hi, couple questions here. I am in the military and i am about to get out, some questions. i am starting a business, basically i will be manufacturing products spefically for souvenir shops such as Christian stores and tourist shops, like in florida. question is this, how do i market my product{s} to them...do i call them and talk or do most of them go through distributors? and on my products, how do i contact business, anything from infinity ward, playstation, us air force/dod, nfl, etc. to use their logos and such/ thanks for your help!
I under stand that, and appreciate the response, but i am not asking how to pitch the product , i am simply asking where they already get their products from? if i am the owner of , um, abc gifts or something, where do i get my stuff from normally?
Start with a catalog of products. Call/visit them to show them the stuffs. Distributors are additional channels you can explore. Also, make those info available on the Internet.
There's no set answer as to where souvenir shops get their products from - it's usually a mix of distributors and some smaller companies that they deal with directly - if you've got new and original products your best approach is to make an appointment with their buyer and show him/her what you've got. The logos thing - to get permission from people like playstation to use their logo you'll looking at really expensive licencing deals.
You are covering a lot of different issues and really no simple answer as stated. The supply issue is simple and complex. Obviously a retailer goes up the food chain to either a subwholesaler or a wholesale. There are a variety of companies out there that are the supplier for various retail shops and catalog retailers. Ever heard of SMC(Specialty Merchandise Corporation) One of the largest import/export wholesale/subswhole agencies. Do some research on the web--you will find the sources but be prepared to pay for the memberships into their organizations for the priviledge of buying wholesale as well as the possibility of having to buy quantity. Second issue of how to approach a manufacturer to use their logos/media material is kinda as has already been said--expensive. You might however try the angle of developing a reseller or affiliate partnership with the agencies you are looking to rep(use the media/sales material)from. The homepages of many of these businesses will have a link to join such a program--Something else you need to look for is reference to Private Label programs which means our product--Your company name(Some of this carries the brand logos still)
What's your Site URL? Maybe you like to put an ad on our laser pointer online store. Many of our visitors are from army troops
I think part of the question he was asking was about licensing issues as well. You can get licenses to use logos and such on your product through clearing houses easily findable on google. After that, most mom & pops order from the same catalogs - you have a better chance of getting their attention and $$$ by making a great first impression - in person - and then following through with superior service and them trusting you to make things right if they have any problems with your products.
Try starting with an Internet site. And make sure that you've thoroughly tested and had independent tests done on the safety of any body products you manufacture and sell to the public.