Commerce Chronicles 008

Light reading ahead!

We’re going screengrab heavy for this edition of Commerce Chronicles. Why? Another week of a lot going on in our world of consumer commerce.

So I figured a roundup might be best to do all the news justice. Enjoy :)

In today’s email:

• DESIGNING FOR SHELF SPACE

• SCREENGRABS OF THE WEEK

• BRAND OF THE WEEK

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DESIGNING FOR SHELF SPACE

Got another Operators podcast nugget for us—designing for shelf space. For brands looking to make waves in retail, this is a potentially million-dollar tip.

In the episode, the Operator besties discuss deals they’ve done and learnings they’ve had from working with certain retail channels.

Here’s a roundup of quick advice:

• If you sell a SKU in a retailer that Amazon can scrape (and you also sell that SKU on Amazon), Amazon will sell your product for less.

• Wholesale is not a monolith. Jeremy from Kitsch mentions how their approach to selling in drug (read: pharmacies) differs from big box.

• You are losing money if your packaging is not efficient for shelf space. If a retailer gives you 3 dimensions to work with, optimize your packaging, and in some cases your product, to fit in as many sellable units possible in that space. This is similar logic to logistics math—if you’re not max’ing out how much product you’re shipping from one place to another (e.g. your co-man to your 3PL) you’re losing money.

• Retailers need to be unique. Target, Walmart, and especially Costco will not work with you if the products you’re offering them are also sold elsewhere. They need to compete with each other, so you’ll increase your chances of getting a deal by creating a custom SKU for them. Now, you don’t have to do this for every retailer, and you should of course do what makes sense for your business, but just remember that custom is compelling.

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BRAND OF THE WEEK—HAVEN ATHLETIC

Haven Athletic is now the official bag of the CrossFit Games!

CEO Caleb Ulffers takes us behind the scenes with their recently closed deal with CrossFit. If you’re unfamiliar with CrossFit—how?! Lol. Anyone who does CrossFit is essentially socially obligated to tell everyone and their mothers about their doing CrossFit. But I digress.

CrossFit is a category of exercise and training that has since become a global sensation. They’ve gained a cult-like following over the years, and have since even launched their own “CrossFit Games.” Which is basically like the Olympics.

CrossFit is one of the most well-known brands in the exercise and training space, which means this deal puts Haven Athletic at the forefront of building brand equity with CrossFitters. Just like NOBULL and Rogue Fitness drove a ton of their sales through their CrossFit partnerships, I believe Haven Athletic is poised to do the same.

We have an interview coming up with Caleb himself, so ask your questions below!