Success Stories

The Category Merchant came to Madden Global Solutions challenging the productivity for one of our client’s items in their assortment.

Using in-depth analytics and customer insights by our team of experienced prior merchants, the Madden Global Solutions team conducted our product review with a deep dive into the analytics comparing the item in question to other items in the assortment. The item in question was not only found to have the second highest velocity in the set but also the second highest sales dollars in the category YTD. In addition, the item had the third highest margin rate out of items the client provided to the retailer with both strong margin dollars and rate compared to other items in the category.

The data and business case presented by MGS provided the Category Merchant with clear validation on the strength of performance for the item in question based on sales volume, velocity and both gross margin rate and dollars compared to other items in the category. Upon review with the Category Merchant, the item remained in the assortment and continues to be a top performer for the retailer.

The retailer was going through a new process for selecting product which the Madden Global Solutions team had been through several times prior with other clients. This specific category review was for our client who manufactured an item already in the BJ’s assortment. The item in question had direct competition with the exact same item included in the assortment under another brand creating duplication. The item we represented was at risk of being removed from the assortment through the category review.

MGS worked hand in hand with our client to create an offer that we knew based on our experience would be too good to refuse. Our proposal included improvements to the current item offering and a strong marketing strategy to support it with the substantial unit growth needed to offset the loss of the other brand. We also presented a second new innovative item with proven history, analytics to show the incremental growth to the retailer’s assortment and a solid marketing plan to ensure its success from the start. We provided the client with the data, analytics and trade partner insights needed to win program approval with the merchant and management. We ended up providing the analytics for the entire category including leakage trees and opportunity gaps. We guided the client at every step of the negotiation with our thorough understanding of the selection process, the client, and anticipating what questions were coming next.

At the conclusion of the category review, the competitive item was removed from the retailer’s assortment and our client’s item remained in the assortment as the only option. We also were awarded distribution the second item in 40 clubs as a test which was soon expanded to all clubs. We now have a strong relationship with the Category Merchant and continue to provide deep insights of the category on an ongoing basis.

Madden Global Solutions was reviewing promotional performance and realized that the retailer was not ordering enough additional inventory to support the increased unit movement during promotions. The retailer was running out of stock during promotions causing a loss of sales and dissatisfied members.

Madden Global Solutions created a supply chain report to share with both the client and the retail partners showing the loss of sales during promotional periods due to not ordering enough additional inventory causing out of stocks in clubs. We have since created supply chain reports for each category and send it out to both client and retail partners on a weekly basis. In addition, we started to have weekly supply chain calls with both parties to ensure the retailer placed an increase in inventory in some cases up to 45% extra prior to the start of the event. We also ensure the orders taper down towards the middle of the promotion so we don’t exit the event with excess inventory in clubs. The client is also involved in these weekly meetings to ensure they are prepared for increased orders as well as the slowdown of the increase.

The weekly meetings with the retailers supply chain team and Category Merchant as well as the client and Madden Global Solutions has proved to be an ongoing success. There has been an increase of 19% during promotional periods since this new process has been implemented.