Golden Sands: How this Aussie business snagged a deal with UK pharmacy giant Boots

Melbourne-based self-tanning business Bondi Sands has landed a potentially lucrative deal with British pharmacy giant Boots just three years after entering the Australian market.

The supplier deal adds to Bondi Sands’ existing partnerships with the likes of local retailers Priceline and Woolworths.

The $12 million business also has a partnership with UK health and beauty retailer Superdrug.

Bondi Sands also hopes to enter the US market early next year in order to build on their success in Australia and the UK.

Co-founder Shaun Wilson told SmartCompany months and months of presentations have finally paid off.

“Boots has always been on our radar. It took a good eight months to get there but they confirmed our stocking for early January 2016,” Wilson says.

“Boots are the biggest self-tanning retailer in the UK. They’ve got 50% market share of the category and the UK is the second biggest self-tanning nation in the world. So it was always a goal for us.”

Wilson says the deal will make Bondi Sands’ products even more accessible for the UK consumer, as well as help the fast-growing business with its aggressive expansion plans.

“It really helps with selling to the USA now,” he says.

“We’ve signed with a US distributor two months ago and have approached the big retailers in the states and are going through that process.

“The US is the biggest market in self-tanning because of population. What Boots does is give us the brand equity people really want to see, because it’s globally known as one of the best health and beauty destination in the world.”

Here are Wilson’s top tips for how Aussie businesses can snap up deals with retail giants.

1. Know the market

“I totally believe in knowing the market, knowing the consumer of that retailer and knowing what point of difference your brand is going to give them,” Wilson says.

2. Sell your company’s vision

While it’s critical to know the market, Wilson says it’s equally important to make your branding consistent across all stores.

“If you can tell that story and your brand positioning, it really helps,” he says.

3. Tailor your pitch to the retailer

“Retailers are different, so when you go into a different territory it’s great to have a distributor or a consultant over there to know what that retailer wants to see,” Wilson says.

“Boots wants to see different things to [French beauty chain] Sephora.”

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