Small businesses and supermarket distribution

Many thanks to Penny Brooks for suggesting a link to a fantastic piece on small businesses on the BBC web site…

The article looks at how three small businesses have managed to grow their sales by achieving product listings with major supermarket groups - the “holy grail” for many consumer product businesses.

The key requirements seem to be:

(1) a good product (absolutely essential)
(2) persistence - not being put off by rejection
(3) being able to contact the right buyer - supermarkets delegate product selections to category buyers
(4) a good price (for the supermarket) but which generates an acceptable profit margin
(5) a clearly defined target customer
(6) reliable logistics (operations) that mean the supermarkets can be stocked
(7) lots of luck

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Revision Presentation - Marketing Mix: Introduction to Products & Brands [17 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Measuring and Increasing Profit [17 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Calculating and Measuring Profit [13 May 2012]
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CSR - What is “Creating Shared Value”? [16 Feb 2011]
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Michael Porter - Shared Value and the Limitations of CSR [15 Feb 2011]
CSR - The Classic Milton Friedman Clip [5 Feb 2011]
CSR - keeping a CCTV eye on suppliers [4 Feb 2011]
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Dominos Pizza - Growth & Strategy (Part 2) - Innovation, Service and Smart Operations [26 Nov 2010]
Dominos Pizza - Growth & Strategy (Part 1) - Driving Competitive Advantage [26 Nov 2010]
Segmentation & Pricing - the Ice-Cream Price Pyramid [17 Nov 2010]
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Profits up at Amazon - but so are costs [22 Oct 2010]
Making the FT Brand Sweat! [19 Oct 2010]
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Lessons from the business model of King & Allen [13 Jul 2010]
Profit seeking paradoxes in an oblique world [15 May 2010]
The dangers of focus on one product [9 May 2010]
Retrenchment at the BBC [26 Feb 2010]
The Museum of Brands - well worth a visit [14 Feb 2010]
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Revision Presentation - Profit and Cash [30 Jan 2010]
Revision Presentation - Improving Profit [30 Jan 2010]
External influences - supermarkets reducing promotions on alcohol [23 Jan 2010]
Product, pricing and profitability in a changing market [20 Jan 2010]
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