Retail Consulting for Amazon & DTC Brands

Amazon and DTC Brand
Go-To-Market in Retail Stores

Grow beyond eCommerce

We help successful Amazon and DTC brands break into retail by supporting them A to Z, from market research through purchase orders.

$100M+ in Retail Sales

Michael has more than 10 years of management experience selling in retail.

Brands Taken From 0 to Retail

Michael has taken dozens of brands to retail and worked dozens more.

Wide Category Experience

Pet, laundry, cleaning, outdoor, toys, electronics, frozen food, stationery, and more. We've worked on every major category.

Learn how to get your brand into retail stores

Book a free strategy call to review your brand, see if retail makes sense, and outline your go-to-market options.

  • ✓Insight into your retail viability
  • ✓Recommendations and what to avoid
  • ✓No obligation after
Book A Free Consultation

Your information is never shared or sold.

Lean on our wealth of experience

$100M+ in Retail Sales

Michael has more than 10 years of management experience selling in retail.

Brands Taken From 0 to Retail

Michael has taken dozens of brands to retail and worked dozens more.

Wide Category Experience

Pet, laundry, cleaning, outdoor, toys, electronics, frozen food, stationery, and more. We've worked on every major category.

Familiarity with Retailers

From Walmart and Costco to mom & pop shops and international importers. We have experience with partners big and small.

Network of Connections

We have relationships with buyers, reps, distributors, and vendors. Everyone you need to know in retail.

A Doer and an Advisor

We help you get on you feet in retail, but the relationship continues long after the contract ends.

See the Benefits of Working With Us

Guidance and Results

01

Revenue Growth

Successful retail roll-outs can add significant revenue within a year. Brands on the right track can double their revenue in as little as 5 years.

02

Margin Expansion

Retail placement brings brand recognition. That means more named search, better converting ads, and more opportunities to be where your customer shops.

03

Excellence in Brand Building

A retail campaign teaches operates as much or more about their brand and market as ecommerce channels. The systems you put in place to support omnichannel supercharge your brand.

04

Better Exits

Brands with retail placement average 1.5x-3.0x greater exit multiples vs. brands that are ecomm-only.

What our Clients Say

"We were spread too thin trying to chase too many opportunities and couldn't see the forest for the trees. Mike helped us see clearly where the best opportunity was so we could stop doing the work that wasn't bringing results and focus on where our (limited) time could make the most difference to the bottom line."
Julia TunstallCo-Founder, A Bar Above
“The training sessions we did with Mike made me feel more confident in the conversations with buyers. I felt much more in control of the conversation when I utilized the tactics he taught us. Mike helped Andrew and I learn that it’s definitely a strategic game when entering sales calls with buyers.”
Sammi EkmarkINK'D Greetings Co-Founder

Our Services

How We Help Our Clients

Whether you’re 100% committed to launching in retail, or just want to better understand the landscape, we have service plans designed for every stage of go-to-market process.

Brand and Market Audit

Brand and Market Audit

For brands interested in retail channel, but don’t know where to start, we perform a full audit of your brand’s assets and the category competition currently in the market. With this data, we then build an outline for the fastest and most cost effective path to retail: Which retailers to target, how to approach them, and how to position your product-market fit. Brands can use this information to begin their retail journey, or work with us to execute the vision.

Sales Infrastructure Build Out

Sales Infrastructure Build Out

Our Sales Infrastructure Build Out is offered to brands looking to grow their business in the Independent retail channel. We help our clients develop a strategy and budget to profitably grow in their category, then implement or improve their CRM and related automations to maximize efficiency and scale. We then train or hire your sales team to hyper charge retail growth.

Retail Brand Conversion

Retail Brand Conversion

For the brands that want to go big– chasing big box retailers as well as the mom & pops, we develop a program to take you from 0 to 1 with retail capabilities. This process gets brands ready to pitch retailers, fulfill orders, and sustainably build the retail arm of their business while keeping costs down and upside high.

Fractional VP of Sales and Marketing

Fractional VP of Sales and Marketing

We work hands-on with our clients, functioning as an in-house member of the team. Guiding our clients through the decision-making process, we create a roadmap for retail Go-To-Market strategy and then implement the processes, operational support systems, and sales campaigns that allow for rapid growth in the channel. This service includes full-time support, plus active participation in direct sales outreach to retail buyers and the on-boarding and management of partnerships with account brokers.

How it works

Ready to get started?

Working with us is easy. We start by understanding your brand, researching your market, then taking you step by step.

Introduction and Goal-Setting

Why are you curious about retail in the first place? Let's meet and see if it even makes sense for your brand. Your goals are the most important part of the planning process.

Engagement and Deep Research

We officially put together a project plan and dive in to understand the market and your best path to retail. You end up with a game plan tailored to your goals.

Execution and Growth

The plans meet reality as we get your systems in place, make sales to retailers, and train your team how to operate the channel long term.

Long Term Advisory and Support

We like to teach our clients how to fish, but that doesn't mean we go away. We help our partner brands over the long run through advisory, referrals, and M&A support for those that wish to exit.

Want to learn more?

Book a Free 1-Hour Consultation With Us

Chat with us to learn about or services or get some advice about taking your brand to retail. No obligations.

Book a Call

Frequently asked questions

FAQs

6 questions answered. Don't see yours? Book a call.

How Do I Know a Retail Strategy is Right for my Brand?

You don’t! Not every product or brand makes sense for an omni-channel strategy. Part of what we do is help you figure that. Where would it make sense to sell? At what price? Would you make money? How big is the market? How would that affect your digital offer? We help you answer all those questions before even beginning the process of selling into retail stores.

Isn't Retail Really Complicated?

Retail is not rocket science. It’s more like farming. All the steps are clear, but attention to detail and constant care and maintainence are what allow you to succeed. We teach our clients how to build their strategies and systems for long term, sustainable success.

Can't I Just Hire a Broker Rep?

You certainly can. If you have your packaging, pricing, promotional strategy, fulfillment logistics/3PL, marketing plan, merchandising budget, CRM/ERP, and sales pitch figured out, a broker rep is the logical next step. If you haven’t solved those other aspects of your business, you might want to get some help before racing to the Sales part of the process.

Won't Buyers Reject My Products Because I am Already on Amazon?

This was true ten years ago. Now, retail buyers know that Amazon is the best place to launch and test new products. A good Amazon standing gives you an edge when selling into retail because of your review credibility and scale.

Why Don't I Just Use my Connection and go Straight to Walmart?

If you don’t have experience with retail, starting with Walmart is like starting your first time exercising with Navy Seal training. You are likely to fail due to unknown unknowns, and, once you blow your chance with the big retailers, they don’t give you another one.

Why Would I Want More Costs for Lower Margins?

You wouldn’t. Luckily, physical retail tends to have higher contribution margins that digital retail. This is usually a result of the tremendous PPC spends required to remain relevant and competitive on Amazon and Shopify.

Who We Work With

Trusted by the partners who move brands to shelf

The agencies, brokers, and platforms I work alongside to get brands from first pitch to purchase order.

Partner
Shelfwise Analytics

Category and planogram data that shows buyers exactly where a brand fits on the shelf.

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Partner
Buyer Bridge Group

A national broker network that opens doors with regional and independent grocery chains.

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Partner
Retail Ready Co.

Compliance and packaging consultants who get brands audit-ready before the first buyer meeting.

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Get In Touch

Ready to get your brand on shelves?

Send a message and we'll follow up within one business day.