Identifying the top retail chains in the United Kingdom where you can sell your products is relatively easy. Approaching and convincing them is a much bigger challenge.
It may be a better strategy to find a distributor first who can help you to get your products in smaller chains or individual stores, and then help you to get to the big names. Or to start online.
In this article you will find more information on the retail market and guidance on how to convince retailers and distributors to work with you.
The United Kingdom is one of the larger economies of Europe, although not being part of the EU any more.
As of 2024, the United Kingdom’s population is estimated to be approximately 67.96 million. The population has shown a modest growth rate of around 0.35% from the previous year. It has a diverse set of overseas born populations, with the largest contributing countries being Poland, India, and Pakistan.
The UK has a mixed economy, which is the sixth-largest national economy in the world by nominal GDP. It is characterized by a highly developed and market-oriented sector. The largest city and capital is London, which is a major global city and financial center.
In the United Kingdom you will find numerous retail outlets and retail chains, and this is where a lot of opportunities lie.
Apart from the bigger suppliers, the small suppliers are also making huge sales as they dominate the trends and cater to the price sensitive market. As more and more people are now using social media, small enterprises now have equal opportunities to secure a higher market share.
Another factor that has a major contribution to the growth of the grocery sector is the E-Revolution. There is a huge number of applications, delivery services and online shopping sites that enable consumers easy accessibility to a host of products.
Tesco: Tesco leads the market with a significant annual turnover of €58.13 billion as of 2022. It is one of the largest retailers in the UK, operating 4,673 stores as of 2021 and employing 367,321 people.
Sainsbury’s: Sainsbury’s holds the second position with a turnover of €33.79 billion in 2021. Founded in 1869, it is one of the oldest supermarket chains in the UK and operates about 1,400 outlets.
Asda: Ranking third, Asda reported a turnover of €23.66 billion in 2021. The chain, founded in 1949, operates 633 stores and employs around 145,000 people.
Morrisons: Morrisons, with a turnover of €20.47 billion in 2021, takes the fourth spot. It has a network of 497 stores and over 100,000 employees.
Aldi: Aldi UK, with a reported revenue of €15.87 billion in 2021, ranks fifth. The chain has been expanding in the UK market and recently announced its 1,000th store opening, with plans for further expansion.
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If you have a consumer product that you can’t sell directly from your home country to your end customer, you need at least one step in between. This can be a distributor (who also acts as wholesaler or importer), a big retailer directly, or it can be a large web shop. Let’s look at the pro’s and con’s of each option.
You should put a lot of emphasis on drafting a good distributor pitch. Even if you already have great sales materials for your end-users, this often does not make clear what the benefits are for a potential agent, distributor or retailer to work with you.
When you approach potential sales channels with your standard documentation, chances are high that they are holding of. If you make it crystal clear what are the benefits for them, like in the example presentation, you will get a much higher response rate.
Please note that it helps to put concrete data in your presentation. You may think it is sensitive, but just know the secret is in how you achieve the rotation or the low returns level, not in the data itself. So share it here, in order to get the right attention.
Distributors are risk averse, they know the portfolio they have and tend to be happy with it. They can’t just add a product or service to their range, since it will cannibalize on others: