2007
Increase your chances of getting your clothing line in stores
Posted by: Fashion06 in Starting your own line |
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I wanted to compile a list of actions you can take to increase your chances of getting into a clothing retail store after talking to a retailer that I work with named Concrete Jungle which is a small chain of stores that has been going 10+years strong in the retail industry. He was thinking of making the transition from owner/buyer to a clothing line owner. He thinks that’s where many clothing owners fall short is with their knowledge on the retail side of the industry and how that works. So we are thinking about getting together and creating a brand…more on that later. With his extensive knowledge on the retail side of things he gave me a few pointers on increasing your chances of landing an account with the store and a few tips on things you can implement in your line to help improve your sell through as a new brand. Take a look at some information I combined from my own experiences with Wayne’s input:
Professionalism: Dress appropriately for your industry. This depends on who your clothing brand caters to street wear, designer wear, juniors, urban , or whoever your target audience might be. Treat others with respect and courtesy.
Building Relationships with buyers: If your capable of getting to know a buyer of a potential clothing store you would like to retail in…DO IT. Don’t just call and get their information and a phone conversation. There regular people and you should take them out for lunch (Pay for it of course) and tie in the sales meeting. If you meet them at a trade show offer to buy them a drink. If your at a gentlemen’s club pay for them a dance….:) just making sure you get the picture.
Capitalizing off of popular accessories, or shoes: If you know about a must-have item (shoes,purses, hats) that is going to be released around spring/winter/summer/fall season there is nothing wrong with matching some of your clothing line garments accordingly. He spoke on how some of the popular brands get the future release of Nike shoe colors and match pieces of their clothing brand with colorway of the sneakers. (You can easily go into your favorite footwear store and ask them to give you the future release dates of popular shoes such as jordans, nike, nike sb dunks or check out some online sources for the release dates of others like greedy genius, puma, or reebok. I know Nicekicks updates pretty regularly with the releases on some of the above mentioned shoes.
Knowledgeable of the industry and your brand: I know it sounds crazy not being knowledgeable of your own brand. He spoke about when rocawear clothing was first released how the sales reps weren’t knowledgeable on the brand or delivery terms or how the packages are shipped. First off know your minimums, are your garments pre-packed in sizes, deadline on delivery, prices, and maybe even a company bio. Be able to talk fashion lingo and network within the industry circles. That is why many clothing line owners hire sales reps, because they already have developed relationships within the industry and buyers go to them for the next clothing line that’s about to blow or the next big “thing”.
Hopefully these tips help and you incorporate some of them into building a better clothing brand. Make sure if your ever in the South Carolina area you pay a visit to Concrete Jungle located on the Greenville motor mile. A big thanks to Wayne for some useful tips.
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Fred
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April 1st, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Please ,retail stores don’t give the little people a chance to come-up in the fashions game .All they want
is the big clothing line names like sean john ,ecko, ect so they can make fast $$$$$$$$$$$$$$………….
no matter how much you try to get your brand in their store they will find a reason to say no.You have to
know people and that’s that
April 1st, 2007 at 7:13 pm
I have to disagree with you on the “you have to know people and that’s that” and “ll they want
is the big clothing line names like sean john ,ecko,” because it all depends on what kind of stores you are targeting….Most of the street wear brands wouldn’t want to be seen in the same store as a sean john or ecko…because it would take away from the lines underground appeal….I know for a fact their are plenty of stores that don’t even carry larger brands like the above mentioned and cater to more up and coming innovative brands…if you have good product and the right people behind your brand ….you can’t fail…I appreciate your input though…
Is that how it’s been for you so far with trying to sale to stores?
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:52 am
Yes ,example I?m not going to call out the name of the retail store but I will tell you this ,they have on their website about how much they want to help and look out for new up coming urban designers .I got all the info about company (buyer) and I gave them a call the secretary answer the phone and said he or she was in a meeting so I left a msg. So ,I waited for them to contact me back , 2 days goes by and he or she didn?t call me back to say anything ,so I called again and the secretary said the same thing so I left a msg again ????.so I waited a bit didn?t want to call to much, 2 weeks goes by and still no call back so I called 1 last time and guess what I got the same thing ,leave a msg and I will get the buyer to call you back he or she is in a meeting ?.do u think he or she called back 2 say anything???????????????????? Nope. And retail store say ?keep it professional ? .I know I?m not the only person that?s calls but they could have called me back ,they did not even give me the chance to show or e-amil nothing about myself but I bet if it was some big designer that would have never happen ????.and this it not the first retail store 2 do this .So all I have to say to new designers is never give up if 1 or 2 or even more stores don?t call you back ???????jokes on them because when u make it big they will be the ones call you
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:34 am
That is definitely true…happen to me plenty of times when I started…its part of the game. Like you said long as you don’t give up…thats what matters
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:45 am
the link is dead…it doesn’t lead to anywhere…but we can’t have people just linking to their website…but its cool for this one time :)..update the link though and I will erase the old one.
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:50 am
why can’t i have people linking to my website ,i’m asking for help????????????is this no the place for help??
