Merchandising FAQ

Questions You May Have

Frequently Asked Questions

What information do you need to get started with the merchandising services?

To get started, we need a clear understanding of your specific merchandising requirements, which involves gathering some detailed information from you.

We appreciate your patience with the lengthy questions — these details are essential for accurately calculating costs and preparing the best price quote for your needs.

Thank you for your time and understanding!

The state(s) where you require the merchandising service.
The number of location(s) or outlet(s) within those state(s).
What are your products?
The total number of SKUs.
The average quantity for each SKU.
The frequency of merchandising visits needed per month.
The number of merchandisers required for each visit.
Would you like us to perform stock counts along with proposing reorders? These tasks are typically interconnected and often the most time-consuming.
What is the average reorder value for each location or outlet? This information is important if you need us to propose reorders.
Any special requests or requirements, such as preferences for weekend visits.
Are there any concerns or challenges related to your merchandising that we should be aware of?
Are you currently engaged with any other merchandising providers, or is your team handling merchandising in-house?
Could you please provide the average time it takes to service each location or outlet based on your current merchandising efforts?
Could you please provide the number of merchandisers required for each location or outlet for your products based on your current merchandising efforts?
What are your expectations regarding our merchandising services? What specific goals do you want us to achieve, or what issues would you like us to address? Please share as much information as possible so we can propose the merchandising services that best meet your expectations and needs.
When would you like to begin the service?
What is your budget, if you have one? This question is optional and will not influence our quotation. However, providing this information can help us tailor our proposals to better fit your financial parameters from the beginning.

What is your merchandising services about?

Our merchandising services are straightforward and practical. We provide you with the essential support needed to maximize your product’s presence in retail environments and enhance sales potential.

For example, product arrangement and placement, price tag checking, stock monitoring and restocking, expiry date checks, and reordering proposals, among others.

Do I Need Merchandising Services?

If you supply your products to any retail outlet — whether it’s a convenience store, supermarket, or mall — you will definitely benefit from merchandising services.

You have the option to manage this with your own team or to outsource. While having your own team provides more control, it often comes with high costs, time-consuming processes, and various staffing challenges. These issues can lead to significant complications, such as products not being moved from storerooms to shelves or sales price tags not being checked, ultimately affecting your sales.

That’s where we come in. We address these common problems efficiently, ensuring that your products are always well-presented and priced correctly. Plus, our services are competitively priced, often costing less than maintaining your own team. Let us help you enhance your product visibility and drive sales without the hassle.

Can merchandising increase my product sales?

Effective merchandising can significantly enhance your product’s visibility in retail environments, thereby maximizing its sales potential. However, it’s important to note that the ultimate sales performance still depends on various factors related to the product itself. Key elements such as pricing, packaging, seasonality, and the flavor profile — especially for food products — play a crucial role in driving sales.

Additionally, different retail outlets cater to varying customer profiles, which means that sales may differ significantly from one location to another. Many external factors can also influence sales performance.

Therefore, it is essential to optimize your product’s presence in stores to maximize the opportunities for increasing sales. By doing so, you position your product for greater success.

What are the important merchandising services that businesses should prioritize?

While every business has its own unique priorities, our experience shows that the following are essential merchandising services that all businesses need:

Product Placement and Arrangement
Product Tester Placement
Pricing and Discount Display
Shelf Restocking
Product Expiry Monitoring
Damaged Product Monitoring
Stock Count
Stock Reordering

Among these, Stock Count and Stock Reordering are particularly critical. And they are also the most labor-intensive and time-consuming.

How quickly can you begin with the merchandising services?

It can vary from as little as 1 week to approximately 2 months.

To get started, we will begin by asking you a series of questions. Please understand that the number of questions may vary based on your locations, products, and the quantity of SKUs involved. Our goal is to gain a complete understanding of your business and specific merchandising needs.

We greatly appreciate your patience during this information-gathering process, as having complete and accurate details will allow us to provide you with an appropriate quotation that meets your budget and expectations.

Once we have gathered the necessary information, we will promptly prepare a pricing proposal for your review. From there, we can engage in negotiations and determine the best way forward. Thank you for your cooperation, and we look forward to working together.

We need immediate merchandising services for our products. Can you start as soon as possible?

We understand the urgency of your needs and will prioritize your request. However, please note that our availability may fluctuate due to factors such as peak seasons or holidays.

Additionally, the specific location and scope of the merchandising services will influence our ability to start immediately.

To ensure a timely solution, please contact us as soon as possible. And we will do our best to work together to determine the best approach and timeline.

What are the charges for your services?

Our charges vary based on the specific merchandising services you require. Generally, we have a per-outlet fee structure.

As a basic guideline, without Stock Count and Propose Reordering services, our current rates start at RM30 per outlet in Penang and RM80 per outlet in and around Johor.

If you request us to handle reorders (usually necessary when conducting stock counts), we also charge a percentage on successful reorders. Apart from these, there are no additional fees.

However, if you need specialized merchandising services or have specific requirements, there might be extra charges or surcharges involved. We will always communicate these clearly upfront. Rest assured, we do not have any hidden fees.

We are flexible and always open for discussion.

Is it possible to negotiate your charges?

We always provide the lowest price quote right from the start, except in cases where a quote is needed in advance before we receive the complete information.

Regardless, we are open to discussing our charges to find a solution that works for both of us, as long as it is reasonable.

