Featured Buyer Profile: “Convince me you’re not just a great design…but that you also have a solid grasp of business”

Buyerly Babble will regularly feature one of the retail buyers in the Buyerly network to give an inside peek into the mind of a buyer.  We think you’ll enjoy getting to know their personalities and what makes them tick…as well as their impressive retail experience!

We’ll also feature Retailer (Store) Profiles in future postings!

Buyer ID:  805

Retail experience (years): 10

Retailer experience: Target, May Department Stores, eCommerce

Primary decision-making authority:  Yes.

Product Category experience:  Domestic goods, fashion accessories, consumer electronics and entertainment.

Favorite color:   crimson

Favorite print/pattern: horizontal stripes

Who would you give the Product of the Year award to?

WaveJet.  Propulsion on a surfboard?  Yes that’s what it does!  Combining a great innovation, performance (this thing churns out almost 20 pounds of thrust) and pretty neat marketing campaign, it gets my vote for Product of the Year.  For WaveJet’s target audience, it literally blows them out of the water.

Why did you join the Buyerly Buyer Panel?

It is exciting to see firsthand and early on the many new products being introduced to the market.  You also never know when you’d stumble upon the next big thing first!

What is your favorite store to shop at? Target, since I’ve had an opportunity to work at that company and had really gotten to know the store and products well.  I also love unique little boutiques that sell hard-to-find products elsewhere.

What advice do you have for the consumer companies on Buyerly?

The three main questions I’d want answers to are:

1) Why is your product’s differentiation meaningful?

2) Why do you think your product is ready for the level of retail distribution that you’re targeting (e.g. small chains, mass, etc.)?

3) Convince me that you’re not just great at design, product development, and technology, but that you also have a solid grasp of business, finances and how to work with retailers.

Favorite holiday season: 

Christmas / New Years, because it is the longest one!  Also because it is a great time to reflex, relax and to refocus for the next year.