Selling into Boutique Fashion & Accessories Retailers

Fashion is one thing that connects everyone. It is more than the billion dollar industry it is; it is the way of life for many people. However, to the players in the supply chain, the billion dollar part of it is the attractive one. Boutiques are fashion stores for clothes, shoes, accessories, and every other thing related to it. Getting products into them takes a lot of strategizing and industry knowledge.

It is essential to note that the fashion industry is dynamic. It changes with time and what is fashion now may cease to be fashion in few months. This means that the distributor or the fashion designer has to be in the market. Trends must be understood. Hardly would anyone want to wear outdated fashion or would a retailer want to stock it; the reason to be up to date.

Unless you distribute brands exclusively sold in certain stores, you are looking at getting your products into as many stores as possible. The sale of products in exclusive stores is a market strategy that works for top celebrity brands where the retail stores are themselves designated stores of the brand. There, the pricing strategy is quite different from normal pricing – value-based pricing.

It is very essential to note that branding is very important when it comes to fashion. There are some brands that bring people. Men love shoes but a shoe brand like Christian Louboutin is sought after by young adults and those who make fashion statements. Thus, you have to get brands that are very popular and can be easily sold by the retailer.

It is very important to understand that the retailer would only sell products she believes would sell; not just any product. Thus, get the retailer to tell you products that sell bring in more foot traffic.

It is very important to note some few pointers that can help with distributing to boutiques.

Variety has been said to be the spice of life. In the beauty products supply industry, variety sets the difference. As much as complexions are different, tastes also differ. Trends and beauty shows set new trends. This may not last for long; the profit there is timely and needed. As a supplier, you must understand trends, the area you want to distribute to, and what could be the prevalent taste in the area.

You have to understand pricing. It can be highly important. As much as people care about quality, when they are checking out products in the boutique, the prices become a fundamental matter. Someone looking at trying out a new outfit may reconsider because of the price, even though the outfit may be well fitting.

You can exhibit at tradeshows and meet retailer at fashion shows to get into more stores. It can also be very helpful if you are listed on distributor’s directories – either online or offline.