Thread by @marcgayle

Exciting News: TCP Tings (my company) is finally selling our ‘One Bag Ah Tings’ (and other) Tote Bags in a big box retailer, exclusively in Kingston at Fontana Waterloo ( $FTNA.ja ).

We have been working on this for months, so glad I can finally publicly share.

//Thread

Tonight $FTNA.ja had an event to introduce their new Waterloo location.

So here is a thread with a few pics and the story about how we got into Waterloo and got the placement we got.

For the last 2+ years we have been selling our greeting cards & gift tags in all 5 Fontana locations.

How that started is we literally went to the Barbican location with our cards and pitched the managers there. They saw the cards and tags and loved them.

They didn’t have much space in the Barbican location, but we worked with them to find a display solution that took up as little floor space as possible.

They were very accommodating and supportive of local companies. That was at the middle mgmt level.

Once we got into Barbican, we literally drove to (or cold called) the other stores and said “Hey, Barbican is currently selling our cards & tags and they are selling well, you guys want to try?”

They all said yes. One by one.

We did it on consignment.

Since then, we have developed a great relationship with all of the stores.

So when they announced that they were opening a new store, we were obviously excited. The more details about this new store we heard is the more excited we got...

but we weren’t quite sure how to tackle it.

I watched their IPO process and I loved what I saw - the financials, the story and their vision. The more I learned about them, is the more I loved what they did.

I wanted to deepen our relationship with them but wasn’t sure how.

In 2018 we applied for, and got, a @DBJamaica IGNITE grant.

As a result of us getting that grant, we have to work with a BSI (Business Service Intermediary). Ours is @BransonCentreCA.

The first thing they insisted is we put together a formal board of advisors.

@utenjm and team helped us get the board together. There were some we could get from our network but there were some we wanted that we knew Branson had a relationship with.

So we gave them a list of people we wanted.

I told him I wanted ppl with experience with distribution, merchandising and business in general.

Top of that list was @Williamwisynco.

I thought there is no way I am going to get these guys, but if you don’t ask you don’t get.

To my pleasant surprise William agreed.

I also wanted @kevinobriencha1 but Branson didn’t have a relationship with him, so I had to figure out how to get to him on our own.

I used to hate asking for introductions, but I have learned that if you don’t ask you don’t get, and humbling myself to ask for one is good.

I have a friend (@HillAubyn) that knows @kevinobriencha1 so I asked for an intro. Aubyn is always very helpful and willing to leverage his network for others. He gladly setup that intro for me.

Kevin responded saying he loves helping young entrepreneurs, how could he help?

My first ask was if he could serve on our board of advisors. He let me know that he couldn’t commit in a formal capacity right now, but anytime I needed any advice he would gladly give me.

He explained that he didn’t live in Kgn, has a young family, and so formal is hard.

But he reiterated that he would help any time I needed it, in an informal capacity.

To be honest, I felt deflated and disappointed, but I understood and appreciated his forthrightness.

Many months passed and we hadn’t spoken, then we had our first board meeting.

In that board meeting, we were discussing expansion plans and having heard our history with Fontana @Williamwisynco said to us...

“Guys, I think Waterloo is going to change pharmacy retail in Jamaica. Now is the perfect time to talk to them about good positioning for your displays.” (I hope I am not over sharing, just giving credit where it is due).

So he encouraged us to at least discuss better display...

..positioning from now because display positioning is VERY valuable in retail. Different products are placed at different places in the store to optimize the likelihood that consumers will buy.

We hadn’t considered that, but it was a good kick in the butt and reminder.

He even offered to setup the intro for us. But because I had already made contact with Kevin a few months prior, I figured this would be the perfect case for it.

So I reached back out to Kevin, literally the same/next day, to say that I still want to deepen our relationship but rather than just asking for a better position for our greeting card stand, I went all in.

I asked for “dedicated shelf space to create a TCP Tings section”.

Ambitious? Hell yeah. But...if you don’t ask, you don’t get.

He responded within 1 hour by forwarding my email to his sister Anne (CEO) and Ray (COO).

To my surprise, Anne responded very quickly (within an hour too) saying she loves our products and brand...

...and they want to deepen their relationship with both us and other Jamaican brands for Waterloo. I was floored.

We then went back and forth over some of the details, she invited us in to meet. Being the savvy biz woman she is she asked for exclusivity...

..for some of our products. We went through a bunch of stuff and arrived on a mutually beneficial agreement.

All of that led to us actually getting two dedicated sections in a prominent place and we have deepened our relationship with Fontana.

So the key lessons are:
- Never be afraid to ask.
- Be diligent (I had 2 years of being in the trenches at Fontana to refer to)
- Humble yourself
- The first No, doesn’t mean Never
- Always find a way to provide value.
- Sometimes 1 comment can can change your company.

Treat every interaction and person with respect. I deal with all employees at every Fontana with respect, so if Anne was to ask about me no one would complain (hopefully).

Waterloo even has an entire section dedicated to Jamaican artisans in the middle of the 2nd floor (prime).

As you all know, I am very optimistic about JA’s future. I am in the trenches building a small company, and fighting the good fight.

This story is just 1 example of why I am optimistic.

At the event I bucked up @kalilahrey, @5Solae, @kayebyrdie and @Sparkiebaby.