Presenting your brand to retail can be confusing – what do you need to have to be ready to sell?
As shelf space comes at a premium, this means that product assortments are regularly reviewed and pruned – or ‘rationalised’ – to ensure that only the best remain and that there is no ‘cannibalisation’ of sales. To break through this clutter and position your brand on shelf, you need to have a strongly differentiated brand offering.
Retail buyers are paid to be kept informed and on top of industry trends, however as a brand you cannot expect them to know the intricate details of each product you produce. Many retailers rotate their buyers through different categories, this doesn’t enable their buyers to become product specialists.
Don’t send through your products and presentation, to a buyer and then sit back and hope that they will call you. Buyers receive many samples, and most of the time these either sit in a cupboard waiting until the buyer needs to introduce new brands or they are possibly handed to an assistant buyer to hold onto. It is better to secure a meeting with a buyer to present your products. Once you have been fortunate enough to secure a meeting with a retail buyer, you need to ensure that you are presenting your brand in a manner that considers all their questions and concerns.
Buyers can be very hesitant in introducing a new brand however by building a contingency plan, you can make all the difference to influencing their decision. When you take the time to help them to understand your product, positioning, marketing and USP and how you can help them to drive sales and footfall you’re helping them to make an informed decision.
Since your brand is going to be sharing shelf space with your competitors, you’ll need to understand your competitive landscape in their stores and what advantages and value you bring to the retailer versus your competitors.
Review your competitors packaging, their branding, their marketing and POS. Spend time on the retailers’ website and have a look at how the brands are promoted online and within their magazine. Conduct store reviews and spend time talking to their customer to gain their perception of your brand. This will provide you with a far better understanding of how to build your business case for a meeting with a retail buyer.
New brands are constantly popping up across the beauty arena, equally there are many brands that maintain longevity and remain top of mind. Your brand needs to deliver in terms of packaging, marketing and formulations. Retail buyers rely on in-store brands to support them with their category growth opportunities, whilst they may have a large budget to spend on their marketing, they will look to you as a brand to see how you support your marketing, and they will also expect you to contribute to joint marketing initiatives in-store.
Are you unsure of how to work with retail buyers in the beauty industry to ensure your product gets stocked? Prepare a data-backed business case to support your product presentation. This needs to be compelling, comprehensive and supported by facts and figures. Present a strong case that encompasses all touch points across your brand including your:
Contact information
Brand story
Product samples in final packaging
POS information – fixtures, fittings, promotional materials
Information on your target customer
Market related information – statistics, market share
How your brand is positioned vs. your competitors
Wholesale and retail pricing
Sales history by brand, by category, by product
Current and future distribution strategies by channel and market
Marketing and promotional calendar
Social media – Instagram, YouTube videos, Facebook groups, blogs
PR releases and coverage in monthly and trade magazines and newspapers
PR and social media are important considerations. Consider the beauty editors, bloggers, vloggers and influencers who may have written about your brand. The more likely a buyer is to have heard about your brand or experienced your brand online, the easier the conversation will flow.
Would you like some help with developing your retail pack? Get in touch today to discuss how we can help you to prepare this.
As a beauty and wellness consultancy, we develop a comprehensive strategy for your business by understanding your vision (and the marketplace) and then delving into the details to create order and structure neatly packaged up to deliver you commercial results. We design brand identities and visual elements, manage your product development, build your go-to-market strategies to help you to engage with your ideal customers.
We are proud to support our clients from different regions of the world – from Saudi Arabia, to Dubai, Sri Lanka, Africa, Australia, the US, Canada, Europe and the UK – from entrepreneurs, to multi-award-winning beauty and wellness brands, retailers, investors, distributors, embassies and trade bodies. And we work with you across the retail sector, and the professional sector, including the hair care market, professional nail care market, spas, salons, hotels and the aesthetics market – here’s a snapshot.
If you would like to discuss your ideas with us, get in touch, we would love to hear from you.
As an international beauty and wellness consultancy, we are proud to work alongside clients from different regions of the world – Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Africa, Australia, Canada, US, Europe and the UK . We love collaborating with entrepreneurs, multi-award-winning beauty and wellness brands, retailers, investors, distributors, embassies and trade bodies across the retail sector, and the professional sector, including those selling into the hair care market, hotels, spas, professional nail care market and aesthetics market.
If you need support with devising a new strategy, developing a new product range, designing your packaging or rebranding your current product range, managing your PR, or with planning your market-entry into international markets, get in touch, we would love to hear from you.
Bespoke is a brand management expert with deep industry knowledge, extensive experience and a comprehensive understanding of the beauty and personal industry in the UK and Europe, complemented by an extensive network of contacts in the relevant market segments. Bespoke’s expertise, experience and contacts significantly contributed the success of the UK/Europe project with the companies that Bespoke assisted successfully entering or well on track to enter the UK and European markets. The Bespoke team was very professional, responsive and obliging and always delivered within timeframes. It was a pleasure to work with them.
Working with Janet over the past year has been a real pleasure, she has fantastic industry experience and knowledge of the UK beauty market. She has delivered a number of webinars for my clients looking at how to enter the UK market, providing an overview of the market and how to build a strategy. She took the briefs we provided and added real value to them, included key insights and information that my clients have found incredibly useful. Feedback on these sessions has been very positive. Janet is a clear communicator and has always delivered as agreed and on time. We are continuing to work together on other projects and I very much value the conversations we share.
‘Janet has a wealth of experience across retail, buying and marketing. She conducted a full strategic review of our cross functional business and the travel retail market to develop a comprehensive buying and quality control strategy that was signed off at board level. I highly recommend her as an asset to any business.’
‘As a Queensland-based company, we were determined to tap into the European market and establish a strong presence. From the very beginning, Bespoke Advantage demonstrated a deep understanding of our export goals and objectives. Their comprehensive knowledge of the European market, coupled with their extensive network of contacts, enabled them to connect us with key decision-makers and influential stakeholders in our target countries. Their strategic guidance and insights were invaluable in shaping our export strategy and positioning us for long-term success.’
‘Through Janet’s management skills, expertise and proven track record on the job she successfully managed the purchasing of our retail operations and ensured the integrity of our brands in-stores. Her enthusiasm and total dedication, delivered results in any project she was involved in.’
‘Janet has excellent beauty market knowledge. Level headed with clear vision, direction and the ability to drive business forward, Janet led the teams through a complete product design change advising on what the key marketing messages should be, incorporating her technical knowledge and beauty expertise.’
‘Absolutely fantastic course. Condensed learning from Janet, an expert in developing beauty brands. Also, valuable introductions to expert professionals, in the Masterclass sessions. In 12 weeks, you will learn from Janet, what would take years to learn by yourself. A very worthwhile investment’