How to get started wholesaling your products – with Ami Rabheru – The Retail Business Hub

undefined: 00:00:08

Welcome to the Bring Your Product Ideas to Life podcast, practical advice and inspiration to help you create and sell your own physical products. Here's your host, Vicki Weinberg.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:00:22

Hello, today I'm absolutely delighted to invite onto the podcast. Ami is the founder of the Retail Business Hub and Scale with Wholesale Academy. She's a retail business consultant and product strategist. Ami specializes in teaching product entrepreneurs. Building retail brands, the strategic action, steps to approach, pitch and sell products to retailers whilst empowering them with the knowledge of the big business skills they need to start, grow, and scale a successful product brand. Now, I have done episodes on wholesale before, however, I wanted Ami to join me because as you can imagine, everyone's approach to wholesale and to grow in your business is different and yeah, and I always like to get opinions, different advice and experiences. So, um, even if you've been wholesaling your products for a while or perhaps you're just starting on your wholesale journey or just thinking about it, I really think there's a lot that you can take from this product. And even if wholesale is something you've never considered, I would still say this episode is definitely worth a listen. So now I would love to introduce you to Ami. Hi Ami. Thank you so much for being here.

Ami Rabheru: 00:01:23

Thank you so much for having me, Vicki.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:01:25

I'm so excited that we're doing this.

Ami Rabheru: 00:01:27

Me too.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:01:28

So, can we please start with you, give an introduction to yourself and your business and what you do?

Ami Rabheru: 00:01:33

Of course. So, I'm Ami Rabheru. I'm a retail business consultant and a product strategist, and I specialize in teaching entrepreneurs the action steps to approach, pitch, and sell into retail.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:01:46

Amazing. So we're going to talk all about wholesale today. Um, and so the first question I've got for you, because I'm going to jump right in. Ami, why might someone consider wholesale for their product?

Ami Rabheru: 00:01:57

Well, at some point, Vicki, um, every business will face the dilemma of how to scale and, well, one of the simplest way, of course is to sell more product. You know, when businesses are thinking about the next stage, wholesale is one of those elements that can bring a lot more brand awareness, um, to your product, to your brand. It brings more people in, um, to your business and suddenly you're not shoulder in, um, the, all the effort of customer acquisition by yourself. It also helps you in terms of getting economies of scale for your product business, um, so that it brings your cost price down, your profits, um, will also grow and hopefully your retail business will grow too. And of course, the key thing is to grow your sales. Some startups will build, um, wholesale into their overall distribution strategy from the, from the beginning. And some will trade for two to three years and then decide right now is the time to build a wholesale channel, and that's their next step. There's no right or wrong. Um, sometimes it depends entirely on circumstances, product supply, capabilities, pricing, and many things like that.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:03:12

Brilliant. Thank you. And that, that does make total sense. Sometimes I speak to people and they say, oh, I've got my products on Amazon or Etsy or my website or whatever, and then they say, oh, where else can I list them? And, and I often do say to people, well, actually, if you're kind of everywhere you need to be online. Have you thought about actually getting, well, I know that, I know that wholesale doesn't necessarily mean in shops. It also might mean online, but I think there's only, as a small business, there's only so many places you can place your products aren't there?

Ami Rabheru: 00:03:40

Absolutely. And I think third party, you know marketplaces are great. And of course when you get to that next stage of your business, having a distribution, um, channel which promotes wholesale is, is definitely a great, great way to grow your brand and grow your sales.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:03:56

So you've mentioned that, you know, you might build this into your business right from the start, or perhaps it might be something you consider two to three years down the line, but how would you know, I guess, how would you know that you are retail ready or, and I guess this is probably the same question, what does it take to be retail ready? So if you're planning to do it right from the start, what, what does that mean? What do we have to have and, and do before approaching retailers?

