Typical Questions for New Apparel Manufacturers

Hello Frances!

 

You very kindly answered a couple of questions, previously, for us. Hope your trip went well.

Just one more question, if you don't mind.....

 

We are about to launch our new apparel line and are novices at this. We have read your book "Fashion For Profit" and it has been an enormous help.  However, we are unsure about the usual buying practices of retail stores. Our garment contractors, of course, have minimums. What minimum quantities can we expect smaller stores to order? We are selling high quality ladie's tops. Should we expect that they would buy 6 of each size from a new company such as ours?

 

As always, thanks for your help,

Best regards,

Carrol Magder

DOGGONE APPAREL

 

Hi Carrol:

I am traveling at the moment but here is a quick response.

You can ask either for a minimum order in a $ amount, or for minimum of pre packs of sizes.

You should go and talk with a couple of smaller stores near you for the way they like to buy, just to get feedback.
Good luck!

 

FRANCES:

We launched our line last week. We followed your advice regarding packaging and are already in 5 stores after one week of selling.

We have a store in one of the beach front communities in L.A. that wants an exclusive right to carry our junior line in their city only. Any ideas on how much a minimum order should be to grant that privilege? If for example you recommend a $1,500.00 minimum order, how often should they have to re-order that dollar amount to retain their exclusivity?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Hi Carrol: Yes, this request is normal. Remember it is your business and you have the final say. Have you seen where their store is? Is it a store you would like to grant their request to? Meaning they have the customers you want and they are the best store in the area? You can grant them their request for minimum orders each season and you can also add that you will not sell to any other store within a certain area of blocks. It would be worth a trip to look at where they are and what they are requesting. It is hard for me to know the answer as I don't know them. It could be a store that is out of the way and has no traffic or has shoddy goods! Know who you work with on all levels! Good luck!