April 2nd, 2007 at 7:53 am
You can have people linking to your website…but you cant just straight up post a link as a comment :(…there is nowhere on the internet that a blog or site will let you just post a link to your site…they call it SPAM. We have the forum where you introduce yourself and can post a link to your self…also a link is embedded in your name foppish clothing…that where we link at.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:00 am
where did the name of your clothing company come about?
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:13 am
so then take it off then ………………………
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:38 am
your wish is granted
April 8th, 2007 at 3:32 am
Never complain because a prospective client won’t listen. They’re only a prospect, they don’t owe you anything and if they’re too busy, they’re too busy. Sometimes you have to give someone other than yourself the benefit of the doubt.
Also, if you try to do a bit more research and find out why they’re so busy, you can probably do better in helping them with THEIR needs. If you’re doing business with someone it needs to be a win-win game. If all you’re thinking about is “Mu-fu won’t give me the time of day, asshole…” and the other dude is thinking “Shit, how will I get these 500 boxes off the truck in 2 days when I’m so understaffed and have to make sure people are working the register… etc,” well then guess what - You’re going to come off as the arrogant asshole who doesn’t give a shit about their store and just wants to get your product on the shelf. They’ll spit right back at you with that same attitude.
Get your mind right, never get in the “victim” mindset. Don’t let the “nobody is paying attention to me” bs become and excuse for you to let up on your grind. Also, make sure you product is TIGHT, and its not just your boys and your mama telling you so. I don’t know how many horrible rappers/djs/bands I meet that complain about how “nobody will put them on,” but they’re straight garbage to everyone, but themselves. Don’t be afraid of the truth, if your ish isn’t up to par, step your game up.
April 8th, 2007 at 7:38 am
I like that Xander…the truth shall set you free…lol ;)…good info
April 13th, 2007 at 6:11 am
I haven’t started going to retail buyers but as a person who has been in the industry with a lot of bigwigs, I must tell you to listen to Xander.
Prime example, everyone has seen American Idol. You get the ones who talk a good game and then they open their mouths to sing and they are really bad. When they are told so, they get upset and embarrass themselves on TV. Let me say, people are watching. Always carry yourself professionally because you are a walking billboard of your company. Even on this site. You don’t know who’s reading.
Honestly, I would not give you my business because of your negative perspective on how business is handled. Take all that in consideration. If you’re complaining now, what’s going to happen when things really fall through?
I’ve been in the arts (fashion, music, etc) industry for years and I’ve seen a lot. Best advice: always keep your cool. Always.
April 13th, 2007 at 6:14 am
One more thing.
Do you think those big designers started that way?
They got shut down when they started out too. For instance, Sean Puffy Combs. The man was an intern when he first started. He was in the arts industry for years before he started the fashion deal. Even then, I bet folks told him no. I’m sure the higher ups didn’t believe a hip hop star could make money doing professional high end clothing. He proved them very wrong. Don’t give up. Please. You WILL kick yourself and probably not come back.
April 13th, 2007 at 6:19 am
What you can also do is network. Go to fashion shows and parties. Wear your own gear. That’s how I got started. My clients started my business for me. Then people saw my passion and helped me along the way. Join business seminars. Don’t just limit yourself to fashion linkups. Business is business. And ALWAYS stand out. When I’m in a crowd, folks walk to ME and ask where I got my gear and I tell them it was made by my company and BAM I have an order or a business card in my hand.
There is more than one way to get in the door. If emails and calls don’t work, go in person. If it’s not worth your efforts, go to the next event or company.
I get shut down all the time but I know I have a money maker. Right now may not be the time. Don’t rush it and never put your company out too prematurely.
April 13th, 2007 at 6:45 am
Very good advice Corrodus….glad someone else gave an opinion on the topic…because they seemed like they were on the edge!….great info..glad to have you on the blog
May 12th, 2007 at 11:06 am
[…] this blog we have discussed many topics and one was on how to get in good with store buyers to increase your chances of getting?into stores,?which you should definitely take a second look at. Today we will talk about building beneficial […]
March 24th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
This post is really neat. I’ve been leeching off of it for the past couple weeks, and its really increased my success with retailers (well I started contacting them right after I started reading this). Anyway, I’ve been using the call, email, follow up method and having a lot of success. I take care of the business aspects of Zyklun, and my partner does all of the designing, which may give us an edge over all of you who have to take on everything. Anyway I just wanted to add, on my first call I alway give a brief overview of the company. I’ve found that people love hearing that we have events planned to sponsor (which we do, all it takes is giving away a few shirts and you get called a sponsor), and they also love hearing a quick background of us… graduated from blah blah blah, always had a passion for … Really excited about our new line, and the marketing plans we have, if you think there may be a fit, I’d love to sit down with you… You get the picture. Anyway, I think putting in their mind that I’d like to sit down and go over our plans has helped us get p.o.’s in the early stages of our company, been at it for 2 weeks and have 10 stores picking us up (3 accounts) Anyway, good luck to all, I’m excited to try the newspaper article, I had been thinking about that actually, then I came across your posting, crazy. Cheers! Steve http://www.zyklun.com
March 27th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Great article Fred! Some really good advice from Zyguy, Corrodus, and Xander. In many cases, it’s easier to get in the store. But you have to have consistency for repeat business. Planning, Planning, Implementation.