When I started my candle-making company, Chesapeake Bay Candle, we quickly landed distribution deals with over 3,000 boutiques and department stores. But I wanted to move up to larger chain stores. My next goal was to bring in the big fish in the home décor market: a distribution deal with Target. So I embarked on a quest to land the contract.
The process led to literally dozens of rejections from their top candle buyer. But now Target is responsible for over $8 million of our annual sales. The lesson I learned? Sometimes single-minded vision — even obsession — is more important than business protocol or even careful planning.
Brushing off rejection
My husband and I launched our company in 1994. We focused on contemporary and elegant merchandise that would serve as an alternative to the “country” style that was popular at the time. I sold our products to department stores like Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom’s right away.
But I knew that getting into big-box stores would increase our visibility and ensure our long-term success. Target stores were the ideal showcase for our brand. They focused on casual, contemporary design. Moreover, they had the capacity to place huge orders.
I tracked down the candle department buyer’s phone number and left her a message. She didn’t call back. So I left another message the following week — no reply. I refused to take her silence as a ‘no.’ So I left messages every week for six straight months. I figured she might not appreciate my tenacity but she was my only way in to the company.
Finally, I had a conversation with her receptionist to ask why the buyer wasn’t returning my calls. She told me that I should go over the buyer’s head and talk to her boss. So I called her supervisor, who told me that my products sounded great and that she’d have the buyer call me.
The phone rang two minutes later: Jackpot, it was the buyer. I thought I’d finally struck gold. Then she told me what I’d done wasn’t the right way to start a business relationship. She refused to meet with me, and my subsequent calls went unanswered.
Landing the fish
Her brush-off just made me more relentless. I kept the buyer’s number on speed dial and obsessively called her every week, hoping she might change her mind about me.
Finally, after a year, I heard a different voice on the phone message, and my hopes were lifted. I figured that a new buyer would want to make a mark on the company by impressing her superiors with new vendors. Here, at last, was my in with Target. I left a message describing my company, and sure enough, she called back later that day and arranged to meet with me.
In preparation, I made custom candle samples that I’d designed just for Target, with a color palette aimed to appeal to a younger audience. As soon as I met with the buyer, she started sniffing the candles and asking all sorts of questions about the fragrances and our retail prices. Then she asked, “How soon can you deliver?”
Scaling up
I was completely caught off guard. I mean, senior managers generally will have an internal discussion before giving a firm commitment to a vendor. Not only was she sold, she wanted $3 million worth of orders to fill all 800 Targets in America. I told her that we’d be able to ship in a few months. But I had no real idea about how I’d fill the order.
I immediately went to work finding the resources to make the delivery on time. We started by hiring new staff, then turned our attention to distribution. We knew that we’d need to use new data tracking systems to ensure that the products shipped accurately. We didn’t have the capacity to do that in-house. So we outsourced our distribution to a company in California, which enabled us to fill Target’s orders and transmit them successfully.
Two weeks after our candles hit the shelves I got a panicked call from the buyer.
“I think we were wrong. I think we could have sold three times as much.”
She asked us to ramp up production immediately.
Fortunately, we have a strong partnership with a factory in Asia. I flew to China to get everything ready within six weeks. By April, we were fully stocked, and we sold Target $8 million worth of product that year.
Just the beginning
Producing the volume to meet Target’s demands was a challenge. But it immediately paid off. Target has a reputation for attracting vendors that are able to quickly scale production based on demand, which is attractive to other large chains.
Now, we’re working with retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond, Kohl’s and Pier 1 Imports. We’ve gone from 20 employees to a staff of over 50, and brought in $90 million in annual revenues for 2009. We’re opening a factory in Maryland soon, which will cut down delivery time to help us better service our demanding retailers.
The takeaway: Relentlessness pays off. Big time.
Mei Xu recently launched a second company, Bliss Living Home, which focuses on bedding and décor with an international theme
COMMENTARY: That's such a great story and a great example of how relentlessness, hard work and perseverance can pay off. The one mistake Meu made was going around that first Target candle buyer. That's a no no. But, as fate would have it, Target hired a new candle buyer, and this left the door open, and the rest is history.
As a general rule, the chances of a new company getting their products into the shelves of large chain supermarkets or retail chains are about zero. It just doesn't happen. If you are lucky enough to get them to like and try your product, it will be on a limited test basis, with only a handful of test stores carryhing your product. If the sales results from those stores are good, then chances are very good you will get a re-order, and the number of stores will be expanded, before you get the BIG order. Getting an initial order of $3 million from Target right out of the gate, without even a test, just doesn't happen.
The SymphonyIRI Group's report titled, "New Product Pacesetters: Carving Out Growth in a Down Economy", provides an excellent look at consumer trends within the food and beverage and just how difficult it is make a "hit" product in today's difficult economy.
"The effects of the recent downturn are still heavily impacting consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retail companies. Although sales have improved during the past year, the Great Recession has significantly changed consumer spending habits today and possibly forever.
The shopper of today consumes products in a much different way versus just a couple of years ago. This tectonic shift in shopper behavior has created the need for manufacturers and retailers to completely rethink how they develop, package, price, merchandise and display products.
Consumer trends within the food and beverage sector indicate that customers are shifting towards products that encompass convenient indulgence and wellness. Many consumers are trying to eat healthier, and have traded out soda for sports drinks or waters and replaced junk food with healthier options. In 2010, the most powerful food and beverage product launches were those affiliated with health and wellness.
While the consumer of today may have tightened their belts on indulgences, the need for indulgence has certainly not gone away. People are still willing to spend money on treats here and there, evidenced by an array of successful indulgent brands. These products deliver a cost-efficient, home-based solution to the ice cream parlor.
In the non-foods sector, the shift towards tending to health and beauty needs in the home continued in 2010, and the most powerful non-foods Pacesetters were those that armed consumers with the tools to get it done. Today’s consumer has cut back on going to the spa and getting their teeth professionally whitened. Instead, they are taking the do-it-yourself approach, trading in Botox and laser treatments for anti-aging serums and products that are marketed as “professional results at home.”
Despite unstable economic conditions, average year-one sales for New Product Pacesetters in 2010 climbed. Last year also witnessed great success by manufacturers small and large who took a risk by bringing a new brand to market. These trends suggest a brighter outlook for 2011 and beyond.
However, CPG and retail leaders face the significant challenge of identifying shoppers who are opening their wallets again, those who are their maintaining frugal ways, and those doing some of both. It will be critical to continuously study evolving consumer needs, and how people are learning about, buying and using products. The most powerful marketing strategies will be adjusted based on even minute shifts in attitudes and behaviors."
Check out my post dated November 2, 2010, about what Sean O'Conner did to get his Batter Blaster, an organic pancake batter-in-a-can, into the retail supermarket chain, and how Batter Blaster now generates $19 million in annual sales.
In another post dated January 27, 2010, I reported just how difficult it was to get a new product into the retail chain during the height of the Great Recession. This article provides some valuable insights for inventor's of new products.
Courtesy of an article dated January 19, 2011 appearing in BNET
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