Ami Rabheru: 00:04:20

A really important question, Vicki, and I think first and foremost, you need a great product for retail. Some of what makes a great product for retail are a great brand, great packaging, marketing and pricing. Pricing being one of the crucial things. And it has to be pricing that reflects your brand positioning in the market and your value proposition. Pricing your products right for retail is a super, super crucial element of being retail ready. And there are three elements when you're wholesaling. Um, There are three elements to pricing, which I tend to teach, and one of them is pricing your products for retail pricing, your products for wholesale, and pricing your products for profit. It's such a big subject actually, and I've dedicated, uh, a whole module to this on my program, but it's such a big retail. It's such a big message and not to forget, actually, you know, one of those things is, um, some traction with your own retail sales as well. So some of those things are quite important elements to be in retail ready. The other thing is, um, commercials, and I think you've got to remember that buyers, they're creative people, but they're also really commercial people. So along with the art must come the science bit, they tend to be looking for products that will ultimately generate revenue and profit for the company. So you've got to ensure that you have the commercial elements nailed as well, so that your proposition can show the retailers how your product will help grow their sales, grow their margin, and grow their market share. Actually the last one is a metric that larger retailers are more obsessed with, rather than independent retailers, but still an important element. Um, and again, showing traction in your own business is always a really good way to, um, to show some of your commercials. So, You know, add things like sales figures, uh, whatever might be relevant for you and your business. Um, number of stockists that you have already, or best selling items, what your customers love, what they keep coming back to you for. Customer reviews, any awards your product may have won, successful marketing or PR campaigns, all of that kind of thing. Um, makes a great product for retail and shows a retailer that you are are ready because you are building your own brand awareness of making efforts in your marketing.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:06:50

That makes sense. Thank you. And there's quite a few things I'm going to ask more questions on, if that's all right. Mm-hmm. And the first one is, um, and that all makes so much sense, um, but I guess it's a little bit harder if, you know, you are planning to use wholesale your strategy right from the beginning. So perhaps you don't have years or months of sales history, um, maybe it's a bit, a little bit early, you haven't maybe entered any awards. You might be approaching your first retailers, let's say. What in that case can you do, if you want to show that you understand the commercial aspects, is what I mean. I guess if you want to show retailers, okay, this is what, you know, you're trying to, obviously you're trying to sell your product to the retailer, what kind of information would they be looking for, for something that's brand new to the market?

Ami Rabheru: 00:07:36

Well, I think, um, I think one of the crucial things is understanding your brand positioning within the marketplace. And I think, uh, a lot of retail, a lot of startups do this at the beginning and then tend to brush it under the carpet really, um, really quickly. And it's such a crucial part of your product business or any business really. And knowing and understanding your brand positioning will, you know, everything else falls into place that comes after. So you know, your pricing will fall into place. Your branding, your logo, the colour you paint your walls, all those kind of things fall into place when you absolutely nail your brand positioning. So if you're coming at it from a really strong angle, you know your mission, you know your purpose, um, and you understand your brand positioning, you'll understand who your customers are. And when you are pitching to the retailers who have who, who have similar customers, who have similar values to what your brand is promoting, they will get you, they will get that your brand is for them. And that's a really important part of understanding, um, your, you know, understanding, your brand positioning.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:08:47

That makes sense. Thank you. Um, so when we are talking about pitching to retailers, what else needs to go into a pitch? Like how do we create a really compelling, successful pitch?

Ami Rabheru: 00:08:59

Um, so I think some of the fundamental elements to creating a successful pitch really does lie in, in your products and branding. Um, it's absolutely imperative, imperative to get your brand positioning nailed before you start pitching to retailers. Because I think, you know, like I said, once you've done that, everything that comes after falls into place. Um, you know, when your customers understand you, they will know. You know, you're, you're talking to them with your marketing messages. They are willing and able to pay for your products. And then when it comes to pitching to retailers, they will absolutely get you. So I think nailing that brand position in building awareness for your own brand as well, um, and having great products that are really wanted and needed by your customers are just some of those elements which will create a great brand and a product for retail. Um, and once you're clear in, once you're clear on all of those things, pitching becomes so much easier.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:09:57

That makes so much sense. And I think, you know, you said this so many times, Ami, I think you're right. I think having a great product is definitely the starting point. Um, and I'm really big on research and, you know, actually creating a product that your customers actually want and need. Um, and I guess that all comes down to it as well. If you can sort of prove that you've spoken to your customers, you understand what they want, and this is a product that people are ultimately going to buy.

