How could you use agile principles in consumer product development
Here is how I use agile principles in consumer product development, marketing and sales: Conduct deep competitive analysis on what is already offered in the marketplace, including features, benefits, and outcomes. Find out which products are selling well through sites like Similarweb.com - Digital World Market Intelligence Platform and through exiting online and offline distribution [...]
On average, how much does Target mark up its items?
This is Quora question I was asked about how much does Target mark up its items.Not including produce, on average Target’s margins in my experience are 25–30%.I use margins and not markup because in the industry, margins is what is used and they are computed off of suggested retail price (SRP or MSRP). So, for [...]
What is the best strategy for introducing a new product (spirits brand) to a distributor?
This is a Quora question and here is my answer. I have not sold spirits directly so do not know of the specific nuances for that industry. But below are more general approaches for a strategy for introducing a new product. In my experience, this works across many CPG categories. I will assume you do [...]
What is Tradespend?
Tradespend is the amount that a manufacturer/vendor spends to promote a product in-store. Typical in-store promotion vehicles include discounts/coupons and supporting ads in a retailer's circular. However, in the industry, tradespend is the term used to describe all the costs associated with selling to a retailer. Here is a general list of [...]
Retail e-commerce data and what it means for your consumer product company
Retail e-commerce increased 14.6% from 2014 to 2015, and accounts for only 7.3% of total retail sales. Total retail sales increased 1.4% from 2014 to 2015, which means brick/mortar sales increased less than 1.4 when you take out the e-commerce share%, which means brick/mortar actually shrunk relative to inflation (inflation running in the 4% [...]
I surveyed some of my key retail brokers about bringing a new brand to retail and here is what they said
A summary of what I discuss in this video is below. I am helping a new brand come to market. Here is some background for context: This is a new brand with new products in the home outdoor category; The category sales are flat; This is a small category with annual sales around $1 [...]
How do I hire a product distributor to get my product into pharmacy stores?
This is a Quora question I was asked. My answer is as follows. I am not aware of any specific product distributor to the pharmacy channel. The channel has largely consolidated into Walgreens and CVS, or pharmacy departments within major retailers. Many distributors do not do actual sales for you, so in my opinion, it [...]
Are you staying professionally relevant in a changing world? Here’s how I do it
Tips from the video are posted below. I heard something recently which I think is important for all of us to reflect on: How do we stay relevant with our knowledge and skills as we work for companies or start our own companies and serve our customers? Here's how I do it: Stay abreast [...]
A ballpark guide to relative sales of items by retail channel
Assume sales of items by retail channel in units per week per retail door. Grocery: Baseline channel Natural/Specialty: 2.5 x grocery Drug: 1 x grocery Mass: 10 x grocery Club: 20 x grocery C-store: 3 x grocery