The Nourollah brothers have always been driven. From the early days of buying wholesale goods and selling them online at various marketplaces, to renting a warehouse and building relationships with local and international manufacturers, a passion for e-commerce and innovation pushed them to establish their company, Day to Day Imports. Fast forward 11 years and the Southern California-based team is running three brands, OxGord, Art Naturals, and Paws & Pals out of their 250,000 square foot warehouse in Gardena.
Paws & Pals, their pet supply brand that carries items like dog shampoos, cat towers, and pet carriers, was discovered on RangeMe by a Target buyer. Read on to learn how this RangeMe Verified brand’s focus on the latest consumer trends and ability to quickly bring products to market helped them land 200 SKUs on Target.com.
From Pull to Push
The marketing savvy, e-commerce gurus behind Day to Day Imports take cues from the 
Zara business model. The international fast-fashion powerhouse utilizes the push approach: maintain optimal factory efficiency, spot the latest trends, forecast demand, and quickly get products onto shelves.
Akiva Nourollah, CEO of Day to Day Imports, attributes his company’s growth to investments in product development.“We understand consumer behavior—we know what customers are looking for and we keep an eye out for gaps in the industry. From conception to execution, it can take us one to three months to launch a product, whereas our competitors take one to two years,” Nourollah explains.
The team uncovers insights by researching up-and-coming trends, checking customer reviews, and conducting focus groups. In turn, they’re able to quickly figure out how to improve or deliver a better product to the market.
Power of RangeMe
Day to Day Imports was prompted to join RangeMe by their dream retailer, Target, in September 2016. Having spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past to get in front of retailers, RangeMe provided benefits for both sides of the equation.
“Retailers are using RangeMe because it provides a platform for emerging brands that are pushing the needle by being innovative,” Akiva says. “Online product discovery gives buyers access to brands they may not typically come across in the trade show environment, which is the power of the RangeMe experience.”
And for the supplier, “having a buyer reach out to you is a huge accomplishment and more exciting and promising,” states the head of business development at Day to Day Imports.
Three months after the team listed the Paws and Pals product line on RangeMe, a pet buyer from Target reached out.
Timing is Everything
Upon receiving the initial sample request, the business development team at Day to Day Imports anticipated the information Target would need to get a deal going, worked quickly to ask all of the right questions, and sent additional products to showcase the breadth of Paws & Pal’s offerings.
“Working with a retailer to get products live in-store or online is a slow process, so anything you can do on your end to ensure timeliness and quick turnaround is key to having a successful relationship,” says the head of business development.
“It took us nearly three months to hear from Target and another six months to go live, but it all paid off when we received orders minutes after launching on Target.com,” says Nourollah. “They trust us as a supplier to fill customer orders promptly within their requirement guidelines. Thanks to our good working relationship, we’re in a position to introduce some of our other brands to Target.”
Persistence Pays Off
As Day to Day Imports continues to bring the latest products to consumers, they look forward to furthering their relationship with Target while leveraging RangeMe to connect with additional big-box retailers.
“We signed up for RangeMe Premium, so we’re revamping our brands, updating our product images, and focusing on how to present ourselves to buyers on the platform best,” Nourollah says.
As for advice to other suppliers, “All beginnings are hard,” Nourollah starts, “we had to be persistent, think outside the box, and stay motivated. A year or two after reconvening, retailers who said no to us in the past are now carrying our products. Eventually, you’ll build something that they want.”
Great Article!