You just designed and manufactured a line of clothing. Now what? The first step towards making your brand profitable lies in getting it into the hands of just the right fashion retail buyers. These are the people who have the ultimate say over what ends up in their stores and boutiques. If you get your clothing to them, and they purchase it, you are well on your way to having a successful business. Everything hinges on this. So, how do you get them to notice you? What are the challenges? How do you overcome them? Here’s what you need to know.
1. Retail Buyers Only Attend Certain Trade Shows
Did you know that there are many different fashion trade shows in the fashion industry? The most popular – and the ones with the largest attendance – are in New York City, Paris, and Las Vegas. If you want to meet the right buyers, you have to get them to notice your designs. This isn’t easy since trade shows cost money and, some shows require you to submit your designs to participate, this is where branding is important if you want to be noticed in the sea of fashion collections. in place in order to make your booth look professional. However, once you decide on the right show for your brand, were the right buyers are attending. It simplifies the process.
2. Buyers Prefer To Purchase Clothing From Established Companies
A more established brand is reliable and has experience producing apparel. Stores are looking for this consistency, but a retailer will take a chance with your collection if it is the right fit for the store and it is priced well. There is always an exception. The other reason buyers tend to prefer to work with established companies is that they are better known, which leads to sales, consumers tend to stick to what they know and will recognize. To get a buyer to change their rules, your clothing has to be perfect.
3. There’s A Lot of Competition Out There
How many graduates does a school like Parsons or FIT churn out every year? The answer is quite a few. And those are only two of the top 25 or so fashion schools in the world. All of those graduates want a job in fashion. Sure, some of them end up working for established lines and do a lot of work in the back design room that goes unseen, but others are directly competing with you. They want to be the next Stella McCartney or Ralph Lauren. With all of this competition out there, your clothing should stand out from the crowd if you want to attract the right buyers. How can you call attention to your designs? They need to be impeccably made and fit well. They must be wearable (and therefore, buyable), and most importantly, those outfits need to be either on-trend or perfectly classic. Anything that is mediocre will just get ignored.
4. Buyers Respond to People They Form Relationships With
This can be a challenge, because how to meet the buyers in the first place? And what happens if you’re an introverted wallflower who feels intimidated by the buyers that you want to impress? You need to either have a great mentor who can help you meet those buyers, or find a way to grab their attention on your own. Attending trade shows (which we already mentioned) and going to conferences is a good way to make those relationships. However, it’s even better if you have a friend (someone that you feel comfortable around) who can introduce you to the buyers. This is an industry where you need to be friendly and approachable, despite all of the outward appearances.
5. You Should Think Beyond the Trends
Buyers aren’t looking for clothing that is trendy right now. They want what will be trendy six months from now when the next season’s clothing is rolling into the shops. Your clothes need to meet this need. You can’t design things that are trendy at the moment and hope for the best. Instead, you need to think outside of the box and come up with pieces that will be trendy in the future. Only then will you catch the eye of the right buyers.
6. Don’t Change Your Brand Identity
It can be tempting to change everything about who you are in order to find buyers for your clothing line. This is problematic. Your brand identity is reflected through your pieces. Are you someone who uses only organic materials? If so, don’t switch to neon polyester, just because it’s what you think that the buyers want. They’ll notice this with your next seasonal clothing line and will drop you pretty quickly. Although it can tough to stick to your guns, so to speak, do so and you’ll find the right buyers who will remain loyal.
