How to Identify Target Retailers for Your Brand

To identify target retailers, start with your shopper, not with a list of store names. Work out where that shopper already buys similar products, group those stores by type and location, score each account on fit and accessibility, and only then look for the buyer. The brands that scale in wholesale pick fewer, better-matched retailers and approach each one with evidence that its customers want the product.

This guide walks through that process step by step. It covers fit criteria, store types, a scoring model, buyer research, readiness checks and the mistakes that waste months.

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TL;DR

• A good target retailer shares your shopper, your price tier and your margin math. Store size and brand prestige come second.

• Build the list by store type and location, then score every account with weighted criteria so the ranking is not a gut call.

• Find the buyer by category, not by name, because category assignments change often.

• Retailers want proof of traction. Prepare sales data, a clear point of difference and a store-support plan before outreach.

• Fewer, well-matched accounts beat a long list of weak ones.

Table of Contents

• What makes a retailer a good fit

• Start with your shopper and where they shop

• Set your objectives before you pick channels

• Map the store types that could carry you

• Research and score each account

• Find the right buyer at each retailer

• Check readiness before you reach out

• A worked example: from list to shortlist

• Our perspective

• Let Kingpin build the target list with you

• Common mistakes to avoid

• FAQ

• Sources

What makes a retailer a good fit

A retailer is a good fit when its shoppers expect your kind of product, your price sits comfortably in its range, and the economics work for both sides. Reporting by New Hope Network in 2024 said brands should weigh shopper fit, pricing alignment and retailer margin expectations, and also ask whether a retailer’s operating demands exceed the brand’s budget. That last point is the one founders skip. A retailer can love your product and still be a poor account if its requirements eat your margin.

The buyer’s side of the table is just as concrete. According to a category-manager guide from Pitchfork, retailers ask whether customers expect to find the product in their stores, whether it meets a real customer need and whether it can attract new customer groups. If you can answer those three questions for a specific retailer, you have a target. If you cannot, you have a name on a spreadsheet.

Five quick tests help:

1. Shopper overlap. Does the retailer’s customer match the person you built the product for?

2. Price and image. Does your retail price sit alongside what the store already sells, and does your brand look at home on its shelves or site?

3. Category presence. Does the retailer already carry the category, with enough depth to take a new line?

4. Assortment gap. Is there something your product does that existing items do not?

5. Operating fit. Can you meet its ordering, logistics and payment terms without strain?

A retailer that passes all five belongs on your shortlist. One that passes two does not, however well known it is.

Bigger is not always better

New Hope’s cited brand experts argue that national scale is not automatically the goal. A smaller or specialist channel can be the better choice when its shoppers, economics or operating model suit the brand more closely. Many brands do their best early work with independent and regional stores, then use that record to open larger doors.

Start with your shopper and where they shop

The most reliable method is also the oldest. A retail guide from the Alberta agriculture sector advises brands to define the target consumer and where that consumer shops for similar or substitutable products, then identify the store types and locations that follow. The same guide suggests spending time in stores and, with permission, briefly interviewing shoppers.

That advice translates directly to wholesale. Before you build any list, answer these questions in writing:

• Who buys your product, and what else is in their basket?

• Which three to five competing or neighboring brands do they already buy?

• Which stores, sites and marketplaces carry those brands?

• What price do shoppers pay there, and how does yours compare?

Pitchfork also recommends visiting a retailer and watching shoppers handle similar products. Ten minutes in an aisle tells you more about price tolerance and packaging expectations than a week of desk research. It also gives you a sentence you can use later: why this store suits this shopper.

Set your objectives before you pick channels

Which retailers are right depends on what you want from wholesale. Simon-Kucher’s 2024 go-to-market framework says brands should first define strategic objectives, such as revenue versus margin, push versus pull, and large key accounts versus many smaller customers. Only then should they narrow channels using attractiveness and accessibility criteria.

The framework’s perspective is worth taking seriously: the best opportunities combine attractive market economics with practical accessibility, rather than maximizing the number of retailers. Three examples show how objectives change the list:

• A margin-first brand favors specialty and independent stores that pay a fuller wholesale price and do not demand heavy promotion.

