Retail Strategy for Emerging Brands: Here’s What We Shared
Black Entrepreneurs NYC (BE NYC), an initiative of the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), is a groundbreaking model for a major American city to help create equity of opportunity by advancing Black entrepreneurship.
In March 2022, we joined BE NYC to help business owners navigate the complex process of retail distribution by sharing information on retail strategy and the retail landscape. Read below if you’re looking for answers on how to grown your brand and if retail partnerships are the right way to do it.
Retail Strategy is a holistic marketing plan for a product or a service to reach the final retail channel and influence consumers, meaning what tactics will you use to get your products in front of the right customers? Keep reaching to learn our point of view on Retail strategy for Product Founders, with an explainer deck on the risk and rewards of retail partnerships leveraging Brittany’s +12 years of experience in merchandising, buying and brand management at major retailers like Amazon.
What is Retail Strategy? Retail strategy is a holistic marketing plan for your products. The shifting consumer landscape presents an interesting opportunity to engage existing consumers, while capturing new customers with thoughtful distribution and product placement.
In The New Retail Model, products are being pulled through the supply chain, instead of pushed out. Customers dictate the trends, instead of retailers and buyers determining availability and importance. This impacts brands in the following ways:
Assortment Economics - Lean into an assortment strategy for depth or width, doing both is expensive and hard to manage. Product depth refers to a range of products across multiple categories - think: shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, detangler, etc. Product width is going deep on one subcategory, for example: McCormick Spices where you can get dozens of options for spices, but they only sell spices. You can also localize your assortment like Whole Foods.
Distribution Channels - Where you put your products is the most important part! Don't waste time and money on developing a product without getting it to the right customer. Direct-to-consumer is the most profitable channel, Department Stores and Specialty Retailers are the most expensive channel and White Label is high volume.
Understanding Pricing - Retailers structure their partnerships and make money through marketing your products to their customers. They expect you to bring foot traffic to their brick and mortar. Make sure that after margin agreements, advertising, defective allowance, chargebacks and product cost.
Ok! I Got a Meeting. Now What?
Build an impactful Pitch Deck with the number and metrics retailers care about
Make sure your Marketing Materials are “retail ready”, meaning you can take them into Nordstrom and it “looks the part”
Engagement is key!! Make sure that your online engagement is impressive. You don’t need a lot of followers, but they must engage
Structure a team and key capabilities is important. Assign roles & responsibilities and clearly defined titles.
Leverage partners to validate capacity and scale. You core competency and partnership capabilities should shine through.
Other fun facts we shared in this workshop that may inspire you! Check back here in a few weeks to see more details on power, influence and spending for women of color!