we always welcomed "most" agents (unfortunately there's always a few you just can't get on with, just too pushy, so pick your agent carefully!). An opening offer that's carriage paid always helps to get your foot in the door. And then attend the two Birmingham Gift Fairs as it's always nice to see the actual person behind a product.
And, of course, the product has to have that "ooh, I could definitely sell that" appeal.