Ami Rabheru: 00:10:24

Yeah, and, and you know, and, and not to forget Vicky as well, that, you know, when you are sort of, you know, getting your product and brand ready for retail, I think, I think a lot of. I think a lot of creatives forget that actually you also need to, your business needs to be retail ready as well. And, and, and all of this sort of having a clear strategy and, uh, a method methodolic methodical approach to, um, this new venture is, is another element which I'm passionate about teaching because you know, when you are in this creative bubble, um, you sometimes find it hard to step out of it and you know, you're so in your comfort zone and you're running your business like you're running it. And when you think about this new channel, you do have to actually think about getting your business retail ready as well. And I think some brand founders don't actually think about what that means for their businesses and how they have to change things. Um, and they end up with this somewhat static gun approach to re, you know, to wholesale. And so you've got to align things like your processes, your planning and finances with your goals to ensure that what you're doing is really sustainable.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:11:33

That makes a lot of sense. Thank you. And I know this is probably a huge question, but are there, what are some of the things that, that businesses can be doing to sort of align themselves to be ready for retail? And I know we, we can just touch on sort of the highlights as it were, because I know there's probably.

Ami Rabheru: 00:11:47

Yeah. I think when, when I talk about that I do talk about, um, you know, the ability to, a, be able to, um, you know, produce volume, uh, more volume than you are creating now. So for example, if you're a handmade business, um, have you thought about how you are going to scale that to you know, to, to, to to, to bigger volumes. It might not be that big if you're just doing independent retailers, but then, you know, it involves you making the product yourself. You've got to increase your capac, capacity. Um, and, and, and how do you do that? And, um, other things like, you know, if, if you are already working with factories, it's talking to your factories and, um, planning production with them and almost part, you know, treating them like a partner in your business so that you can make this happen with their support. Um, getting your finances ready, you know, all of those kind of things. So, you know, if you are pitching to big retailers, for example, um, you are more than likely to want to, you're more than likely to have to finance the order before you get paid. So, you know, all of that kind of planning comes into it. And just simple processes like, um, logistical things as well, so you know, how you fulfill your orders, those kind of things. So yeah, there really is this sort of, background to getting your business retail ready as well, um, as well as your products.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:13:15

That makes total sense because I can totally see that you could end up accidentally in a position where you, maybe you land an order and then you find out actually your supplier doesn't have the capacity to perhaps produce the order or there's going to be a long lead time or I can definitely see you could, sort of, if you, if you went about it the other way around, you could definitely come across hurdles and I guess you'd feel much more confident going into retailers. Yeah. And speaking to them if you know that actually you've got everything lined up so that if you walk away with an order, great. It can actually happen because I, I don't know how often that happens, but I, I can definitely see that something that, that could trip people up.

Ami Rabheru: 00:13:51

Yeah, absolutely. And, and it often does. And, and it's exactly that picky. It's the confidence to be able to speak about your product, speak about your supply, um, answer objections, answer questions. Those are all the really key things that you need to know. Um, it needs to be on the tip of your tongue. You can't just, um, you know, set particular on those kind of questions. You can't say, I'll come back to you later. You can, but you know, really, those are the sort of things that you're expected to know. Um, so yeah, the, the more that you work with your factory, your suppliers, uh, the people that are producing your products, your secondary suppliers, your tertiary suppliers, you've kind of got to have quite a lot under control, particularly if there's a lot of components that make up your product.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:14:38

Thank you. And I've got another question about pitching, if it's okay.

Ami Rabheru: 00:14:41

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:14:41

Which is what, um, I'd love to know what it entails. Because in my mind it's um, I don't know if you ever watched The Apprentice. I used to years ago, and you remember they would go into retailers and they'd have their product and they'd have their like board with their slides or whatever, their presentation and they'd march into someone's room. Is that what pitching looks like nowadays or is it something completely different?

Ami Rabheru: 00:15:03

You know, it can be different for different retailers, but it certain it certainly isn't um, Um, going into Dragons Den or an episode of The Apprentice where you have to dress up like bunny rabbits or anything like that. I do find a lot of people do have that kind of feeling, um, in their heads about what pitching actually is. Um, and I think you have to sort of think about pitching as a strategic approach, um, of the, the story that you're going to tell, the sport you're going to uncover. Um, and, and it's, it's the same as whether, you know, whether you are approaching retail buyers, investors, or even actually pitching on a show like Dragons Den, um, you've got to speak to sell. And you know, I think what brand founders really desire is that confidence to be able to speak in a way that sells, that doesn't sound salesy, but feels naturally and they just want to be empowered to be able to speak about their products. And actually a lot of brand founders are great at speaking about their products, um, when it comes to B2C sales, but when it comes to B2B sales, it definitely is a bit of a learning curve. Um, and, and I think it's just having those really simple, deep questions answered in your own head about, you know, what is your why? Because when you know, when you talk about your why and your passion for your product, that evokes emotion. And even in B2B you need a bit of emotion as well. Um, and you know, having, having, having those sort of commercial elements up your sleeve in your back pocket so that you can pull them out when you need them. But also just understanding what your product really does for customers. Um, and so, you know, pitching is a scary word, but it's just having a conversation really. I always think of it as just having a conversation.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:16:53

That's really good and hopefully we've put some mind at rest there as well. Because I'm sure I wasn't the only one that was picturing that in my mind.

