Breaking VAVA Into One of the Largest Categories in Mass Retail
VAVA, a top-selling brand in the video baby monitor category on Amazon, was struggling to expand their sales channels and establish relationships with some of the top US retailers such as Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. Produced by consumer electronics and ecommerce-first manufacturer Sunvalley Tek, VAVA had seen early success with Amazon but needed support to take their business to the next level and break into mass retail.
Key Issues Faced
VAVA was largely familiar with the Amazon marketplace, but the major retailers they were looking to expand into each posed their own hurdles. Learning how each retailer functions and how to leverage them was a huge undertaking. Additionally, the lack of exposure for VAVA’s established video baby monitor assortment made it difficult to get the products in front of key retail buying teams.
Implementation
Powerplay aligned and strategized with VAVA on the value proposition they were bringing to the table, and to the Baby Monitor category as a whole. The teams collaborated in strategy sessions to define unique and appropriate selling propositions for each key retailer based on current assortment, competitive analysis, and market research. Ultimately, the result was clearly outlined go-to-market strategies tailored to each retailer that leveraged Powerplay’s previous experience and category knowledge to set VAVA apart from the competition and meet the specific needs of Target, Best Buy, and Walmart.
- April 2021: Sunvalley Tek/VAVA sign with Powerplay Retail
- May 2021: Target 2022 Baby Line Review
- June 2021: VAVA secures Target.com placement for September 2021 Launch
- August 2021: Best Buy approves VAVA launch on Bestbuy.com
- October 2021: Best Buy launches single and dual monitors on Bestbuy.com
- October 2021: Target awards in-store March 2022 placement
- January 2022: VAVA received top-seller ranking on BestBuy.com which earned in-store placement at 20 stores in April, and commitment of 90 stores by the end of 2022.
- February 2022: VAVA launches Walmart.com placement
- March 2022: VAVA secures Target display placement in 570 stores for in-store launch
- April 2022: product launches in 20 Best Buy stores
- May 2022: VAVA launches Kohls.com placement for both SKUs
- July 2022: VAVA secures in-store placement in 600 Walmart stores
Results
Over the course of a year, Powerplay was able to drastically increase the exposure and market positioning for VAVA by securing Target.com placement within 2 months, and landing products on Target shelves in 570 stores within 6 months. In the coming months, product positioning continued to grow, arriving on Bestbuy.com within 7 months, Kohls.com within 8 months, and Walmart.com within 10 months from the start of the relationship with Powerplay Retail.
The Baby category is one of the largest and most competitive retail categories overall. Securing VAVA’s Video Baby Monitor’s placement on store shelves was the ultimate goal, and it’s almost unprecedented in today’s current retail environment that placement is accomplished within 6 months. The success of this venture can be attributed to VAVA’s innovative product offering and early online success, along with Powerplay’s long-standing retailer relationships and knowledge of retail readiness strategies. Together the partnership has increased VAVA’s performance in Target significantly. Units sold per store per week (UPSPW) are up 38% over the initial forecast and sales per store per week are up 24% over the initial forecast.
