It seems everyone has to look for someone to blame for what they see as a bad decision. Since Eric is the man that's supposed to make things happen, he naturally becomes the target. I believe if you look at all that has transpired over the past couple of years from a business prespective it's easy to understand why it has been such a struggle to land the large accounts. I'm not making excuses for the slow growth periods, but i'm just explaining the causes. They actually have very little to do with Eric, the company, or the product, and much more to do with the dtruggling US economy, and enough DD and blogs have been posted to confirm it.
Ant has posted numerous research articles on this board that many people felt were off topic. He has posted DD on Walmart, Lowes, home Depot, and other large accounts Winning Brands has been working with. Many of those articles relate to internal management changes within these retailers. This becomes troublesome for new vendors seeking product placement when these events take place. I believe many of the struggles to attain shelf space is a result of the following situations.
In a weak economy most retailers become much more selective when it comes to granting shelf space for new products. National Buyers aren't willing to put their necks on the line by stocking shelves with products that may not move at a desired rate. This means the new vendors have to spend more time rubbing elbows and jumping through hoops to prove their worth to the national buyers and upper management. If the acceptance process takes too long it could create problems for the hopeful vendors, because most businesses are looking for ways to trim the fat during these hard times, and the possibility these retailers will shuffle the deck (make upper management changes) prior to the new vendors closing the deal becomes a much greater possibility. This doesn't necessairly mean you start from zero again, but it means a new player has entered the game that has to won over to our side. Ant has posted numerous articles related to management changes in these retailers, and Eric has blogged about this situation in the past as well. The answer to these struggles could be in hand right now in the name of Do-it-Best.
This account could potentially be the spring board to US product awareness from coast to coast. We have had some Do-it-best retailers carrying our product for quite some time now, and this boads well for others accepting it as well. If sales are satisfactory through this retail chain it will certainly break down the barrier for other large US retailers. The national buyers won't have the pressure of being the "first" large account to take on the new product. They will have sales data available to show the validity of stocking the product. Then it will put 1000+ in the catagory it deserves.
I'm not saying the economy will need to improve for the largest US retailers to stock the product, but I believe it's the root of problem for not being granted shelf space thus far. Once the product becomes known, and generates confidence from the national buyers it will be game on regardless of the economic situation.
AI
