Talk to an executive headhunter that specializes in the retail market. Look for people who have launched roughly similar (eg electronics, not fashion) products

Talk to an executive headhunter that specializes in the retail market. Look for people who have launched roughly similar (eg electronics, not fashion) products into large retail channels. Don't know enough about your product and company cash position to comment on the second question. If your product has the potential to hit huge sales, you have just enough time to hit stores in time for the Christmas shopping season. That would most likely be the ideal case. Another option I was just thing of could be the summer concert series. It sounds like you might have an ideal product for pre-concert shopping/food/drinks concession kiosks. This could also be a good test market.