From Brooklyn to Home Depot, Walmart and Amazon: Mitch Gould's Retail Journey

For Gould, a Brooklyn native whose family roots run deep in manufacturing and distribution, the journey has been about more than selling products. It has been about building relationships, recognizing opportunities, and understanding what it takes to bring brands into some of the world's most competitive retail environments.

Gould's career has included working with major national retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, Costco, CVS, Walgreens, GNC, and Amazon. Along the way, he has helped manufacturers and consumer brands pursue distribution opportunities across multiple product categories, from hardware and household goods to health, wellness, and sports nutrition.

Learning the Business in Brooklyn

Gould's introduction to retail began long before his first meeting with a national retail buyer. Growing up in Brooklyn, he learned the fundamentals of manufacturing, sales, and distribution from his father and grandfather, both of whom worked in the consumer products business. Those early experiences gave him an understanding of how products move from manufacturers to distributors, retailers, and ultimately consumers.

"Retail was part of my life long before it became my career," said Mitch Gould. "My grandfather had a factory in Brooklyn and a showroom in the Empire State Building. My father Jerry carried that tradition forward in manufacturing and distribution. I grew up learning how products were made, how they were sold, and how relationships opened doors. Those lessons stayed with me throughout my career."

The lessons proved valuable as Gould began developing relationships with major retailers and helping companies expand their distribution networks.

His career eventually brought him into contact with some of the largest names in American retail, including Home Depot, where early relationships helped establish opportunities that would influence his career for years to come.

From Home Improvement to Mass-Market Retail

As Gould's career developed, so did the range of retailers and product categories he worked with.

Home Depot and Lowe's represented opportunities in the home improvement sector, while Walmart and Costco provided access to mass-market consumers. Pharmacy chains such as CVS and Walgreens, along with specialty retailers like GNC, introduced different distribution requirements and opportunities for health and wellness brands.

Each retail environment presented its own challenges, from product selection and packaging to pricing, logistics, and merchandising.

Gould's experience across these channels gave him a broad perspective on the American retail landscape and the differences between introducing a product to a specialty retailer and preparing it for national distribution.

His career has also included work with established consumer product companies and brands, including Rubbermaid, Sunbeam, Igloo, and Miracle-Gro.

"I've had the opportunity to help brands get their products into some of the biggest retailers in America, from Home Depot and Lowe's to Walmart, Costco, CVS, and Walgreens," Gould said. "Every retailer is different. You have to understand what their buyers are looking for, what their customers want, and how to make the product work for that particular store. That's something you learn through experience, not from a textbook."

Amazon Opens a New Chapter

As retail evolved, Gould's experience expanded from traditional brick-and-mortar distribution into e-commerce.

One of the notable chapters in his career involved Amazon's developing sports nutrition business.

Working with Muscle Foods and Amazon buyers, Gould helped introduce more than 100 sports nutrition brands and products to the online marketplace, contributing to the early development of a category that would become an established part of Amazon's health and wellness offerings.

The experience represented a natural progression in Gould's career, applying decades of product distribution knowledge to a new retail model.

Although Amazon changed the way consumers discovered and purchased products, Gould recognized that many of the underlying principles of successful distribution remained the same: product selection, pricing, inventory, reliable fulfillment, and understanding customer demand.

"When I started in this business, everything revolved around getting products onto store shelves," Gould said. "Then Amazon came along and changed the retail landscape. I had the opportunity to help build its sports nutrition category, bringing more than 100 brands and products to the platform. It was a different way of doing business, but the relationships, product knowledge, and distribution experience I'd developed over the years were just as valuable."

A Brooklyn Foundation for a National Retail Career

Throughout his career, Gould has worked with manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and consumer brands seeking opportunities in the United States.

His experience reflects the transformation of American retail, from the dominance of national brick-and-mortar chains to the emergence of e-commerce platforms that allow brands to reach consumers across the country.

For Gould, the common thread has been the business education he received growing up in Brooklyn and the relationships he developed throughout his career.

From Home Depot and Walmart to Amazon, his professional journey illustrates how a foundation in traditional manufacturing and distribution can translate into opportunities across generations of American retail.

About Mitch Gould

Mitch Gould is a third-generation retail distribution and manufacturing expert with more than 25 years of experience launching and scaling consumer products across sports nutrition, health and wellness, skincare, hardware, and beverages. He has worked with iconic consumer brands such as Igloo, Rubbermaid, Sunbeam, and Miracle-Gro, as well as high-profile celebrity brands including Steven Seagal, Hulk Hogan, Chuck Liddell, 8× Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, and martial arts pioneer Bob Wall. 

Over the course of his career, Gould has played a key role in helping shape the growth of the U.S. sports nutrition category-supporting the expansion of performance-focused products across major retail and e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, Walmart, GNC, CVS, and Walgreens. His work has centered on bringing muscle-building, recovery, and performance-oriented products to a broader consumer audience.