Building Your Own Global Company After 22 Years As An Executive – Bill Endres Ep68

How Select Brands Licenses Products with Prestigious Brands Plus the eCommerce Space After COVID-19

Do you want your product to be recognized and be competitive in the market after licensing? Then think of brands that will bring value and prestige to your product, not just any name.

In this episode of the Page One Podcast, Luke Peters speaks with Bill Endres, the owner of Select Brands. Bill decided to leave a career at the executive level after 22 years and now develops private label and licensed products selling to some of the largest mass retailers in the world. He also conducts business with his two sons each contributing differently within the company.

Listen in to learn how the pandemic has unleashed benefits for some industries in the areas of eCommerce and the direct-to-consumer market. You will also hear how companies like Select Brands are going about finding and utilizing manufacturers outside of China.

Key Takeaways:

• How they utilize each employee’s capabilities from the US to China through collaborations.
• How the pandemic has positively impacted eCommerce in certain industries.
• The importance of collaborating with brands that bring value and prestige to your product and not just a name.
• The benefits of focusing on what you’re good at as a company and not trying to be everything to everyone.

Episode Timeline:

• [1:55] Bill explains the products they develop- kitchen appliances and other products they do private labeling and licensed brands.
• [3:14] The unexpected demand they saw during the Coronavirus pandemic after eCommerce took off.
• [5:00] Bill explains the COVID-19 measures they still have in place to combat the virus.
• [7:05] He explains how they found manufacturers outside China and the time challenges they’ve had due to the production complexities of their products.
• [9:28] He explains the size of Select Brands as an international company and the unique operational strategies they use.
• [10:55] How they all collaborate to complete a project and the complex process of manufacturing that takes a year.
• [14:59] How eCommerce and direct to consumer model has created opportunities for Select Brands to offer new concepts to consumers.
• [17:47] Bill explains how and why they moved from the executive level and started developing their own products.
• [21:00] He narrates how he found funding to put Select Brands up and running.
• [25:09] Bill describes the licensing process and the lessons he learned in investing his product with valuable brands.
• [29:57] The lessons Bill learned from his father about business and the roles his two sons contribute to the company.
• [34:10] Learning not to be everything to everyone and rather concentrating on one product you’re good at as a company.

Quotes:

“It’s not just putting a name on a product; it’s having a name go on a product that people can recognize that what the value and the utility is and what prestige that brand brings to that product.”- Bill [25:47]