Retail Strategy LTD

“If I can just get in front of the buyer…” – The number of pitches where this appeared to be the singular focus of getting their product listed, as if a buyer is purely sat around waiting for the next product to buy. Maybe it’s because the term buyer is misleading in itself, a retail buyer is a commercial analyst, a trader, a salesman, a customer, product and market expert, and so on, and so on. They are the gate keeper, and they are most of all time poor. A perfect product with a badly executed or thought out pitch is as good as a bad product, so the buyer should be one of the last things on your to do list if you want to make the right impression and land the much prized shelf space. If the first pitch doesn’t land, you’re a lot less likely to get a second chance.

Considerations include:

Is this the right product for this retailer, or the right retailer for this product?  The wrong retail partner, (or at the wrong time), could limit success, slow down traction, or position your brand differently to your intention.

Look at their current product offering – is your product a competing one, or a complimentary one? - as your strategy will be very different.

What is the retailer strategy – how does this affect my approach? This could be operational such as how they need product packaged and distributed, to their current ESG stance.

Pitch in their language – you need to position your pitch at the right level to engage the retailer, give them the information important to them that drive a better outcome.

At Retail Strategy LTD we support brands with their new products from the infancy of conception, commercial strategy, retailer pitches and activation. Get in touch to see how we can help you.