Selling Into Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware is headquartered in Chicago, IL and has over 4,700 stores around the globe. The majority of Ace Hardware stores are independently owned and operated by local entrepreneurs. These owners focus on keeping their stores small and offer a personal touch that differentiates themselves from larger competitors such as Home Depot, Lowe’s and Menards. Ace Hardware has a variety of store formats from small urban stores to larger rural stores and everything in between.
We have a solid background in the Hardware retail channel and will help you create a compelling selling strategy that a buyer can’t say no to. Additionally, we’ll help you arrange a meeting with your target buyer. A key to growing your business at Ace is getting your product into their warehouse. This allows members (store owners) to easily add your item to their routine orders. Let us show you how…call us today.
“Gear Up For Retail” Program
Our “Gear Up For Retail” program is a 5-step process that walks you through the key steps involved in getting your product sold into Ace Hardware and other retailers. We’ll put you on the path to success and help you avoid the pitfalls that so many others fall into. Our program takes you from start to finish, including identifying and scheduling meetings with targeted retail buyers.
Strategy
So the million dollar question is how do you get your product listed at Ace Hardware? While there isn’t one “secret” that will ensure your product finds a home and is successful at Ace Hardware, there is a strategy that can drastically increase your odds of success. And that is following a detailed process that has proven time and again to be successful.
“We like to compare it to climbing a mountain for the first time. You’d better have the right gear, a good partner and a solid game plan if you want to get to the peak. Going it alone isn’t a smart option.”
First-Hand Experience
We’ve spent nearly 20 years commercializing and selling products into the largest retailers in the U.S. and world. We’ve presented new products and programs to hundreds of retail buyers through the years. That first-hand experience gives us a rare insight into how buyers think and what they want more than anything else. It also provides us with the insight needed to put ourselves in the shoes of the buyer and look at the world through his or her eyes.
If there was ever a skill that’s learned in the trenches and not from a book it’s the strategy and science behind preparing for retailer meetings and approaching buyers. Buyers are extremely busy and sit through multiple product pitches every day. You need to have a well-thought out game plan and clearly communicate “what’s in it for me” from the buyer’s perspective. And that’s if you can get in their door in the first place.
Play to Win
Something else you need to know, we play to win, won’t quit until we win, and believe in delivering results. Winning means getting your product listed at retail and it being successful at retail. The path to retail distribution can be a sprint, or it can be a marathon, every situation is different. But getting retail distribution isn’t an insurmountable mountain, you just need the right partner along for the journey, and we’re here to help.
Easy to Work With
We believe in keeping it easy as we learn more about you, and you about us. We’ll start off with a free consultative phone call to learn more about your product/business. This is the fun part — we’re passionate about new products and the strategy behind plugging them into retail. After our initial discussion, we’ll provide you with a more detailed overview of how our process works and layout a game plan with your specific situation in mind.
Contact us today at 314-504-3026 to discuss your product(s) and business. We look forward to meeting you and talking further. We can also be reached at jlong@shiftmarketinggroup.net.
A Sampling of the Retailers We Can Help You Sell Into:
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