How To Get Into Great Valu Market
A locally owned and operated retail chain, Great Valu is a group of independently owned and operated grocery stores located throughout the Mid-Atlantic. The store prides itself as an entity that belongs to the community where it is located. For instance, it is boldly stated on the company’s website that: “We have joined forces to improve our buying power and lower costs to you, but our owners are each a part of their individual communities. They live in your neighborhood…shop and go to school with you. They understand who you are and what you need! Because we are independently owned and operated, we can serve you better than national chain stores and we work hard to offer you the best values, the freshest produce and the finest meats.”
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. You can get spices, meat, wine, food, and so many other food products from this type of store.
The customer is the best judge of a retailer. To be true to this, customers have aired their opinions about the store online. A customer noted on yelp.com that:“Love the friendly atmosphere and staff here! I forgot my debit card today but didn’t realize it until I was in the checkout line. They allowed me to leave with my groceries and come back later with my receipt to pay. Also, worth noting that they have an impressive selection of organic and local produce (better quality than the Crozet Harris Teeter.) Grateful to have a grocery store in Crozet that really cares about their customers!”
Another customer noted that: “This is my go to store in Crozet. I can’t get all my groceries here, but I love that they have local bread, local eggs, and are starting to carry more local meats. They also have a great selection of local beer!
The service is friendly as ever. I love the small town feel. They’ve helped me carry out groceries when I have my baby with me.
Definitely a great little store!”
A customer also noted that: “Great neighborhood grocery. And it’s expanded to add more variety. The meat and produce are first rate and they are expanding the fish selections as well. And what’s equally nice is how they offer a wide array of locally produced items like cakes and breads. There really isn’t much one might need that isn’t available at the Great Value. Prices are usually lower than the big chains and the folks who work at the grocery are incredibly friendly and helpful. Where else can you have someone bag you’re groceries AND take them to your car too boot!! “Great” to have Great Value in the neighborhood and even better to shop local.”
How to get your product into Great Valu Market
- 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 Great Valu Market 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 Great Valu Market
There are several ways to get a product placed in Great Valu Market. 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 Great Valu Market, 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 Great Valu Market.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to Great Valu Market, 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 Great Valu Market would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with Great Valu Market, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to Great Valu Market, 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 Great Valu Market? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check Great Valu Market 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 Great Valu Market 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 Great Valu Market is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and Great Valu Market starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If Great Valu Market already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local Great Valu Market 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 Great Valu Market.
If your company is minority or women owned, check Great Valu Market website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to Great Valu Market.) Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to Great Valu Market. 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 Great Valu Market, 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 Great Valu Market. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to Great Valu Market.
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 Great Valu Market 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 Great Valu Market paperwork.) Often Great Valu Market will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by Great Valu Market, you should contact a buyer at Great Valu Market 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 Great Valu Market 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, Great Valu Market 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 Great Valu Market, 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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