• A volume-first brand targets chains and large e-commerce retailers, and budgets for markdown support and slower payment.

• A brand-building brand picks a small set of credible doorways, such as a respected specialty retailer in each key city, to earn trust before scaling.

Write your objective in one line and keep it next to the list. Every retailer you add should serve it.

Map the store types that could carry you

Once you know your shopper, list the distribution options. The Alberta guide recommends building a retailer list by store type and location and considering a range of formats, including health-food, conventional grocery, specialty, independent, chain, convenience and drug retailers. Not every category fits every format, but writing out the full set stops you from defaulting to the two retailers everyone names first.

For a consumer brand, a practical map has four layers:

Add geography as a second axis. A store type that works in one market may be thin in another, which matters if you plan to sell across several countries. The right retailer type differs by market even when the product does not.

Research and score each account

A long list is not a target list until each account has been researched and ranked. A wholesale-to-retail guide from WizCommerce suggests looking at each account’s category and assortment, customer profile, price architecture, locations, growth, competitive brands, suppliers, buying season, logistics, financial reliability and margin potential. It then recommends scoring accounts with weighted criteria such as opportunity size, strategic fit, competitive position, relationship potential, accessibility and financial stability.

You do not need software to do this. A spreadsheet with six columns works:

The weights above are a starting point, not a standard. Set your own to match the objective you wrote earlier, then score every account from 1 to 5. Contact the top third first.

Simon-Kucher adds a second pass for individual partners: evaluate consumer reach, store coverage and realizable margin, and work out the right pack size and recommended shelf price for each. Doing this before outreach lets you open with a specific proposal instead of a generic line sheet.

Signals worth recording

For every qualified account, WizCommerce recommends recording decision-maker contact details, store demographics, current supplier relationships, seasonal buying patterns and interaction history. Add two fields of your own: the date you last reviewed the account, and the reason it ranked where it did. Six months later, those notes will save you from repeating research.

Demand data is also becoming part of retailer discovery. The Specialty Food Association reported in 2023 that distributor KeHE partnered with WeStock so retailers can discover products using first-party consumer-demand data, including regional or retailer-specific signals. If retailers search for products this way, brands benefit from knowing which regions and retailers show demand for their category.

Find the right buyer at each retailer

Identifying the retailer is half the job. The other half is reaching the person who decides on your category. Large retailers rarely publish buyer contact details, and the role titles differ: buyer, category manager, merchandiser, or sourcing lead.

Some habits make this much easier:

• Search by category first. Assignments move often. A message aimed at the category reaches whoever holds it now, while a message to a named person who has left goes nowhere.

• Use professional networks and trade press. Job titles, promotions and new-supplier announcements show who owns what.

• Ask adjacent brands. Founders who already sell into a retailer will often tell you how they got in, especially if you are not a direct rival.

• Check the retailer’s supplier page. Many chains publish an intake form, a vendor portal or onboarding requirements. Following that route is sometimes the only one that works.

• Review paid retail databases. Directories of retail buyers exist, usually sold by subscription. They save time, but verify that contacts are current before you rely on them.

On onboarding, expect formal requirements. As one international example, the supplier onboarding manual of Brazilian retailer Lojas Renner requires compliance approval and adherence to its Partner Code of Conduct, plus responsible cotton and certified viscose where applicable. Every large retailer has its own version of this, and reading it before you pitch tells you whether the account is realistic.

Check readiness before you reach out

A perfect target is wasted if the first message exposes gaps. Target Accelerators’ 2025 readiness guide says brands should assess market need, competitive differentiation, price point, funding for manufacturing and marketing, the ability to withstand delayed payments, and possible promotional, markdown or slotting fees. Those are the costs that surprise founders after the purchase order arrives.

Buyers also want evidence. New Hope Network reported that retailers commonly look for traction: converted customers, direct-to-consumer sales, repeat purchases and earlier success with independent or regional retailers. This is another reason to start with smaller accounts. They create the proof that bigger accounts ask for.

