Martha Stewart Called To Carpet For Benefiting From A Legal Trade
- Jul
- 11
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.
read moreWalmart and Best Buy Place Their Bets and Position Themselves For Their Next Battle
- Mar
- 02
THIS IS AN EXCERPT; TO READ FULL ARTICLE, CLICK ON TITLE.
SUMMARY:
It started with Tivo’s announcement of a marketing partnership with Best Buy last July, and gained steam with Walmart’s recent acquisition of VuDu, and escalates with Tivo’s new big news on March 2nd. The next big battle in Consumer Electronics and TV’s is coming closer.
The reason I share this article with you is that you don’t have to be selling TVs or set top boxes to walk away with ideas that you can apply in your own brand/business.
HOW CAN YOU ADVANTAGE A PARTICULAR RETAILER?
The key lesson here in the pursuit of Retail Leverage is to ask (and answer) the question – “How can I advantage a particular retailer versus their competition?” Get over the battle you are fighting against other brands – THE RETAILER DOESN’T CARE. The real story is the retailers fight against each other.
read moreImplications For Marketers From Walmart Sku Reductions
- Feb
- 22
THIS IS AN EXCERPT.
CLICK ON THE TITLE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE:
In order to effectively compete, challenger brands must learn to package innovative product offerings together with marketing programs designed to represent at least one of the following four forms of retailer financial growth:
FOUR WAYS TO OFFER RETAILERS FINANCIAL GROWTH:
1. Increase overall category demand
2. Increase the attach-rate of high-value complimentary items
3. Motivate a “trade-up” within the category
4. Help a given retailer win the war against another retailer
The most difficult thing for brands like Glad and Hefty is viewing themselves as challenger brands when their histories have been more reflective of the rare “power” brand.
read moreHow Can Retail Leverage Help Garmin?
- Feb
- 15
THIS IS AN EXCERPT; TO READ FULL ARTICLE, CLICK ON TITLE.
SUMMARY:
EVEN GARMIN CAN FEEL LOST:
Who wants to be the first to admit they don’t have the answer to a problem? What do you do when your product is becoming a commodity, and even worse, when others start giving it away for free?
Garmin, the maker of GPS systems, is getting hit with this double-whammy. The majority of their problems center on their Automotive/Mobile business segment, which includes the main product that comes to mind for Garmin, the portable GPS for your car. Just as Tivo has watched the cable / satellite companies erode their share with generic DVR’s, smart phones are poised to erode the stand-alone portable GPS business.
WHERE DOES GARMIN GO FROM HERE?
The central question for Retail Leverage and our readers is “What can Garmin do to gain Retail Leverage with its nüvifone line?”
read moreWhat The Bleep Is POWERMAT And How Did They Get Retail Leverage?
- Oct
- 06
When you start breaking down Powermat’s launch strategy, you’ll realize they are using a hybrid of retail leverage strategies. More importantly, they are doing it on a scale much more relevant to challenger brand marketers used to dealing with 7 figure budgets.
1) Offer Program or Product Exclusivity (sort of)
2) Have Something So Big “They” Can’t Ignore
To read the full article, click on the title link.
read moreRosetta Stone Speaks the Language of “Retail Leverage”
- Aug
- 23
THIS IS AN EXCERPT; TO READ FULL ARTICLE, CLICK ON TITLE.
SUMMARY:
Earlier this week, Office Depot formally announced plans to become the exclusive office product superstore to offer Rosetta Stone’s award-winning Rosetta Stone computer-based language learning system.
How did Rosetta Stone gain retail leverage?
1. Direct-response selling (infomercials)
2. Launch exclusively with specialty/boutique retailers
3. Launch exclusively with one major retailer
Success Breeds Success – Five Ways to Unleash “Pent-up Demand” at Major Retailers
- Aug
- 19
THIS IS AN EXCERPT; TO READ FULL ARTICLE, CLICK ON TITLE.
SUMMARY:
Retail buyers hate risk.
Five approaches which establish a track record of success prior to engaging with the universe of major retailers:
1. Over-invest in Trade Shows
2. Seriously consider direct-response advertising
3. Launch exclusively with specialty/boutique retailers
4. Build a “community”
5. Launch exclusively with one major retailer
Remember, very few strategies give your challenger brand more leverage at retail than the promise of bringing your successful past to the retailer’s risk-averse present.
How Tivo Is Gaining Leverage at Best Buy
- Aug
- 05
EXCERPT:
TO READ FULL ARTICLE, CLICK ON TITLE:
SUMMARY:
Tivo is gaining leverage at Best Buy but they both stand to gain a great deal. In July they announced a marketing and product development partnership with Best Buy.
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