Brokers + Brand Management Companies
Horizon strongly encourages all of its supplier partners to appoint the services of a Broker or Brand Management Company within our industry in order to ensure your products are promoted effectively in our marketplace.
Brokers, brand management companies or manufacturer’s agents are sales, merchandising and marketing specialists hired by suppliers to add an additional level of representation of their brand in a defined territory. Brokerages are paid a percentage of the sales a distributor purchases from a supplier. Initially, when a line is new to distribution, this percentage can translate into very low returns, thus brokerages will often require retainers for an initial period in order to justify the efforts they place on a brand. This is considered an “investment spend” on the part of the supplier and should be expected. Retainers vary depending on the size, structure and maturity of the brokerage.
Horizon requires all product lines to have co-op advertising programs set up with our top (key) accounts. This is the role of your broker or your manufacturer’s agent and is done on an annual basis. At minimum, each key account Merchandising or Category Manager requires a face to face meeting to establish an annual co-op advertising program via booking ads, demo activity and other event participation in order to support your brand at retail.