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On the ShelfBy The PetRetailNews Desk3 min readAugust 6, 2026
Brands Are Outsourcing the MAP Enforcement They Cannot Staff
Complete Compliance is a white-glove program where brands hand off the entire MAP policing process. The hire signals a structural shift.
MAPP Trap hired Chris Gibbins as Director of Complete Compliance, the company's fully managed brand protection service where brands hand off strategy, enforcement execution, and reporting instead of licensing software and doing it themselves.
The service model and what it replaces
MAP enforcement software requires brands to monitor violations, chase down unauthorized sellers, and file takedown requests themselves. MAPP Trap's Complete Compliance program runs the entire process for the client. Gibbins will design enforcement strategies, oversee the policing of pricing policies and rogue reseller activity, and operate MAPP Trap's automated enforcement platform on behalf of brand partners.
Gibbins brings over 30 years of experience in consumer goods and electronics. At Goorin Bros. where he held the title of Senior Brand Protection Manager, he directed a global enforcement operation that removed nearly 200,000 infringing listings tied to more than $15 million worth of counterfeit merchandise. Earlier in his career, he worked as an independent consultant advising companies on how to spot threats, build enforcement plans, and defend their trademarks and copyrights.
The company said the program was built to answer a gap: brands that want to control their distribution channels but do not have the staff or the know-how to write policies and execute enforcement.
Who this squeezes and who it helps
If you're a store owner stocking premium brands, this matters because rigorous MAP enforcement keeps rogue online sellers from undercutting your shelf price. The shift to a managed service model means smaller brands that couldn't staff in-house enforcement can now afford to police their pricing, which should translate to fewer pricing headaches and less channel conflict when you stock those SKUs.
For emerging brands trying to protect specialty retail pricing, outsourced enforcement changes the cost-benefit math. You're no longer choosing between hiring someone internally to chase violators or letting MAP violations slide, you can hand the entire function to a third party and pay for results.
Our read: the hire signals the program has traction
MAP enforcement as a managed service exists in the market. What we're watching is MAPP Trap hiring a director-level operator with over 30 years in the industry to run it. That hire suggests the program is generating enough client demand to justify dedicated leadership.
Ron Solomon, MAPP Trap's founder, said Gibbins "is exactly the kind of guy this role demands. He's been in the trenches, running real enforcement programs, managing complex client relationships, and delivering outcomes. Our brand partners are going to feel the difference immediately."
Gibbins said he has worked with the MAPP Trap team for close to seven years and considers the firm "a leader in MAP compliance and unauthorized seller enforcement. I'm excited to join the team and bring my brand-owner perspective and global brand protection experience to help our brand partners strengthen their enforcement strategies and deliver even stronger results."
The company was founded in 2012 and is currently in use by manufacturers across pet, gift, nutrition, beauty, outdoor, and sporting goods.
What changes on the shelf Monday
If you're a buyer evaluating a new premium brand, ask whether they enforce MAP and how. If the answer is "we use a managed service," that's a stronger signal than "we have a policy", it means someone is actually chasing violators, not just sending cease-and-desist letters when they remember.
If you're a brand operator deciding whether to implement MAP, the barrier just dropped. You no longer need to build internal enforcement capacity to make the policy credible. The question is whether the managed service cost is worth the margin protection, and that math is different for every brand.
The thing to watch: whether other MAP software providers follow MAPP Trap into managed services, or whether this stays a niche offering for brands that can't or won't staff enforcement internally. If it's the former, MAP adoption accelerates. If it's the latter, the specialty pricing you're protecting stays fragile.
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