Ami Rabheru: 00:16:59

It's a scary word. Um, there's, you know, there's lots you can do, but yeah, having some of those sort of conversational elements up your sleeve or your back pocket can really help just to not make it feel like a salesy pitch.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:17:14

Thank you. And how would you even go about getting to the point where you are in a room pitching with someone? I mean, do all, are all pitchings face to face nowadays, or I'm assuming there's some sort of online element, wherever that's sending an email to request a pitch or, I don't know whether these take place virtually now, because obviously things are slightly different. Yeah. You know, since Covid, how, how does that work?

Ami Rabheru: 00:17:37

Yeah, I mean, look, when you are, when you are approaching a retailer for the first time, it's likely to be on an email. But really, um, a meeting is likely, is likely to be on, on a Zoom, actually. Um, or, or, or it can be face to face if the retailer invites you in. So, and I always say to to, to people who are, um, pitching on Zoom the same principles apply, you know, get dressed, don't be in your pyjamas. Look straight into the camera and show your product. Don't just talk, actually show your product physically. And it's sort of harder, I think, to show your product um, over Zoom. So, uh, one of the things that I tend to advise, um, brands is that you, you send a pack, like a sample pack in advance of the meeting, so they've got time to sort of touch and feel, um, the product and understand what the product is about so that again, they can ask the right questions. Um, so yeah, no, it's, it's, it's very likely that it could be on a Zoom meeting. Um, but it's also like, actually now that things have opened up and people are feeling a little bit more comfortable that it, it, it can be face to face too. So yeah, we, we get in a bit of a mix at the moment when it comes to, um, when it comes to pitching.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:18:53

Thank you. So I'd like to move on slightly, if that's okay. And talk about, so if you are in a, you know, let's say that you're retail ready and you are going to approach some retailers, how do you decide who, you know, who you approach first. Um, how does that work? I mean, do we need to start small and then approach to bigger retailers or, or can we go straight to the, the supermarkets and the big chains?

Ami Rabheru: 00:19:16

That's a really interesting question actually, because I think deciding who to approach first is quite a fundamental part of your building, your wholesale strategy actually. Um, and lots of things. Lots of elements that we talked about before. Your goals, your financials has a big part to do with deciding who you go after first. For example, if you are very small, handmade, or you know, a very small business, you know, with, with small production runs, or you might be worried about cash flow to fund large orders. Actually, you might want to start small. You may just want to start with independent shops and department stores. And actually not everyone wants to go to big retailers, even if cash flow isn't a problem because they decide that actually, their product is best placed in independent shops because of their values and ideals or their ideal customers. So you don't necessarily have to go, I'm not always talking about big retailers when I work with clients. Um, you know, and if you're going for, for example, for um, independent department stores, then they generally like, um, innovative new products, which are not yet widely distributed. They're likely to be the, um, the, the first to jump onto something new or a new trend. And they definitely want to be first to market with things. So, you know, if, if, if department stores, independent department stores are, are on your list then you might want to approach them first. So a strategic approach, for example, um, would, would be good. But in all circumstances you have to consider the market positioning of the retailer, uh, and yourself and understand what they're about. And. What motivates them? So like the supermarket for example, they'll want a great product. Um, they won't mind if it's anywhere else, actually. They'll probably jump on it if it's somewhere else. Um, and you know, they'll be more interested in the commercial aspects. For example, the things that we talked about, they're likely to have more of a trade in mindset. They will immediately be thinking about product placement, volume, sales cannibalization in their own category, because they have a lot of, lot of skews and how the product is likely to increase their sales while market share is going to be much more important to them, um, than independent retailers.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:21:31

That makes sense. Thank you. And, and is there also an element of, because I don't, I don't know, but I'm wondering, is there also an element of how much control you have over things like how your product is marketed, how it's priced? Um, does that differ depending on the size of retailer that you go to? Or, or, or not really?

