The Road to Sell-Out: How Multi-Brand Distributors Win at the Point-of-Sale
Jan, CEO
Oct 3, 2024
As a multi-brand distributor, you’re likely managing over 5+ brands across hundreds - even thousands of retail doors.
The challenge is clear: marketing dollars are getting more expensive. Distributors and agents are expected to do more with less.
How do you align multiple up-and-downstream partners, each with unique demands, and still create amazing in-store experiences for your brands - that drive sell-out?
In this article, I'll share some of the best practices I learned consulting distributors through my 25 years working at global brands and retailers.
Why Specialty Retail Needs a Shake-Up
The retail landscape is evolving fast.
Traditional marketing tactics just aren't enough anymore. This is especially true in niche segments like tennis, padel, swimming, and skiing.
Today’s consumers are prepared. They arrive at stores with research done and nuanced questions in mind.
If your retail partners aren't ready to meet these expectations, you lose.
To win, multi-brand distributors must be more than suppliers of brands and products. You need to empower and enable your retail partners.
Think beyond transactions. Imagine if every retail employee became a passionate brand ambassador.
What if your brands' product stories were as well-known as your retailers' store management guide?
Upskilling and Enablement Is Your Secret Weapon
Upskilling and enablement are often overlooked. But it’s a major opportunity.
Store associates don’t just need to know what’s on the shelves. They need to know the stories behind the products. The athletes that use them and the why.
They need to understand the cutting-edge technology. They need to know why these products will make a difference in their customers’ lives.
Training retail staff isn’t optional anymore. It’s your new marketing strategy.
However, traditional in-field training methods are costly and inefficient at scale. As you support more stores, reaching and upskilling retailers becomes increasingly challenging.
Digital tools make training scalable. They ensure that every staff member, regardless of location, gets consistent, high-quality education. That in turn means that every customer, regardless of location, gets consistent, high-quality brand experiences.
It creates loyal customers from the start.
If you elevate your retailer upskilling and enablement to this level, you turn stores into engines for brand advocacy.
This is crucial for specialty brands that thrive on knowledgeable recommendations.
Winning with Digital Retail Activation
Digital retail activation changes everything.
It’s about making your field force work smarter, not harder. At scale.
Smart, simple digital tools are key. They empower your retail partners.
Think brand guidelines. Trainings that are accessible anytime, anywhere. Checklists and campaign plans that make execution easy. These are the essentials to empower retail teams.
Give retail staff a step-by-step campaign plan, so you ensure they launch a new product on-brand and on-time.
Equip them with an engaging and interactive product training so they can confidently speak about features and benefits.
The result? Consistency. Efficiency. Retail staff that become brand advocates.
Digital tools build trust. They ensure every customer has a consistent, high-quality experience, no matter where they are.
It's about effective retail activation at scale. Without the reliance on being physically present in every store. Digital tools connect you to the front line so you can ensure your brands look and sell well at the point-of-sale.
The Challenge of Getting Digital Tools to Store Staff
Now you've got a digital tool in your hands. Great.
But, getting digital tools into the hands of store staff isn’t quite as easy.
You’re dealing with multiple retailers. Different systems. Different priorities. It’s a complex web.
Some retailers are tech-savvy and ready to go. Others? Not so much. Fragmented systems can mean some stores are fully equipped while others struggle with basic compatibility.
The solution? A retail activation tool like Atobi that is versatile, easy to integrate, and accessible across platforms. Atobi ensures that regardless of the retailer’s systems, your campaigns and content are delivered in a simple, compatible format, accessible through the systems they use everyday.
Make training simple. Work closely with each retailer. Understand their setup. Tailor your approach.
That’s how you ensure everyone is on board. That’s how you drive widespread adoption and success.
Build Value at Every Step
Unlike brands rushing to direct-to-consumer, smart multi-brand distributors invest in retail relationships.
They aren’t trying to bypass partners. They’re investing in them.
They provide marketing assets, financial support, and training to help retailers tell compelling stories.
The result? Retailers who are motivated, well-trained, and dedicated to selling your products.
Make retail partners part of the brand journey. Retail isn’t just a sales channel. It’s a core part of your brand’s growth story. Of your growth story!
The Game-Changer: A Retail Activation Platform
Managing over 10 brands across thousands of doors isn’t just about relationships. You need the right levers.
Enter: the retail activation platform.
Here’s why it’s a game-changer:
Centralized Content and Training: One hub where all retailers can access the latest training, brand and visual guidelines, and marketing assets — anytime, anywhere.
Retail Staff Engagement: Platforms can include gamification — quizzes, challenges, leaderboards — to keep staff engaged. Turn them into advocates who are excited to sell your products.
Real-Time Performance Tracking: What’s working? Where can you improve? Data-driven insights let you adjust on the fly, giving you a leg up on competitors.
Seamless Communication: Keep retail partners in the loop. Real-time updates ensure every store knows about new promotions, launches, or changes without delay.
A retail activation platform isn’t just a management tool. It’s a competitive advantage.
It transforms product info, campaigns and brand guidelines into concrete actions and converts those actions into better sell-out.
Takeaways for Success
Whether you’re managing two brands or a dozen, success as a multi-brand distributor means empowering those who sell your products.
Here’s how:
Deepen Retailer Collaboration: Retailers can’t perform without guidance. Provide them with the right digital tools, like Atobi's retail activation platform, so you can reach and engage your partners at scale.
Turn Retail Staff into Brand Ambassadors: Training is an investment. Make it scalable with digital tools. Equip retail associates with Atobi’s interactive training to confidently sell your brands' products.
Activate Digitally at Scale: Use Atobi’s digital tools for trainings, guidelines, checklists, and campaign plans to ensure retail staff are aligned and informed—no matter where they are.
Leverage Real-Time Data and Insights: Track and measure your retailers’ performance in real-time, so you can take action on campaigns and retailers that are at-risk, and reward top-performers.
Create Demand Before Going Direct: Build brand recognition through retail partnerships first. Use effective in-store execution to drive demand before pursuing direct-to-consumer channels.
Succeed with these 5 points - and the light at the end of the tunnel is on-brand customer experiences, scalability and sell-out, three of a multi-brand distributors’ highest strategic priorities.
It’s about creating better experiences. It’s making sure every in-store interaction adds value.
The best results come when those who sell your products feel like they’re part of the journey, and are supported every step of the way.
