Shifting The Balance Of Power At Retail
This article appears courtesy of The Shelf Potato Blog, by Doug Garnett. The article was originally published on July 1, 2010, by Ben Smith.
If you saw the commercials or talked to a rep in store, you probably couldn’t figure out what problems Kin solved or unmet needs it satisfied. The fact that it was pulled from the market so soon by a company with so deep of pockets leaves only a few conclusions and bigger questions.
By Ben Smith
The term “Couch Potato” has made it into pop culture, with its own wikipedia listing. So when my friend Doug Garnett mentioned a concept he kept coming back to when describing dud products at retail, “Shelf Potatos”, I knew exactly what he was talking about, and I figure that anybody who is reading [...]
I wanted to provide an update to Vince Young’s prior coverage of Stainmaster carpet’s move to Lowe’s and share an article by Chris Burritt that just appeared in Business Week detailing how the dust has settled. The net is that Martha Stewart now has the featured brand of carpet at the #1 carpet retailer in the US, Home Depot.
In today’s environment it is rare that a brand drops a major retailer. Once the shock wears off, you can see how major moves by competitors, particularly exclusive deals, can create retail leverage opportunities.