Ami Rabheru: 00:21:51

Yeah, I, I mean, uh, uh, marketing is a thing or you know, obviously we can't tell legally, can't tell the retailers how much to price their products for. So you can recommend a retail price, but you can't tell them to price it for, um, you can't actually tell them that you want it priced, you know, at this price, at this selling price.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:22:13

Oh, I wasn't actually aware of, that's really interesting. So I wasn't actually aware of that. So that's, oh, okay. That's definitely something to think about then.

Ami Rabheru: 00:22:21

No, definitely.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:22:21

It could be that you are selling your product on your website for one price, but it's in Boots as just an example, I'm just pulling a name out of my head. Less, potentially.

Ami Rabheru: 00:22:30

Yeah, absolutely. You know, so if you're selling your product for 20 quid and they decide to retail it for 19.99, there's nothing you can do about it. You know? There's absolutely nothing to do. So there's something called competition law that prevents you from, um, asking a retailer to price it at a certain price, you know, retail price. So yeah, you could look that up. Your, your, um, listeners can look that up.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:22:51

I guess that does make sense because what you wouldn't want is, let's use the Boots example, is for you to sell your product in at Boots and say, well, you have to sell it 18 pounds and then go to Holland and Barrett and say, well, actually you can sell it 16 pounds.

Ami Rabheru: 00:23:02

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:23:03

I suppose. Is that what that's set up to prevent?

Ami Rabheru: 00:23:06

Yeah, it's, it's, it's just, yeah, exactly. So, um, it, it's competition law. It's exactly what it sounds like, and it's to prevent, um, you know, uh, people clubbing together and deciding what they want to retail a product for. Uh, and you see the, you know, with big brands, you see this example all the time. So Nike trainers, for example, you, you'll go onto, you'll google them and you'll see them priced at different prices, at different retail outlets. Um, and, and, and that's, and that's, and that's what it is really. You can, you, you, you can't tell anybody what to retail the, the products at.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:23:38

That's really interesting. Thank you, I've learnt something else new today.

Ami Rabheru: 00:23:42

Every day is a learning day.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:23:43

It's, um, I've never even thought about that. That's really good to know. It does make a lot of sense. Yeah. Um, and I suppose as well, when you're looking at retailers, I guess there's also an element of are your customers shopping at that retailer? Because I can see that there might be an appeal of, oh, I'm stocked in Selfridges, or whatever it is. But actually, if that's not somewhere where your customers. Because you should, I guess, have an idea of who your ideal customers are and where they shop. If they're not going to be there, then I guess pitching to into that particular retailer is, is pointless.

Ami Rabheru: 00:24:16

Yeah. And I think a lot of people do, um, you know, when they, when they're working with me, I find one of the first realizations that they have, uh, because we talk about place, placement of product a lot. Um, and, and we go through this whole sort of, uh, learning curve, where you belong in the market. And I think one of the realizations that, um, one of the light bulb moments that clients tend to have is actually, that retailer isn't for me. Um, and, and that's great. It's great that you recognize that early on because you don't want to mislead yourself. You don't want to build your high hopes up, um, and believe that you can get into a certain retailer when actually it's not looking like it, but actually this is. So, and that, and that's the whole thing, you know. You should sort of start when you, when you are doing wholesale, build your distribution strategy, um, make it realistic and really understand your market positioning is going to really help you to get out to the right retailers.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:25:14

That makes a lot of sense. Thank you. And funnily enough, I, I have the same thing with online channels. Sometimes I have someone come to me and they really want to get their products on Amazon, and I have to say, well, actually why? Because your customers are not there. They're here. Or, do you know what I mean?

Ami Rabheru: 00:25:29

Yeah, yeah.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:25:29

I think it's, and it's such a useful thing to know. I mean, it's obviously sometimes not a nice thing to find out, but I think it's genuinely so, so useful because you can't be everywhere, so you want to be in the places where your customers are and they're not everywhere.

Ami Rabheru: 00:25:43

Yeah, absolutely. Really important.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:25:46

So one, um, I guess it's kind of the final thing I'd love to talk about if that's okay Ami, is popup shops. Because, I mean, this is another way, I guess it's not really wholesale, but it's kind of another way of getting your shop, your products into a physical space.

Ami Rabheru: 00:26:00

Mm-hmm.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:26:01

Maybe trying out what they look like on a shelf. Um, so I would love to talk about, about those with you, if that's okay.

