From The Australian, Entrepreneur
ONE of the major challenges for small companies is to make the transition from being a small-volume product to being a brand sold in a large number of retailers.
For Sydney-based Nikki Michel and Lisa Ross the challenge was to move from selling their dream Pickles and Loop pyjamas at Paddington Markets in 2005 to 120 specialist independent retail outlets today.
In March last year the sisters, themselves nicknamed Pickles and Loop respectively, started by exhibiting in the Sydney fashion expo as a precursor to a wholesale and retail sales drive. Ross nurtured the sales. “I started out by finding stores in my area that I liked and targeted those,” she says.
When making sales calls, Ross started by making an appointment first before visiting retailers. She found that most were happy to see a new independent Australian designer. And in the past year their sales have increased 100 per cent, she says, mainly due to the brand’s retail presence.
Ross’s experience pounding the streets is much the same as that of Tom Griffith and Emma Welsh when they founded their range of natural and healthy Emma & Tom’s juices in 2004.
“We compiled a hit list of places we wanted to get into,” says Griffith.
“We drove around. And I was walking up and down Bay Street Port Melbourne. We went out and got into these places.”
When Pickles and Loop were approached by stores, they visited them to see if they fitted in with their image. “I think it is important to know where your product needs to be in the market,” Ross says.
“If you are selling our garments they are not high-level luxury goods but they are not bottom of the range. They are middle to top-end so we want to make sure we are in stockists that also portray that image.”
The same lesson goes for selecting sales targets. According to Virginia Ranicar, from consultancy The Goods
Unlimited, this often flummoxes small business owners who are often product rather than sales or brand-focused.
“They just don’t know who to target and how to go about it,” she says.
Ranicar helped Green Eggs, a free range producer from the Grampians in Victoria, change tack from being sold through wholesalers as a commodity to a brand. She started by identifying new sales channels (including restaurants) and being selective about how the eggs were sold.
Specifically, the aim was for Green Eggs to be sold retail only through outlets, including specialist independent delicatessens and butchers, where the eggs were refrigerated.
One retailer targeted was Bouchiers Butchers, with an outlet in Melbourne’s Hawksburn Village, in addition to the David Jones Food Hall in the central business district and the Chadstone shopping centre.
This, says Ranicar, projects the correct image for the brand. Jamie Cook, director of Dig Marketing in Melbourne, warns that during the difficult start-up years the temptation might be to appoint a wholesaler and leave them alone to drive sales. This is a mistake.
At this point, he says, many companies forget they still have to sell and service retailers.
“The brand owner has to go out and work beside the distributor, he says. “The distributor usually has a number of products in their portfolio. Your product is just one of many in there. To maintain that relationship with key retailers, the brand has to be out there.”
Emma & Tom’s Juices decided to build their own sales force and relationships with outlets rather than rely on distributors.
In the company’s early days, they were signing up two to three retailers a day. Now, with 1500 outlets and some 2.5 million bottles of juice sold annually, the figure is more like one a day.
“One thing we learn early on is that you can have the best distributor in the world but they won’t launch your brand for you,” Griffith says.
GET ON THE SHELF
1. Ensure retailer is the right fit.
2. Get feedback on your products.
3. Know your brand position and selling points.
4. Remember a product has to make way for yours. Show you can contribute to the bottom line.
5. Provide relevant product and contact information with samples.