thanks samanthajane
so do you mean i need to approach each individual centra store and ask would they stock the pack or could i approach the centra purchasing manager and they would then distribute the pack to all the different stores.
It's going to depend on the store it's self. You will need to find out the status of each shop. From my experience of working in the retail trade some 'spar's, centra's' are owned by individuals, they take the 'spar, centra' because the name is already out there. I once worked for a guy who turned his business into a centra. Their team came out and did the whole layout. He had to stock a certain percentage of their goods. The rest of the stock was up to him what would make him profit. Smokes dont have a huge mark up....but because of the volume you sell it makes it worth it's while.
I remember a card rep coming in about us stocking there range in greeting cards. Cant remember the name but it wasn't a big company that i had heard of. I dont know what was said or agreed but a few weeks later the guy came back with a stand and a load of cards. Every few months you'd see him re-stocking and re-arranging cards ( what ever time of year it was )
Then my grand parents had their own newsagents, no links or ties to anyone so they could pretty much do what ever they wanted. I think these would be the best to approach at first, non named shops.
There would be no conflict of interest(they do not have there own brand)
Actually the pack itself is not the product either its just a possible channel of selling my product (Think of it on the lines of insurance/membership in a box).
So what would the steps be:
Design my pack
Really you should already have all the designs ready to show potential customers
Arrange a meeting with a purchasing manager
Ask would they distribute the pack to the stores
You really are a long way off this.....i highly doubt any large chain stores would even have a meeting with you about this. And thats after 100's of calls of trying to get through to the right person. If it was all this easy everyone would be doing it. You need to start of small. Local shops that are run by the owners....at least you have a higher chance of talking to someone in authority that can make these decision. Then you can think about going larger and you will have numbers and reports of how well your business is going. If you can prove that your product in a small shop had produced 'x' amount of profit, then for a bigger stores that would have more turn over they could make 'x' amount. Managers in largers stores also get bonuses, if they meet their targets.
How do i go about getting the bar code on the pack so that it scans
Starting off you wouldn't need to worry to much about this, as it's not needed. In many cases it can just be rung in under the correct department, or some places would have PLU codes for items that dont scan. If you do get that far then you can explore that later, i dont know how to go about getting a bar code. All i know is when a new product comes in you have to input it onto the computer with the price and thats about it, so when it's scanned the information comes up. When a product doesn't scan it's because some dozy idiot forgot to do it, or no one had told that person and it put on the shelves when they wern't there, and then your left running around trying to find a price for it, give up and either over charge or under charge for it!!!!
More questions to follow - just exploring the idea
Thanks
qosimo