Ami Rabheru: 00:26:07

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:26:07

Um, le let's start with, um, well, do you believe that businesses, this is something businesses should consider? And, um, and, and if so, why?

Ami Rabheru: 00:26:17

Yeah, I absolutely do, because I think that every business needs an offline strategy. I think you can catapult your sales in so many ways. Um, it helps build your brand awareness quicker and, you know, within a community first. And we all know the power of face to face. There's nothing like getting stuck into your community and really starting from the ground up, building your community of loyal followers. And customers and connecting with them directly, because those are the ones that will be all over your social media and helping you to grow that too. Um, of course it helps in acquiring new customers as well. Um, and we all know, with being online businesses as well, but if you are just relying on digital channels or social media, you'll appreciate how hard it is bringing you potential customers into your world and then getting them to know, like, and trust your brand enough to then buy from you. And this could be the one thing that costs you time, money, and sanity. Uh, we all experience a pain of that on a daily basis as small businesses. So everyone, everyone needs an offline strategy as well. I totally believe that. Um, you know, it, it also helps you and you touched on this point, um, gaining valuable feedback in a physical presence. There's nothing like it. Um, there's nothing more valuable than watching how customers interact with your product. Um, you know, you're able to watch their body language and listen to why they might, you know, what they might be saying to others. Um, They might be shopping with, um, the questions that they might ask you, will underline what kind of objections that they might have with your product. Um, so it really, you can gain some really valuable insights and, and it will help you to then amend your offers, um, strategically, you know, according, according to the sort of feedback that you're getting. So, yeah, of course. Um, there's, there's lots of benefits to that, so I, I totally, totally believe. I love a pop-up shop.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:28:11

I do as well.

Ami Rabheru: 00:28:12

Yeah. Yeah. And you know, and you touched on this point as well, I think it really does help your case from your pitching to retailers because it shows that you've been able to test your products in a physical space. You've learned from them, you've learned the valuable lessons, um, that helps you nail your packaging, um, your product placement, you know what your product looks like on shelves and all of that kind of thing, than, than a pure play online brand would.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:28:35

Thank you. I mean, yeah, I'm a big fan of popup shops as a customer, but also when I was selling years ago, when I was selling my own products, I found that, and I think this will work for some products more than others, my products tended to sell so well when people could actually pick them up and feel them, and I sold baby products. They were so, so soft. Um, and it's a hard thing to convey online, but when people could actually pick them up and touch them and yeah, I, I always sold out on popup shops. Yeah. And I think it was for that reason, that, you know, people could actually see there were some things I think are very hard. You obviously, you can compare a lot online.

Ami Rabheru: 00:29:10

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:29:11

There's nothing quite like being able to, you know, you know what I mean? Pick something up and see the fabric and see the quality of it. And.

Ami Rabheru: 00:29:19

Us humans need to have that tactile experience with product, being able to physically touch and feel the products, um, and experience your brand. There's nothing like it. Um, despite, you know, lockdown in the last few years and a physical retailer is still stronger. Um, and, and I don't, that's never going to go away.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:29:39

And also pop-up shops, I believe, I don't know if I, I don't have any data to sort of prove this, but I do feel like they have become more popular over the last few years where there were like empty retail units. I mean, I've even seen local to me, quite a lot of them popping. Literally popping up, but then they pop down again. Um, so I can imagine they're not something that's going away either.

Ami Rabheru: 00:29:59

No, I, I love, you know, in small towns the way retail space is being used now for small businesses, I think it's great for them to be able to, you know, finally go into a retail space and have customers come to them and experience physical retail in that way. Um, so, you know, you find landlords are, are being more flexible and, um, you're finding there's a lot more collaboration going on so people are clubbing together to create kind of experiential retail, those kind of things. So yeah, there's loads of opportunities. It's not just a, a pop-up shop. It's, it, it, it literally can, you know, go, be so many different opportunities. There's so many different angles to it.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:30:37

Well, I'm sure you've convinced everyone Ami. Well, I didn't need much convincing, but.

Ami Rabheru: 00:30:41

It's my favorite subject.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:30:44

Oh, good. Um, because I do have another question, which is, um, if we have convinced people to, to go and try out a popup shop, I guess how, how do you do it well? Because I think there's a difference between having your products in a shop and really taking advantage of the opportunity that that presents. How would we do it? How would we do else? We get the best out of it?

