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For anyone interested in getting into retail in the UK please just shout as we have great contacts in the likes of H&B, Boots, Sainsbury’s, Wholefoods, Tesco and multiple gym chains.
Relationships are key and it takes a lot of time to push them over the line. From first contact with the buyer to listing in Holland & Barrett it took us around 10 months (depending on their ranging windows). But we kept knocking on the door constantly pushing our USP’s and how we could drive increased footfall so as not to be cannibalistic to the categories we were entering.
Showing clear strategy as to how you set yourselves apart from established brands and how you will support with ATL marketing are the key levers we pull on to get listings over the line.
As mentioned just shout if you are interested to hear more and if I have a contact I will introduce you to buyers.
Whats the usual pitch on how you can drive footfall?
Aside from the usual marketing that you have to agree to in order to land the listings, the cherry on the cake is usually supporting on social media. We try to utilise our partnerships with professional sports clubs to get well known faces into stores showcasing the product and tap into their followings. We are also scaling up our in store sampling which they really like.
Another thing alot of brands forget about is staff support and education so we spend alot of time giving attention to the in store staff and giving them the tools and information to recommend our products. We try to make them an extension of our sales team in a way.
Nice - The new bets team in Wayflyer looked at guiding brands through this process but as far as I know they found it very difficult. Who typically approaches who in this kind of situation?
Hey Dominic, would be interested in chatting about how to approach gym chains. We do hair tools for men, and are looking to get our dryers in men's locker rooms / changing rooms. We've done a small trial with Frame gyms in London before. Which gyms have you worked with?