How to Create a Stockist Finder for a Pet Product Brand on Shopify

Quick Answer

Pet brands working through wholesale distributors and independent stockists can build a stockist finder on Shopify by adding each stockist as a location, organizing them into groups by distributor or region, and tagging them by product range carried. SC Store Locator Map provides the tools to manage this kind of larger, wholesale-oriented stockist network, including bulk import for brands adding many stockists at once.

Introduction

Pet brands that grow through wholesale often end up with a stockist network built through several distributors, each managing their own set of independent retailers. Keeping track of this network, and giving customers a way to find it, becomes more complex than a simple list of stores a brand manages directly.

This guide takes a wholesale and distributor-oriented view of stockist setup, aimed at pet brands managing a larger or more layered network. It goes beyond the simpler customer-facing find a store experience to cover how to organize a stockist network that grows through distributor relationships.

What Is A Stockist Finder?

A stockist finder is a searchable map showing which independent retailers stock a brand's products, typically through wholesale or distributor relationships rather than direct retail partnerships. For pet brands with a layered network, a stockist finder often needs to reflect distributor structure and varying product ranges across stockists, not just a flat list of addresses.

Who Needs A Wholesale Stockist Finder?

This kind of setup is relevant for businesses such as:

• Pet product brands growing primarily through wholesale distribution
• Brands managing stockist relationships through multiple regional distributors
• Pet brands where different stockists carry different portions of the product range
• Brands scaling from a handful of stockists to a larger, harder to track network
• Wholesale teams needing an organized view of the stockist network alongside customer search
• Brands onboarding new distributors on a regular basis as the wholesale channel grows

Why A Stockist Finder Matters for Your Business

Building a proper stockist finder matters for a few practical reasons:

• It gives customers a reliable way to find stockists as the network grows past a simple list
• It reflects the distributor structure a wholesale-driven network is actually built on
• It reduces internal confusion about which distributor manages which stockists
• It helps a wholesale team keep stockist data current as relationships change
• It supports bulk management as the number of stockists grows into the dozens or hundreds
• It shows product range accurately when not every stockist carries the full catalog
• It gives the wholesale team a shared reference instead of scattered spreadsheets from different distributors

How to Build a Stockist Finder for a Pet Product Brand

Step 1: Collect Stockist Data From Each Distributor

Work with each distributor to gather a current list of their stockists, including address, contact details, and the product range each stockist carries, before starting the setup.

Step 2: Install SC Store Locator Map

Install Shopify store locator app and prepare to add stockist data using bulk CSV import, which is particularly useful once the network grows beyond a small handful of locations.

Step 3: Import Stockists in Bulk

Use CSV import to add stockists at scale rather than entering each one manually, especially when onboarding data from multiple distributors at once.

Step 4: Group Stockists by Distributor or Region

Use location groups to organize stockists by the distributor managing them or by region, which keeps the network structured for internal management even as it grows.

• A group per distributor for internal tracking purposes
• Regional groups if distributors cover overlapping territory
• A separate group for direct stockists not managed through a distributor

Step 5: Tag Stockists by Product Range

Add search tags noting which product categories each stockist carries, since wholesale stockists frequently stock only part of a brand's full catalog.

Step 6: Set Up Bulk Management for Ongoing Updates

Use bulk actions for search tags, location groups, and custom fields when updating multiple stockists at once, which saves significant time as distributor relationships and product ranges shift.

Step 7: Publish the Finder and Coordinate With Distributors

Add the finished stockist finder to your site, and let distributors know it exists so they can flag any stockist changes promptly rather than the list going stale over time. Sharing a simple update process with each distributor keeps the finder reliable without adding a heavy ongoing workload for your own team.

Stockist Finder Examples

Industry: Pet treat brand growing through wholesale
Problem: The stockist network had grown to over a hundred independent stores across several distributors with no organized customer-facing finder.
Setup: The brand imported stockists in bulk, grouped them by distributor, and tagged each by product range carried.
Result: Customers could search for a nearby stockist while the wholesale team kept an organized internal view of the network.

Industry: Pet wellness product brand
Problem: Different stockists carried different parts of the product line, but the brand had no way to communicate this to customers.
Setup: The brand tagged stockists by product category and used bulk actions to update tags as distributor relationships changed.
Result: Customers found stockists carrying the specific products they were looking for rather than a generic nearby listing.

Explore more Shop Circle case studies covering how pet brands manage wholesale stockist networks.

Best Practices

A few practices keep a wholesale stockist finder manageable as it grows:

• Group stockists by distributor to keep internal management organized
• Use bulk import and bulk actions once the network grows beyond a small list
• Tag stockists by product range rather than assuming full catalog availability everywhere
• Coordinate regularly with distributors so stockist data does not go stale
• Separate direct stockists from those managed through a distributor
• Review the network periodically to catch stockists that have closed or changed
• Give each distributor a simple, repeatable process for reporting stockist changes

Summary

Creating a stockist finder for a pet product brand growing through wholesale means organizing a network that is often layered across multiple distributors and varying product ranges. Bulk import, distributor grouping, and product range tagging keep the finder accurate and manageable as the network scales.

SC's store locator supports the bulk import and grouping tools pet brands need to manage a growing wholesale stockist network.