How Do Retail Stores Buy From Fashion Designers?

Stores deal very differently with emerging designers than established brands. When dealing with a brand with a track record, they can rely on previous sales information in order to make buying decisions such as how many tops, bottoms, dresses to buy, and they order based on this prior history.

A meeting between an established designer and a store, while based on style, is also driven by data. In extreme cases, successful fashion houses may even suggest what to buy from their collection. Emerging designers, however, do not have this luxury.

To learn how stores buy from emerging designers, Sense of Fashion interviewed Shira Sue Carmi, founder of Launch Collective.

Stores need to fall in love – help them
As an emerging designer, the first thing you need to do is to make the store fall in love with your line. It’s an aesthetic issue first and foremost: they have to fall in love with the product and they need to feel passionate about it and be convinced that their customers will be equally passionate about it. Only then will they look at prices, which need to be within the range of their department, and ideally on the lower end of their range so there’s an incentive to buy. Then, and only then, will they choose.

Stores are looking for reliable designers – build a good reputation
This is very common so don’t be discouraged: Major stores will often look at a brand for the first season without actually buying into the collection. They need to know that if they commit to introducing the brand to their shoppers, the brand will be there for the long run.

The fashion industry is very small, and buyers all know one another and talk about which brands are selling well and shipping on time, and which are not. They look to see that a brand is consistent, because their job is not just finding the latest styles, but rather finding brands they can add to their assortment on a long term basis.

Department stores are different from boutiques – Know who you’re talking to
There are two types of stores: boutiques and department stores. Department stores carry many categories and have many employees in their buying team. Boutique buyers on the other hand are often also the owners, so they have much more control when making financial decisions, they can decide to take chances. When you’re talking to them, you’re talking to the ultimate decision maker.

When you’re talking to a department store buyer, you need to know that they have different buyers for different categories. Make sure you are talking to the right person! Also know that these buyers have very limited control, they have a budget for the entire season and at least 80% of it will go to brands they’ve already bought from in the past, so there’s only a small budget left for new brands.

Stores only buy at specific times in the year – use that window of opportunity
The big sales seasons are spring and fall. The buyers buy for spring from mid-August to late-October, and for fall from mid-January until late-March. Be sure to secure meetings with them in those periods, otherwise even if they like your line they won’t be able to buy it.

This, of course, is also a tricky game: you want to reach them early, while they still have the budget available to buy, but not so early that they’re not yet ready to make a decision.

Most stores don’t make huge orders – know what to expect
In your first season, department stores are most likely not to buy at all, and boutiques might buy small. On your second season, if they like you they will probably place a small order. For an American boutique, this can range between $1,500 to $3,000 per season at wholesale, and in future seasons if your product sells well it goes up from there.

A purchase order from a store is a binding contract – read it carefully
Stores don’t usually place an order the first time they see you. They take notes, marking the styles that they like, then they go back to their offices and crunch the numbers. Only then do they place the order, by fax or email.

You need to send a confirmation, review and approve the order. Once you approve, the order becomes a binding contract. A SIGNED PURCHASE ORDER (PO) is a binding contract. You need to make sure you can meet all of the conditions in the order – time frame, cancellation date, shipping terms, packaging and labeling requirements, etc.

Stores over-buy – don’t give them a reason to cancel
A lot of stores, especially small boutiques, often over-buy, so there’s always the chance they will try to cancel the order later on if their overall sales don’t live up to their original plan.

Stores love to be first – offer exclusivity
Stores often pride themselves on being the first to offer their shoppers new and exciting designers and styles, to differentiate themselves from the many other stores that their customers can shop. Some buyers will even demand exclusivity in exchange for placing an order. I

You can find the entire article on how stores and boutiques buy on http://www.senseofashion.com/blog/890/how-retails-purchase-fashion-brands/.

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