The SPINS retailer-pitch guide from 2024 lists what a new brand should have ready: a problem-solution explanation, an origin story, a unique selling proposition, a qualified team, and a marketing or store-support plan. It adds that a pitch should show product-market fit, explain how the product appeals to that retailer’s customers, and show how it differs from existing items or fills category white space.

Before you contact anyone, confirm you can do the following:

1. State in two sentences why this retailer’s shopper wants your product.

2. Show sales or repeat-purchase data that supports it.

3. Quote a wholesale price, suggested retail price and minimum order that leave room for both sides.

4. Explain your support plan: marketing, samples, staff education or promotions.

5. Confirm you can fulfill orders and wait for payment on the retailer’s terms.

A worked example: from list to shortlist

Say you sell a premium snack brand with a strong online following. Your shopper is health-conscious, buys at specialty grocers and shops online.

First, you list store types: specialty grocers, natural-food stores, regional grocery chains, gourmet gift retailers and two online curated retailers. Next, you gather 60 accounts across your three best-selling regions. You score them on fit, opportunity, competitors stocked, accessibility, financial stability and relationship potential. Twelve score high on fit and accessibility. Four of those are regional chains, and you rank them first because they offer meaningful volume without national terms.

For each of the twelve, you find the category buyer through professional networks and the retailer’s supplier page, record the details, and write a pitch that names a specific assortment gap. That is a shortlist you can work in a month, and a record you can improve with every reply.

Our perspective

Most brands we meet do not have a retailer problem. They have a targeting problem. They collect names from trade-show badges, marketplaces and referrals, and then wonder why replies are scarce. A name is not a match.

We built Kingpin around the opposite idea. Precision first: find retailers that fit the brand in every market, give the reason for each one, and write to each buyer in their language. The account manager reviews every list and message. Kingpin has supported $700M+ in wholesale GMV since 2021, with 3,500+ retailers on Kingpin.

The second principle is ownership. Brands keep the retail relationships and the sales, and we charge 0% commission. A brand that owns its buyer relationships can reorder, expand and renegotiate without a middleman in the way.

Our advice is simple: pick fewer retailers, know exactly why each one fits, and keep every relationship in your own hands.

Let Kingpin build the target list with you

If you would rather not spend weeks on research, our research agent finds retailers that fit your brand in every market, with the reason for each one. Your sales coordinator agent writes to each buyer in their language, with your line sheet inside, and your account manager reviews every list and message. You approve which retailers to go after and keep every buyer relationship. Learn more on our site.

Common mistakes to avoid

Chasing the biggest names first. National chains carry the heaviest terms, fees and payment delays. Without traction, they are the hardest accounts to win and the easiest to lose money on.

Skipping the store visit. Desk research cannot show how shoppers handle products beside yours. Walk the aisle.

Pitching the retailer, not the shopper. Buyers care about their customers. Lead with why their shoppers want your product.

Ignoring margin. If the retailer’s margin expectation and your cost structure do not meet, the account will not survive its first reorder.

Letting the list go stale. Buyers change roles and buying seasons shift. Review your top accounts regularly and update the notes.

FAQ

How many target retailers should a brand start with?

Start with a shortlist you can personally work, often 10 to 20 well-matched accounts. A small, scored list lets you tailor each pitch and learn from the replies. Expand once you have orders and reorders to point to.

Should a new brand start with independents or national chains?

Independent and regional retailers are usually the better first step. Retailers commonly ask for proof of traction, and earlier success with smaller accounts is part of that proof. National chains come with stricter requirements and possible fees, so they make sense once your supply, margin and sales data can support them.

How do I find the right buyer at a retailer?

Identify the category first, then the person who owns it. Use professional networks, trade press and the retailer’s supplier or vendor page, and ask non-competing brands how they were introduced. Verify any contact before you send a pitch, since buying roles change often.

What should I record about each target retailer?

Track the decision-maker’s details, store demographics, current suppliers, seasonal buying patterns and every interaction. Add your score and the reason behind it. A consistent record makes follow-ups faster and shows which retailer types respond best.

Sources