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Piling leftovers in to-go containers was once a chore—but with W&P’s chic and sustainable options, it’s something you’ll look forward to. Walking the dog? Add some color and character with Wild One’s pet essentials. Before you leave, drop your phone on the Courant charging tray that seamlessly blends in with your front table. Very Great brought all three of these design-driven brands to life, elevating everyday commodities into crave-worthy necessities for more than one million customers.
Very Great has found a unique formula to create and scale modern brands. While direct-to-consumer sales remain a key lever for W&P, Wild One, and Courant, the company leans on its technology-powered infrastructure to create a parallel path for a wholesale strategy.
To reach independent retailers, Very Great previously juggled a number of smaller channels. “Then we found Faire,” says Lindsey Budde, Very Great’s international and indie sales manager. Today, Faire not only underpins the company’s overall sales strategy for each of its three brands but also facilitates wholesale efficiencies at every possible touchpoint. “It’s an easy-to-use solution that runs on its own, enables excellent customer service, and flows very well with our warehouse,” adds Lindsey.
Expanding Very Great’s reach to retailers across the country—and beyond
Historically, Very Great could offer only wholesale in states where it had sales representatives, which was about a third of the United States. Now, in place of disparate smaller channels and one-off messages, it relies on Faire to meet 700,000 global retailers online, streamlining the act of finding new, profitable customers—and keeping them happy. “Faire gave us the opportunity to expand outside our sales rep footprint, opening our very different brands up to a much broader group of retailers,” says Sherry Shannon, Very Great’s vice president of sales, adding that this growing wholesale audience also includes international retailers.
This is especially helpful for selling into “second spaces,” or retailers that double as another business, such as a cafe’s side shop or a salon with space for products. In fact, in North America, nearly 25% of retailers who shop on Faire use their brick-and-mortar location as both a retail shop and community hub.
“Our reps can’t find these nontraditional retailers on their own, but we can rely on Faire,” Lindsey says. “These are retailers who have very good volume and come to Faire to prospect brands and find cool products.”
Faire gave us the opportunity to expand outside our sales rep footprint, opening our very different brands up to a much broader group of retailers.
Sherry Shannon, Vice President of Sales, Very Great
Converting inbound leads, commission-free
Oftentimes, when an inbound retailer reaches out to the Very Great team, they inquire about special purchase terms. Manually approving those requests on a case-by-case basis would be cumbersome at best, says Sherry. “Thankfully, we can just send them our Faire Direct link, and all they have to do is click and sign up.”
In addition to selling on the Faire marketplace, all Faire brands have a unique Faire Direct link that they can share with retailers, who use it to order directly from their shop. “When we get an inbound lead, we push them to Faire Direct because it’s the easiest way to move them along, process orders, keep in touch, handle promotions, everything,” says Lindsey.
When retailers order through the brand’s link, commission is waived, and retailers receive all the benefits of shopping risk-free on Faire—including the ability to pay up to 60 days later. “The retailers love Faire’s terms,” says Sherry.
This seamless introduction to working with Very Great’s brands builds trust and credibility with independent retailers who can help expand the customer base for W&P, Wild One, and Courant. “The premium nature of many of the Faire retailers that buy our products means we’re reaching potential fans and brand ambassadors,” Sherry says.
The retailer user experience on Faire is great. We love the way our brands show up on the platform and how retailers find our brands through recommendations.
Lindsey Budde, International and Indie Sales Manager, Very Great
Leveraging Faire to lower costs and streamline fulfillment
In today’s macroeconomic climate, moving products and communicating efficiently with retailers is crucial. Using Faire, retailers can place orders quickly, and brands can turn them around even faster, with no holdups. “Speed equals revenue, so from a brand perspective, that impact is immeasurable,” says Sherry. “This is important for growing brands looking to do more with less.” In short: It costs less to fulfill orders through Faire. “Even if we tripled the number of inbound orders, we’d be fine because Faire offers such a smooth process.”
Outside of a few direct-to-consumer online exclusives, Very Great lists the full catalog for each of its three brands on Faire. “Faire runs and manages the rest in the background,” says Lindsey. Simplifying the end-to-end sales process, Faire takes on the cost of customer acquisition, verifying retailers, processing payment and financing, and more.
Otherwise, orders would come in directly from a retailer or sales representative—and carry the risk of case-pack issues, incorrect pricing, or slightly off terms. “The warehouse management system could be off by a penny and everything stops,” Sherry says. “But with Faire, it’s one and done. We control our own destiny by inputting the right information on our end, and if there are any changes, we only have to make them once.”
Very Great also taps into Faire’s Shopify integration, which automatically syncs orders between the platforms, helping brands keep inventory counts up to date and import new products directly from Shopify to Faire. “The way Faire connects with Shopify is awesome,” says Lindsey. “Brands get so much out of the Faire platform—which means customers get a lot more, too.”
Even if we tripled the number of inbound orders, we’d be fine because Faire offers such a smooth process.
Sherry Shannon, Vice President of Sales, Very Great
Greater insights, better customer service, and a brighter future
To help each of Very Great’s brands deliver the highest-quality customer service on Faire, Lindsey capitalizes on Faire’s automated analytics report, which raises visibility about how brands can improve their customer service, offering tips, guidance, and best practices. “When I receive the reports, it’s so powerful,” Lindsey says. “I can quickly review and then confidently hand them directly to the relevant teams.”
As Very Great’s own business evolves with the volatile retail industry, Lindsey and Sherry appreciate their partnership with Faire. “Things change so quickly, and Faire’s been so nimble, adapting and finding solutions that meet our needs and those of our manufacturers,” Sherry says. “We’re just scratching the surface of what Faire can mean to Very Great and our brands—both now and in the future.”
