How To Get Into 99 Cents Only
- Understand you client: Before you spend a lot of time and money creating a product, you should know if anyone will want to buy it. Learn more about Market Research
- Learn if it’s protectable: Know if you can defend your product against cheap copies if it gets knocked off. Learn more about Copyright and Patent your product
- Test your product: Make sure that there’s a demand for your product and the customer understands what you are selling when it’s on the shelf and nobody is there to explain it. Learn more about Product Testing
- Perfect your pitch: Before you speak to decision makers, know your numbers, know your retailer and know your logistics in and out. Learn more about Pitching Your Product
- Don’t do it alone: If you haven’t been successful in retail before, a secret of success is that you can’t do it alone. Having great sales staff, customer support and marketing partners can take you from zero to success faster than if you tried on your own. Learn more about Retail Partnerships
How To Get Into 99 Cents Only
This is one of the well established discount stores in the United States. 99 Cents Only Stores is an American price-point retailer chain based in Commerce, California. Prior to 2008, the company offered its products at 99 cents or less. Most products are now priced at “99.99¢ or less, but certain products are sold at higher price points.” Founded by Dave Gold in 1982, there are stores are located in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, and Texas. The company also operates Bargain Wholesale, which sells wholesale to retailers across the United States and exports to more than 15 countries from showrooms in Los Angeles. It also exhibits at trade shows in Las Vegas and Chicago.
As a manufacturer or a distributor looking at getting your products on the shelves at 99 Cents Only, you need to understand that this is a discounter with high market reputation and thus take measures to ascertain that they get quality. To get your products into this store, you need to get on the RangeMe platform as the buyers of the company use the platform to source new products. You can create a free profile and submit to 99 Cents Only Stores.
In compliance to ethical and sustainable business practices, 99 Cents Only Stores has it on the requirement that vendor should comply with. It states that: “It is Purchaser’s policy not to purchase products manufactured using exploitive or unfair labor practices, such as forced labor, abusive labor practices, or child labor. Neither will Purchaser buy merchandise made as a result of any practices that are illegal in the place at which the products being offered are manufactured. By signing or shipping under 99 Cents’ PO, Seller attests to the fact that after a diligent inquiry, Seller has ascertained that no product that is the subject of this Purchase Order has been manufactured using any such forced, involuntary, exploitive, or unfair labor practices.”
It is to be noted that due to the nature of the company’s pricing policy, the largely closeout nature of much of the Company’s merchandise, and the ever-changing nature and composition of the merchandise it purchases and offers for sale, some of its employees are sent to factories to ascertain compliance and quality of products. The company does much of direct purchase from factories and as a supplier, you should be looking at matching pricing standards. More information on their pricing policy is on the company’s website.
The supermarket business in the United States is one that tries to connect with the individual customer. This means, the supermarkets try to address the needs and interests of individual customers. This is by offering local, international, and metropolitan products. Thus, as a vendor, you should be looking at getting varieties to the retailer.
Being a vendor may require some form of distinctiveness from other suppliers. Look at your products and see what you are offering differently. If not different, go back to the drawing board and see how you can rebrand or bring out a distinction.
Contact 99 Cents Only
Do not trust any “list” of buyers.
Typically retail buyers change either companies or positions every few years. This strategy helps retailers know that their buyers are not taking “kick-backs” and are selecting the very best product for the very best position each time.
Buyers are typically held to a very rigorous standard of sell-through volume that they must hit and because of this they are risk averse. Your job as a supplier or vendor is to convince them that the buyers going into the stores not only know about what you’re selling but are actively seeking the product in the store currently.
How to Submit a Product to 99 Cents Only
There are several ways to get a product placed in 99 Cents Only. However, most entrepreneurs only dream about getting their product distributed to major retailers, few actually do it. We have experienced a significant rise in interest since the show Shark Tank started airing on NBC. Mr. Checkout has had the pleasure of working with a few Shark Tank success stories such as KISStixx and 180 Party Cups which are now currently being distributed around the country to stores like Walmart, Target, Kroger, 7-Eleven and more.
If you envision your product would be a good fit for 99 Cents Only, we have a few steps to help you get your product on their shelves.
Here are the 6 steps you need to take to have your product placed in 99 Cents Only.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to 99 Cents Only, you need to ask yourself a few basic questions. Do you need to build demand for your product, or is there already a demand for it? Do you know that 99 Cents Only would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with 99 Cents Only, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to 99 Cents Only, or do you want to license your product to a manufacturer that will handle distribution?
2. Be prepared to profit.) Does your product offer enough of a profit margin for 99 Cents Only? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check 99 Cents Only guidelines for other fees that you will have to build into the cost of your product in order for you to be able to turn enough of a profit to make the effort worth your while. If you work with a discount retailer, they will try to strip your profits down to zero in order to keep their prices as low as possible.
The typical breakdown of margins are: If a products costs $1 to produce, that product will retail for $4. That product that retails for $4 will wholesale for $2 to distributors and stores that purchase direct. Retailers like 99 Cents Only = may offer to pay $1.25 to the manufacturer if the product costs $1 to produce. That is the typical profit margin.
3. Determine if is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and 99 Cents Only starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If 99 Cents Only already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local 99 Cents Only to see what kind of products they are selling, speak to the manager and see if he thinks your product will sell well in their store. Picture in which zone your product would best fit on the shelf and keep in mind that the most precious asset that these big box stores value are their shelf space. Keep this information in mind when you are preparing your presentation to 99 Cents Only.
If your company is minority or women owned, check 99 Cents Only website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to 99 Cents Only. Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to 99 Cents Only. Your presentation depends heavily on your strengths as a businessperson as they will most likely ask financial questions and logistics questions.
It’s common for companies to hire a broker to pitch their product to 99 Cents Only, as it will be more likely that your product will make it to the next stage if the individual pitching your product has industry knowledge or a personal relationship with 99 Cents Only. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product too 99 Cents Only.
We at Mr. Checkout have experience dealing with brokers and know that there are several retail brokers that have poor business practices that can potentially damage your brand. If you are seeking a legitimate 99 Cents Only, please give us a call for a recommendation. It could save you a huge headache and a lot of money.
5. Complete the required 99 Cents Only paperwork. Often 99 Cents Only will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by 99 Cents Only, you should contact a buyer at 99 Cents Only and let them know your intentions. Having a contact inside of the company will potentially move your application more smoothly through the process.
6. Anticipate the need for increased volume.) Having 99 Cents Only agree to stock your product will most likely mean a significant increase in volume. You should be prepared to ramp up your production and informing your manufacturer of this opportunity.
Having production, logistics and distribution to sync is not only difficult, it requires a significant amount of time invested in customer relations. Also, 99 Cents Only may have stipulations in the contract that may penalize you for delays in shipping and production. Have an attorney explain all contracts to you if you don’t understand the terms.
If you’re looking to sell your product to 99 Cents Only, be sure to thoroughly assess the marketplace, carefully prepare for production growth, and take full advantage of resources available to help you grow your business.
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