Matt Adelman

Matt Adelman appears in Who decides what big box sells? Our GAME got us answers as a former Target buyer interviewed by Planet Money to explain how big-box retail decisions work. Although his own buying category was deli and prepared foods rather than board games, the source uses him to generalize the Retail Line Review process across categories.

His contribution is the buyer-side constraint. He says a large funnel of submissions turns into far fewer meetings and only a small number of shelf wins, and he explains that a buyer must think about Planogram Gatekeeping, Sales Velocity, and whether a new item will perform better than the one it replaces.

Connections

• Target - former employer and retail-buyer context.
• Planet Money and Sell Me a Sasquatch - source case he helps explain.
• Retail Line Review, Planogram Gatekeeping, and Retail Shelf Placement - concepts grounded by his interview.
• Sales Velocity and Retail Incrementality - performance logic buyers need to defend internally.