We encourage you to compare our pricing with other merchandising providers to see that our rates are among the most competitive in the industry. In fact, we have often been told that we offer some of the lowest prices.

Additionally, we value building long-term business relationships and are committed to finding solutions that benefit both parties. Our goal is to ensure that our collaboration is mutually advantageous.

How are your prices so much lower than the other quotes I have received?

As both a distributor and retailer, we have personally experienced how merchandising can demand significant time, effort, and costs — not to mention the constant headaches! Having gone through it firsthand, we have made it our mission to minimize those challenges for others. Our ultimate goal is to foster a strong retail community and build long-term business relationships that benefit everyone, including us.

Pricing for merchandising services can be complex because of the many factors involved. However, we are continuously refining and simplifying our pricing model, to keep our prices competitive.

Our charges are based on cost estimations, considering factors like time and manpower etc. This is why we ask for specific details such as location, SKUs, and quantities, they are crucial for an accurate estimation.

That said, our prices are intentionally kept on the lowest end. Our profit margin is very modest, and sometimes we even incur losses due to unavoidable and unexpected issues like deviations in travel routes or delays on the retailer’s side etc. Despite this, we remain committed to providing cost-effective merchandising services as part of our vision to support and grow the retail community.

How are your charges calculated?

Calculating our charges can be complex, as they depend on several factors. These include the specific merchandising services you need, the number of locations, the frequency of visits, the number of merchandisers required, the SKUs involved, and the overall quantity of items.

Services like stock monitoring and stock counting tend to be the most labor-intensive. We also consider the time required for each service and the travel distances, accounting for fuel and toll expenses.

Despite these complexities, our charges are typically much more economical than the costs of hiring your own staff. Moreover, with us, you do not have to worry about staff-related issues.

Are your services available across Peninsular Malaysia?

Yes, we cover the entire Peninsular Malaysia.

While our primary focus is on the Northern States, such as Penang, Perak, and Kedah, we frequently serve areas like Johor, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor as well.

For states like Kelantan and Terengganu, please note that planning and execution might take longer due to logistical considerations. However, we are committed to providing the same high-quality service no matter the location.

Can you handle payment collection during the merchandising visit?

Yes, we can assist with collecting payments, like collecting cheque (please note, we do not accept cash). However, we do not handle debt collection, which means we cannot ask your clients to pay outstanding amounts.

Do you offer additional services such as product demonstrations or sampling?

Yes, we do offer additional services, including product demonstrations and sampling. Please contact us for more info.

Can you customize your services to fit our specific needs?

Yes, we can customize our merchandising services to meet the unique needs of each client. We are flexible and we understand that every brand and product category has distinct requirements and objectives. Our flexible approach allows us to adapt our plans as needed, ensuring that we effectively support your specific needs.

Why do you offer merchandising services if you are a distributor?

We are both a distributor and a retailer, as well as a service provider dedicated to supporting retail businesses in various ways.

We realized that merchandising is a vital aspect of our operations and one that our clients often request assistance with. Having experienced the ins and outs of merchandising firsthand, we understand its significance and the challenges it can bring.

We struggled to find a reliable and affordable merchandising service provider. Either they were too busy to accommodate us, or their costs were simply out of reach. It was a truly frustrating experience. This made sales and reorders unpredictable, adding to the frustration.

This insight inspired us to launch our own merchandising services, enabling us to better support our clients with a simplified and effective merchandising solution.

By leveraging our expertise and practical experience, we aim to simplify this crucial process for our clients, allowing them to focus on growing their businesses while we take care of the merchandising side.

Can you manage sales and merchandising for us? We are looking for a complete service.

Yes, we can.

Our services cover everything from sales and distribution to merchandising to reordering and ongoing support. We offer a full cycle of service. For more info, please check out the services we provide.

For example, we can help you find new clients and open new accounts across various sectors, including modern trade, general trade, and F&B.

Additionally, we provide the merchandising services tailored to your needs and will represent you while communicating with clients etc.

Let us take care of the details so you can focus on growing your business.

Can you share a merchandising experience with us?

Absolutely! We can share a valuable lesson we learned early on in our business. When we first partnered with a large supermarket chain, we were excited about the opportunity to supply over 60 SKUs to their 40+ stores across multiple states.

But reality hit us hard from the very first month. We had underestimated the lack of merchandising support on the supermarket’s side. Products weren’t being displayed properly, and sales suffered. Once we realized this, we took matters into our own hands and began doing basic in-store merchandising strategies. To our delight, the results were almost immediate – our sales started to improve.

However, a new challenge arose: the backend operations. The supermarket’s warehouse management, including inventory control and product handling, was far from ideal. They returned products damaged by careless handling, pest infestations, or partial consumption (yes, some were even eaten!). We even found empty packaging, and some products went missing altogether. The losses added up quickly.

To address these problems, we worked with the supermarket management to gain more control over our inventory. This significantly reduced the problems and gave us more control over our products and operations.

Since then, we have made it a priority to focus on merchandising strategies. This experience taught us the importance of effective merchandising. While it won’t solve every problem, it can certainly help to increase sales and reduce losses. And it’s one of the reasons we are so committed to helping others avoid similar pitfalls.

I only need the merchandising service just once. Do you accept one-time requests?

Absolutely! We welcome both long-term and one-time requests. Feel free to reach out to us for more details.

Do you have any other questions?

If you have any questions or need further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

We are here to assist you and ensure you have all the information you need.

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