Selling Into Home Depot
Home Depot is headquartered in Atlanta, GA and is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer. Home Depot had Fiscal Year 2011 retail sales of 70.4 billion and ranked #35 in the 2012 Fortune 500. Retail stores offer up to 40,000 different kinds of building materials, home improvement supplies, lawn and garden products, etc.
We’ve built up a lot of airline miles through the years traveling to Home Depot headquarters in Atlanta. We’ve called on multiple buyers and presented at Product Line Reviews and in Partnership Meetings. Our success can be documented with the number of successful products we’ve sold into Home Depot.
Home Depot should be at the top of anyone’s wish list when seeking retail distribution in the home improvement category. They operate over 2,200 stores primarily located in the U.S., Canada and Mexico and cater to both the Do-It-Yourself consumer and the Professional Contractor.
“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 Home Depot 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 Home Depot? While there isn’t one “secret” that will ensure your product finds a home and is successful at Home Depot, 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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