Fashion Blogs

When new to the fashion boutique industry, you have to understand how it operates. It is very important to understand the suppliers. These include wholesale distributors and dropshippers. Understanding the various models of fashion clothing sourcing eliminates chances of getting confused. You have to choose an option that matches your business needs to ensure that your customers are always happy. Below are the four common ways of distributing clothing by suppliers you should understand.

Manufacturers who sell to wholesalers

This involves the wholesaler selecting the styles and designs for clothing for the manufacturer to produce. The manufacturers sell in bulk with larger minimum order quantities for each item. This helps to cut the costs of production involved for smaller orders. Wholesalers choose the manufacturers to produce clothing according to their budget and reputation.

However, it is very important to select a trusted brand for quality clothing. This ensures that you get the best items to compete favorably in the market. Additionally, it pays to select designs that will sell faster in the market. With a higher rate of stock turnover, you are likely to come back shortly to place more orders. This is a win-win situation for the manufacturer and wholesaler.

Wholesalers who sell to retailers

For anyone new in the fashion boutique business, buying from wholesale boutique suppliers  is the way to go. These get merchandise from various manufacturers in larger quantities making it available to retailers in smaller orders. Wholesalers bridge the gap between the manufacturer and retailers. This gives boutique owners a chance to get a variety of merchandise from various manufacturers for their stores from one place. The retailers then sell to consumers.

Wholesalers are not intermediaries connecting manufacturers and retailers. Actually, the wholesalers select the clothing designs for the manufacturer to produce. This is usually after intense market research of prevailing trends and styles for the product to sell faster according to season. Wholesalers have design, collection, and dispatch teams to ensure that the merchandise reaches retailers. To get stock for boutique, a wholesaler offers faster order processing with small minimum order quantity.

Why buy from wholesalers, not manufacturers

Wholesalers make the orders for manufacturers to make merchandise. These ensure its availability in the market for retailers by placing orders with the producers. The manufacturers never have ready merchandise since they produce on order. These usually have a larger minimum order quantity that boutique owners can’t afford. Additionally, producers have a longer lead-time to produce larger orders from customers.

Knowing a reputable wholesaler helps in keeping your store well-stocked. These have quality branded clothing from top designers and offer it in the same place. It saves you from checking various stores when getting supplies. The wholesalers make it easy to reorder frequently selling products to avoid running out of stock and annoying your customers. Wholesalers guide producers on designs and trends  to produce. These make it available to keep your fashion boutique collection at par with market expectations.

Manufacturers who sell to retailers

Some producers sell directly to boutique owners in small quantities. However, this is only possible if the manufacturer makes substantial margins. You are likely to but at a bit higher price than if you bought from a wholesaler. So, this option is not a good idea for small quantities. Getting a competitive price from a producer requires placing a larger order for a single item. This is not a good idea to get stock for your fashion boutique since you need various items to meet customer requirements.

Wholesalers who sell to consumers

Finally, some fashion wholesalers sell clothes directly to consumers. These ignore the importance of retailers. The wholesalers sell to consumers at wholesale prices. Also known as dropshipper, these have websites where customers place orders for merchandise. The wholesaler then sends the items to the customer. This business model allows eCommerce site owners not to purchase stock or store inventory. With no retailers involved, the wholesaler sells directly to consumers at a price better than that of retailers.

The eCommerce owners make minimum margins making dropshipping ideal for larger and more expensive items. Manufacturers make merchandise for bulk orders, this takes about four months to produce. It makes consumers wait a bit too long to receive their orders. Additionally, the store owner is likely to face stock shortages that frustrate customers.

Conclusion

The fashion industry is a lucrative business. However, you need to understand how the industry operates. When planning to open a fashion boutique, sourcing suppliers is a very important aspect to understand. There are various ways to get fashion clothing from supplier. You have to understand what works better for you and your customers. Getting wholesale clothing from wholesalers is a more viable option that allows getting quality clothing from a single store at cheaper prices.