JUNE 2025BUSINESSMANAGEMENTREVIEW.COM8By Jamie Gunter, Director of Retail Marketing, Golden HippoCRAFTING A WINNING CHANNEL STRATEGY ACROSS RETAIL & E-COMMERCEJamie Gunter is a CPG marketing leader passionate about crafting holistic brand experiences across categories, channels, and business scales. With experience at Anheuser-Busch, Spectrum Brands, and BarkBox, she has successfully led multi-million dollar product portfolios, driven brand turnarounds, and optimized distribution strategies. Jamie thrives at the intersection of startup culture and large-scale operations, leveraging omnichannel marketing to drive growth in the pet, beverage, and beer industries across retail, e-commerce, and direct-to-consumer models. As Director of Retail Marketing at Golden Hippo, she oversees go-to-market strategies for a $60M+ pet product portfolio.Through this article, Gunter emphasizes the importance of a balanced channel strategy in a go-to-market plan, highlighting the unique opportunities and trade-offs of specialty retail, mass retail, and e-commerce while stressing the need for strategic decision-making to optimize growth and efficiency. Jamie GunterChannel strategy is a critical yet often overlooked component of a go-to-market plan. In an ideal world, you'd launch a streamlined assortment, offer the same products across all channels, and scale effortlessly-meeting shoppers wherever they prefer, all at a consistent price. But reality isn't that simple. Retailers across all channels, specialty, mass, or e-commerce, have unique needs and expectations. Specialty retailers fight for exclusive assortments and strong margins to justify in-store experiences. Mass retailers demand competitive pricing, high volume, and proven performance. E-commerce platforms, while offering speed and reach, come with competition, logistics, and brand dilution challenges. Many brands I've worked with ask: where do we start? Some are drawn to the ease of listing on Amazon struggles with visibility in an oversaturated marketplace. Others look to specialty stores for credibility, curated shelf space, and a highly engaged audience. On the other hand, mass retailers offer unparalleled scale but require operational efficiency and pricing strategies to succeed. Regardless of your chosen path, understanding the trade-offs is key. Here's what you need to know about building a balanced channel strategy. THE OPPORTUNITY & THE TRADE-OFFS ACROSS CHANNELS Each channel comes with unique advantages and challenges. Trying to please all of them at once will stretch your resources and triple your assortment. So, before you decide who to start calling on, take some time to evaluate your options. COMMON RETAILER REQUESTS: Specialty Retailers: Higher per-unit margins, exclusive assortments, and marketing support. Mass Retailers: Competitive pricing, volume commitments, and supply chain reliability. E-Commerce: SEO-optimized listings, strong customer reviews, and fast fulfillment options.
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