HOW TO SELL YOUR CLOTHING BRAND IN STORES: A GUIDE FOR STARTERS
Today there are a lot of people thinking of starting their own clothing line. As the main sales tool they immediately turn to an online store. E-commerce is a very budget friendly way to start selling your clothing (if you have the right partner). But there is one very big part of retail that you can’t ignore: the brick and mortar store. The physical store is still the main place where people buy there clothes. As a starting or growing clothing brand, it is certainly a dream to see your apparel on the shelves of a brick and mortar store.
THIS IS HOW YOU GET YOUR CLOTHING IN THE STORES
Everything starts with prospection. Prospection is the art of contacting potential stores (clients) in a structured way. Don’t panic! It isn’t as difficult as it looks. In this article we will explain step by step how you can build your store network. Next to that we’ll help you with a couple of insider tips and tricks.
AN (CLOTHING) OFFER THEY CAN’T REFUSE
You need an offer to successfully start prospecting. So you have to come up with an offer that stores can quickly accept without a downside for them. From our clients feedback, we’ve learned that stores are most open to a commission based system to start out with a new brand. This means that you can offer your clothing in their store and they only have to pay you when an item is sold (on which they then earn a commission). This way they can test the popularity of your brand without the risk. If you’re just starting out, try to go to 1 or 2 stores (you maybe even know personally) and suggest this way of working . A commission of 15%-20% on the sales price is acceptable.
