How To Get Into Mayfair Markets
Mayfair Markets runs supermarkets in South California, under the name Gelson’s. Gelson’s Markets operates as a chain of supermarkets that offers a range of food products and services. It provides products like wine and spirit, cheese, floral, deli and catering, living well (health), recipes, meat and seafood, produce, organic and sushi departments and the California community.
Gelson’s was founded in 1951 by two brothers; Bernard and Eugene Gelsons as an ordinary grocery shopping experience for discerning consumers. Gelson’s Markets is one of the nation’s top notch supermarket chains. Their store in California is singularly known as the area’s best market for superior products and exceptional services.
At Gelson’s, their mission is to make shopping anywhere else unacceptable for consumers who value high quality products, cleanliness, convenience, and personal service. For 68 years now, Gelson’s Markets has served Southern California shoppers with an enthusiasm for old at the highest quality. Their grocery experts create a selection of convenient items from around the world to perfectly fit their customer’s needs; and our chefs offer a full menu of sophisticated recipes.
The uniqueness and the innovativeness of Mayfair Market set it apart. It isn’t like the normal food chain where things are dull and not interesting, customers have enjoyed this food chain and they have written about it online. A customer noted on yelp.com that: “I went to Gelsons today in Hollywood for the first time this afternoon and David in the service deli was really helpful. He made me feel at home and I ended up buying more than I had planned on, he was very friendly and really knew what he was talking about. I’ll be back anytime I’m having a dinner party.”
To get the best online shopping experience with Mayfair markets, they provide varying methods from preferred orders to forms of payments, and from shipping and delivery to even cancellation and return policy. They supply gift basket orders, Gift Card orders, floral orders or inquiries and more.
For a distributor, this is an established store that can get your products to move as fast as possible. With the awesome varieties they offer and the established customer base, it can be easily deduced that there are customers already dedicated to what they sell. However, this is a big retailer and there is a high standard for the products they take and thus, it may not be that easy to push your products in there. This is why networking can be very useful.
On the local sourcing of food products, Mayfair Markets has been on the forefront of selling locally sourced food products and imported food items. Their wine, spice, and produce selection make them a leader in the retail and grocery business niche. This store has been in the business for years and has its established sourcing angles. Its constant support of local products has helped it cement its brand in the community as people can easily resonate with it.
How to get your product into Mayfair Markets
- 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 Mayfair Markets 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 Mayfair Markets
There are several ways to get a product placed in Mayfair Markets. 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 Mayfair Markets, 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 Mayfair Markets.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to Mayfair Markets, 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 Mayfair Markets would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with Mayfair Markets, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to Mayfair Markets, 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 Mayfair Markets? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check Mayfair Markets 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 Mayfair Markets 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 Mayfair Markets is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and Mayfair Markets starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If Mayfair Markets already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local Mayfair Markets 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 Mayfair Markets.
If your company is minority or women owned, check Mayfair Markets website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to Mayfair Markets.) Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to Mayfair Markets. 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 Mayfair Markets, 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 Mayfair Markets. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to Mayfair Markets.
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 Mayfair Markets 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 Mayfair Markets paperwork.) Often Mayfair Markets will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by Mayfair Markets, you should contact a buyer at Mayfair Markets 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 Mayfair Markets 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, Mayfair Markets 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 Mayfair Markets, 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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