How to Get Product into Ascena Retail Group Inc.
This apparel and accessories retailer is a leading national specialty retailer offering apparel, shoes, and accessories for women under the Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lou & Grey, Lane Bryant, Maurices, Dress Barn and Catherines brands, and for Tween girls under the Justice brand. Ascena retail group, Inc. operates ecommerce websites and over 4,800 stores throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The retailer’s market offerings include majorly women’s clothing products (district stores for young women and older women).
The retailer states that: “Every action we take is shaped by a relentless commitment to exceeding our customers’ expectations. We approach our work with a customer-first mindset. After all, where would we be without HER? Whether the customers we interact with each day are external or internal, we strive to nurture strong, sustainable and collaborative relationships.”
To show its attentiveness to time and trends, the retailer further noted that: “Retail moves fast and is constantly reinventing itself. We need to be creative, scrappy and agile to stay in front of our competitors and meet our customers’ evolving expectations. These innovative ideas can come from anywhere, and they’re critical to moving our business forward.”
It is noteworthy that Chairman Elliot Jaffe and his wife and co-founder, Roslyn own about 25% of Ascena. The company is a publicly traded company.
It is important to note that as a vendor your market offerings must be different. There should be a unique selling point – something that distinguishes you from the others. If you don’t have one at the moment, look at what you offer in products and services and see how you can make it better. It could be a payment service, or the large varieties you present, or the extra-special freshness of what you offer. Just do something differently.
As the retail offerings of this retailer are quite large, there is room for a lot of products to be supplied. If your products are quite popular in the local market, it will be easy for you to easily pitch to this retailer. You have to bring your product to top quality to help you with the pitch of the product. More, you have to ensure that your products conform to regulatory standards.
There is room for a lot of products in the retail outlets of this retailer. Local industries are also considered as this retailer prides itself as being a member of the community and thus, there is support for local business. However, local businesses must conform to regulatory standards to make the product one that the retailer would consider.
This is one of the innovative fashion brands in the United States. It has built a brand that has lasted since 1962 and this has continued to grow steadily.
Submit Your Product to Ascena Retail Group Foods
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How to get your product into Ascena Retail Group Inc.
- 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
Contact Ascena Retail Group Inc. Buyer
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 Ascena Retail Group Inc.
There are several ways to get a product placed in Ascena Retail Group Inc. 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 Ascena Retail Group Inc., 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 Ascena Retail Group Inc.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to Ascena Retail Group Inc., 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 Ascena Retail Group Inc. would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with Ascena Retail Group Inc., can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to Ascena Retail Group Inc., 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 Ascena Retail Group Inc.? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check Ascena Retail Group Inc. 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. Big box retailers like Ascena Retail Group Inc. 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 Ascena Retail Group Inc. is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and Ascena Retail Group Inc. starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If Ascena Retail Group Inc. already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local Ascena Retail Group Inc. 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 Ascena Retail Group Inc.
If your company is minority or women owned, check Ascena Retail Group Inc. website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to Ascena Retail Group Inc.) Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to Ascena Retail Group Inc. 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 Ascena Retail Group Inc., 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 Ascena Retail Group Inc. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to Ascena Retail Group Inc.
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 Ascena Retail Group Inc. broker, please give us a call for a recommendation. It could save you a huge headache and a lot of money.
5. Complete the required Ascena Retail Group Inc. paperwork.) Often Ascena Retail Group Inc. will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by Ascena Retail Group Inc., you should contact a buyer at Ascena Retail Group Inc. 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 Ascena Retail Group Inc. 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, Ascena Retail Group Inc. 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 Ascena Retail Group Inc., 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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