Why Us?

This post is reflsctive of a meeting I had this morning with someone trying to launch a product line into Major Bricks and Mortar Retail.
They are a distibutor of products that has many competitors and is mostly generic, commodity products.
The President of the comapny which is stuck at $22 Million in sales wants instant success without doing much. He feels he knows everything there is to know and it is the sales people's fault for not selling "The Big Guys".
What he does not realize is "The Big Guys" don't need him or hos product line.
What I suggested to the person I was meeting with is to come up with "differentiators" that make his company special.
These would and could include:
1) Smaller packaging which is a sustainability plus
2) Color coded consumer friendly packaging so what is being looked for is easily found and choices easily made
3) Licensing and unique exclusive designs where that is appilcable within the product line.
4) Smaller pack sizes to maximize inventory turns as well as exposure when product changes are required.
The product line is evoling on a daily/weekly/monthly basis so inventory exposure for all concerned is of major import.
5) Regionalize the assortments to take advantage of taste and fashion differences that exist in New York versus California versus Kansas.
All of this will allow you and the retailer to make more money on "The Fashion" products and be more than competitive on the commodity portion of the line.
The point is when developing a product line that is commodity based you need to "de-commoditze" the line where you can and that should get you an audience with "The Big Guys".