Finding business contacts in chain supermarkets

sweeneymf

Just wondering if anyone has ever contacted any chain stores ie spar/vivo/centra shops like that about selling products to them.

Are these shops privately owned?

It's just that I'm not sure whether to contact the shops directly or go to the chain store directors to pitch our product.??

pedronomix

If you do have a real product/range, yet have no idea as to the structure/purchasing regime of the chains you have mentioned, bodes ill. You give no information and thus are likely to engender responses of equal value.

sweeneymf

We distribute car care products in Ireland and the U.K. for a French company, the products are beautifully presented and would suit the likes of these retail stores that may not have a range to cater for Automotive cleaning products, but as you say I am not sure of the procedure of contacting such companies.

pedronomix

The sales potential versus available space in these smaller symbol stores is unlikely to be a meaningful opportunity given the local petrol station is the most likely customer destination for such purchases. However retail is not my bag.

pedroeibar1

pedronomix wrote: »

However retail is not my bag.

Not so sure about that, I remember when bags for a retailer got a certain person sponsorship for his hot Mini 998 (bored out, hot head and cam, and Webers! ) and I've a photo or two to prove it!

sconhome

sweeneymf wrote: »

We distribute car care products in Ireland and the U.K. for a French company, the products are beautifully presented and would suit the likes of these retail stores that may not have a range to cater for Automotive cleaning products, but as you say I am not sure of the procedure of contacting such companies.

A lot are operated under franchise.

It is was me I would wear out a bit of boot leather first. Bring your products, a presentation booklet / brochure you can leave and introduce yourself to local store managers first.

Ask them what they think and how you could go about getting it on their shelves (if they were interested) and take it from there. You never know your luck.

antoinolachtnai

If you do door-to-door, you will be extremely limited. You will do a lot of walking and won't sell much. Franchise convenience stores are incentivised to take most of their purchases of stock through the network. You really need to go to the companies that operate the franchise. The people you would need to be talking to are Musgraves and BWG.

sweeneymf

Thanks for your comments guys it's much appreciated, I will keep you posted.

Linkedin is the key for this kind of thing. Identify the target company, find the category manager or head of purchasing for that category and message them there. If you don't get a reply, you at least have the name of the person you need to pitch, and you get to him/her one way or another after that.

Metroboulot

Metroboulot wrote: »

With SuperValu just ring a store and ask if you can call in and pitch to the store manager. They're independent.

Better to pitch the buyers in Musgraves where all those stores do their wholesale purchasing

Theres no money in product distribution unless you are doing numbers with store multiples. One at a time will take an age to make it worthwhile unless the OP is just starting out

Metroboulot

Metroboulot wrote: »

For test marketing purposes they generally don't centrally list items.

Most small startups wouldn't even be able to supply the whole organisation until they scale up.

Wholesalers will test market in 1 or two of their depots to start with giving access to the product to bunch of stores and they will judge it based on how it sells from those test depots.

And if a startup gets a purchase order from a multiple they can take that to the bank and get the credit to finance it.
And probably since the OP has distribution rights from the actual manufacturer your making a lot of assumptions that the manufacturer is a startup and has no money.

Metroboulot

Metroboulot wrote: »

The OP hasn't given either of us enough information to make any assumptions at all!

I never said not to approach head office or m distribution centres. I was just saying it's completely possible to approach individual stores or groups of stores within SuperValu because they're independent.

Many, many small companies got their initial listings that way and moved on from there.

It's also possible to gain access via the likes of Food Academy or other similar state sponsored programmes.

I'm sorry I responded now. Really not bothered dealing with this level of snappiness.

Deleting all my posts.

Why are you sorry? I just stated some good information based on personal experience

Don't be so sensitive

pedroeibar1

Metro Boulot has gone dodo.:p

pedroeibar1

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

Metro Boulot has gone dodo.:p

Not the first and won't be the last! :pac:

5th wheel

Hi Sweeneymf,

How did you ever get on with your car care product?
PM me directly might be able to do something for you.