Ami Rabheru: 00:31:03

Oh, I do love, do love pop. Honestly, Vicki, we can have a whole session on this and actually we probably should actually. Um, but if I was going to pick something to talk about, which I passionately believe will make or break a popup, it would be around planning your product. So this comes down to planning your stand. And what you are going to sell on the day. And you know, you've got to consider that it's likely to be a small space and you almost have to remerchandise the space and make some really tough decisions about what you're going to take and what you're going to leave behind. So my top tip is always, and you hear me speaking about this a lot, is less, is more. Don't try to take everything. Don't try to do everything. Otherwise you'll end up looking like a bit of a jumble sale, and not the lovely brand that you are and you want to promote. Um, So, yeah, really think about your product, its placement, and how you're going to display your product. Of course, I do caveat that a little because pop-up shops are also great place to shift stock, which isn't selling online. So don't hesitate to pull a little sale corner together. Um, just make sure it's clearly labeled with clear signage and really think about your branding, signage and display. I think that's one of the key things that differentiates you from other stands. Your branding, your signage and display. Um, because that's a thing that will attract customers to you, um, over your comp competitive stands.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:32:41

That makes so much sense. Thank you. And I'm guessing that a lot of this that you've said also would apply if you were doing, I don't know, market stores or other events.

Ami Rabheru: 00:32:50

Yeah.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:32:50

This is so valuable. Thank you. It's, this is really useful.

Ami Rabheru: 00:32:53

Yeah, no, it totally, you know, any event that you are doing, including trade shows actually, um, are so really, you know, always think about your product and always think about its placement.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:33:05

Thank you. And I guess for anyone, because I did an episode on trade shows a while back, and I guess if you know you're listening and you were thinking, oh, trade shows is something that I might like to try, it sounds like a popup shop might be a nice way of sort of testing things out, working out you know, what people like and how to display and it could be quite a nice entry point perhaps.

Ami Rabheru: 00:33:26

Yeah, I mean, it's a good, obviously popup shops tend to be more B 2 C, whereas trade shows are definitely, uh, a B 2 B opportunity. Um, but again, you know, testing your products with customers in a physical space is definitely lots of value in that.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:33:41

Thank you so much, Ami. Now, um, we could obviously talk about popup shops all morning, but we won't. Um, but I might get you back for another episode just on that because I think that would be so useful. And as I say, I do think that they, they're not, you know, they're not going away. And, um, in fact, as I said, more, more seem to be popping up. Um, In said, let's finish with your number one piece of advice for anyone wanting to sell their product into retailers. And you've shared such a lot, so I know this is going to be hard to distill, but, um, what's your top tip for us?

Ami Rabheru: 00:34:11

Yeah, my top, top tip, gosh, shared, shared lots, haven't we? Um, it would be really around approaching wholesale with some strategy behind what you're doing. And I, and I use the example, you know, when you are investing time, effort, money, into any area of your business, no matter what it is, um, you don't usually do it without a strategy behind it. And I see lots of businesses dive into wholesale with the somewhat scatter gun approach, or they decide to suddenly book a stand at an industry trade show, which is a huge expense by the way. They simply cross their fingers and hope for the best. So my point is, I think, I suppose my final point is that it's no good having a product that's retail ready when your business isn't retail ready. It's a scary thought. Um, I do see, and you suggested this as well, that businesses, if they don't do it the right way, they can start and fail quickly because they just don't have strategy in place with what comes next. Um, and you know, when you have a strategy in place, no matter what, what you're doing. You set goals, you set goals for yourself, you set goals for your business, you have accountability, and you are more likely to make it happen.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:35:26

Thank you so much, Ami. That's all been so useful. Thank you so much for your time.

Ami Rabheru: 00:35:33

You're very welcome and thank you so much Vicki for having me.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:35:37

Oh, you're welcome. And I will link, um, to your website in, in the show notes for the episode. If anyone wants to hear more about you, what you do, about your course, they can go over and find you.

Ami Rabheru: 00:35:46

Lovely, thank you much.

Vicki Weinberg: 00:35:48

Thank you. Thank you so much for listening right to the end of this episode. Do remember that you can get the full back catalogues and lots of free resources on my website, vicki weinberg.com. Please do remember to rate and review this episode if you've enjoyed it, and also share it with a friend who you think might find it useful. Thank you again and see you next week.