On the morning of November 2, while standing outside Lowe’s new Tech Hub in Charlotte, North Carolina, P.J. Ferguson had no idea what was ahead of him that day. He did know in July, Lowe’s announced it would host “Into The Blue: Lowe’s Product Pitch Event”, a new product-pitching event in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The in-person event invited entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes to pitch their products to Lowe’s merchants for an opportunity to sell their products in the company’s stores and on Lowes.com. Roughly 1,400 small businesses applied to participate and Ferguson was one of 325 suppliers invited to attend.
Little did he know, his product – the Skidger Xtreme Weeder – was about to have a huge day.
After several pitch meetings, Ferguson and the Skidger advanced all the way to the final round, which meant pitching his product to a room full of Lowe’s executives including Bill Boltz, Lowe’s executive vice president of merchandising. At the end of that meeting, Ferguson was granted what he called a dream - a significant purchase order from Lowe’s. That means his product will soon be available in Lowe’s stores.
It’s dreams coming true, is what it comes down to. With Lowe’s being willing to work with us at this level means we can do things we’ve been looking forward to.
Boltz was excited for the opportunity Into the Blue represents for the invitees.
“There's all these folks out there that are trying to get their foot in the door at Lowe's, trying to find their way to get on our website, but didn't know how to do it,” Boltz explainied. “We've now provided a simpler path to that process. Ultimately it should end up with new stuff on our shelves or on Lowes.com, and that's what I'm excited about.”
“This also shows that we care about our community of entrepreneurs and business owners, and we want to find those small business owners who need that break, who need that opportunity to get their item in Lowe's to do great things,” added Sarah Dodd, Lowe’s senior vice president of global merchandising. “It marries up really well with all the things that Lowe’s stands for.”
Beyond the opportunity to get into Lowe’s stores, Into the Blue offered supplier fairs and main stage sessions all day long, with different speakers providing education and insights about what it takes to be a vendor for a major retailer. Speakers included Baron Davis and Amanda Brinkman, co-hosts of Small Business Revolution on Hulu, Joy Mangano from USA Network’s America’s Next Big Deal”, North Carolina Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders and U.S. Small Business Administration Southeast Regional Administrator Allen Thomas. A wide range of educational breakouts and resources were made available to help the participants grow their business knowledge while waiting their turn to enter the pitch meeting rooms.
The Skidger’s success story is one of dozens of businesses that joined Lowe’s at Into the Blue and walked away with a new partnership. An experience Ferguson says has changed his life.
“There’s a lot of emotions, there’s a lot of gratitude. Just feeling like the efforts have been worth it, because you never know until something like this happens and not knowing is the hardest part. Now, I can feel relief and excitement towards what’s next.”
