Expert retailers explain what businesses should know but don’t

This story told is based on a conversation with Brett Rose, CEO and founder of a multimillion-dollar wholesale business. United National Consumer Suppliers (UNCS), which supplies 165,000 retailers including Macy’s, TJX, Sam’s Club, Dollar Tree, Amazon resellers and others. Rose moves millions of dollars worth of cargo each quarter. He also predicts major trends in retail, such as the decline of the mall, the rise of off-brands, and the omnichannel effect. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.

^{Image credit: Courtesy of UNCS. Brett Rose.}

About 23 years ago, I had a very good friend whose father worked for a retailer that is now out of business called Building 19, and he had four truckloads of women’s purses stored in his warehouse. And I use the term ladies’ purses lightly – they were worth dollars; This was not a channel. So I picked up the Yellow Pages and found someone who wanted to buy them.

That first sale was a big lesson in business because it was four trucks worth of merchandise, and I had to borrow money from my parents to do it; Three trucks were delivered, but the driver of the fourth truck, who theoretically had all our revenue, drove that truck. Luckily, no one got hurt, but suddenly, during my first week in business, I had to learn how to file an insurance claim – things they don’t teach you in school.

But, against my parents’ better judgment, I decided to give it one more try. I bought a truckload of rubber bands, then a truckload of sewing needles and thread. I bought whatever was in front of me; The world was a little smaller then. Email was in its infancy, and the Internet was not what it is now. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and as a 25-year-old with no money and no network, I needed to figure it out – and they say necessity is the root of all invention.

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Our first major retailer was the second deal we did. There was a company based in Massachusetts, which unfortunately is no longer in business, called Christmas Tree Shops. They grew much larger and eventually became a division of Bed Bath & Beyond. I literally went on AOL, typed in The Christmas Tree Shop’s corporate office, picked up the phone, and introduced myself and my company. I may have accepted that I was bigger than I was. I’ll never forget that the gentleman’s name was Terry O’Neill, and he agreed to give me a chance.

Our third deal was a sale to Dollar General, which was one of the largest retailers in the world at the time. This taught me another interesting lesson because the buyer asked if I had $5 million worth of liability insurance. I said sure, then hung up, called my friend and asked what liability insurance was and how to fix it. I was faking it until I made it.

Soon after, we hit the ground running. After every deal we made, we added another retailer. I would go on MySpace and ask my friends who live in the Northeast what retailers they liked, then make it my goal for the day and figure out how to accomplish it.

Currently, we sell up to 165,000 in 34 countries. Some of them include Amazon, Macy’s, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Dollar Tree, and Sam’s Club. The number of our retailers increases every day, but we do not overwhelm any one customer. I have friends who have built amazing businesses just by selling to Walmart or Costco, but I always wanted to be cautious and that’s why we diversified. We are constantly adding new retailers and, more importantly, new suppliers. We now sell to a lot of convenience stores. We sell to a lot of department stores. We carry a huge hardware and farm and feed store. As a child of Boston and Florida, I never knew what a farm and feed store was in my life. I don’t think I ever got into it 15 years ago, and now it’s a big division of ours.

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Nowadays, we are introducing more and more technology into the company, and this has been one of the biggest turning points in our history. Suddenly, we are a technology company that delivers goods; We are no longer a typical merchandise delivery company that uses technology. Every day is a new educational opportunity – and it’s also the difference between 10x growth in 12 months and 10x growth in 10 years. We’re just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible because of the data we’ve collected over nearly 20 years. We are seeing double digit growth every day and are adding more people and technology every day to maintain it.

Our biggest strategy has always been agility. Our company president, Jeremiah Gutierrez, has been promoting it for over a decade. Tariffs change every day. It’s becoming a little more common, but even now, that’s why the market cost is so high. Our ability to be flexible sets us apart from the competition. For example, if there is a heavy tariff on bicycles this week, we will shift our focus to home furnishing. We have tremendous flexibility, which allows us to give our customers normalized pricing without huge increases to compensate for tariffs, which in turn translates into a better strategy for them and a better strategy for the American consumer.

One of the biggest changes in retail that we are just starting to see is the return of the mall. I have a 12 year old and a 14 year old, and although they still buy some things online, they love going to the mall and shopping in person. When I took them to the mall last week, it was like a date – they must have seen 30 of their friends, which I loved because it reminded me of the 1980s and 1990s. So I think we’re going to see a real return to traditional retail, but it’s going to have to look different.

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There’s a mall in South Florida called Aventura Mall that has kind of made it its own: You walk in, and it’s an amazing experience. Every storefront is different. This is a business right. It is burning properly. Its fragrance is perfect. It serves everyone. And when I was there, it was nailed down, even though it was a Friday afternoon and the weather was great – people were there because they wanted to be there. The parking lot was full. And it was an experiential shopping experience. While I was there I got my car washed. I also went to buy coffee for my espresso machine, and when I walked in they gave me a shot of espresso. It also had an arcade, which was packed. That mall should be a case study of what retail is going to become.

^{Image Credit: Jesse Milhet | Getty Images. Aventura Mall.}

Also, as a parent, my constant battle is how to get my kids away from their phones. I saw her and her friends when we were at the mall, and sure, they were posting pictures on Snapchat, but they were also laughing, talking, and shopping. There’s no denying the dopamine high you get when you buy something, and as a 40-year-old man, what I want is different than my kids – but they have something for everyone. For example, in this mall, there is an art gallery selling paintings worth $20,000; You can go there, and in the meantime, my daughter is buying a $19 hoodie at Hollister. That gallery was packed, and Hollister was packed too. It told me that the mall is alive and well, but not the mall we knew in the 1980s.

Consumerism will always be there. If I had a crystal ball for the stock market, I would suggest looking at retailers that are category agnostic. Don’t look at one category because it doesn’t work. Look at Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, Dollar Tree: these are stocks that consistently outperform the index because there’s nothing you can’t buy. Being category agnostic allows them to be agile and flexible, and I think you’ll see those stores outperform others while traditional department stores continue to struggle.

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A professor once gave me the best advice. I said, “I’m really trying to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.” And he said, “Why don’t you figure out what you want to do next?” Be it wholesale business or any business, just start. Tech has given people a shorter runway. When I started, it wasn’t that it was more challenging; The point was that the challenges were different. But now with technology at our fingertips, finding products, customers and partners has become less difficult. Now, anyone who wants to get into any business, not just wholesale, can go international instantly.

I would also tell young entrepreneurs to remember that they are not an island. Use the people and networks around you, even if they’re not necessarily in your industry. Let them know what you’re doing because you never know who might join you. LinkedIn is very important to be a human being. I live with the mindset that we have two hands, one to help ourselves and one to help others, and if helping someone doesn’t get me more business, that’s okay. It doesn’t matter to me. Build a successful business and life as it comes full circle.

This story told is based on a conversation with Brett Rose, CEO and founder of a multimillion-dollar wholesale business. United National Consumer Suppliers (UNCS), which supplies 165,000 retailers including Macy’s, TJX, Sam’s Club, Dollar Tree, Amazon resellers and others. Rose moves millions of dollars worth of cargo each quarter. He also predicts major trends in retail, such as the decline of the mall, the rise of off-brands, and the omnichannel effect. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.

^{Image credit: Courtesy of UNCS. Brett Rose.}

About 23 years ago, I had a very good friend whose father worked for a retailer that is now out of business called Building 19, and he had four truckloads of women’s purses stored in his warehouse. And I use the term ladies’ purses lightly – they were worth dollars; This was not a channel. So I picked up the Yellow Pages and found someone who wanted to buy them.