Most founders think they know their profit the day they hit the shelf. Then the chargebacks start.
A chargeback can be almost anything. The wrong box size. A label not positioned correctly. A shipment that didn't arrive on time and in full. A barcode that can't be read. Returns. And the list goes on.
There is an entire department at the retailer dedicated to just chargebacks. At any given time we had over $100K in chargebacks that we were fighting, and fighting them cost us money too.
But if you know what they are going in, and you know how to run the account operationally, you can save yourself a lot of money and pain.
Here's an example. In one of my very first line reviews with Walmart, back in 2012, you walked into their office and there was a bright, bright leaderboard of the top vendors of the week. It wasn't based on sales. It was based on who shipped on time, in full and correctly.
You can have great sales on the shelf. If you make a lot of mistakes, it will cost you a lot of money. It can also cost you the shelf.
Getting in is the easy part. Staying in is where brands actually die.
Retail is my superpower.