Getting Your Foot In The Wholesale Door

Welcome to 2025!?It’s the start of a brand new year and many brands have plans of growing their businesses and entering new territories. If you're big on following the traditional fashion calendar (spring/summer, fall/winter collections etc) then you should be gearing up for the next buying season this February.

The way the traditional (international) fashion calendar works, retail buyers start sourcing new brands and buying fall/winter pieces for their stores during the spring (Feb-March), and they start buying for the next year's spring/summer during the Fall (Sep-Oct).

This means that if you have a summer 2025 collection that you would like in traditional retail stores (this excludes smaller boutiques and independent stores) this year, you should have already presented the collection to them around last year September. And if you have a fall/winter 2025 collection that you would like in stores this year, then you should be ready to present the pieces to the buyers this February. Make sense? The buyers place their orders months ahead of time. Below is an example of what the buying and delivery calendar looks like.

Note, though, that smaller boutiques and independent stores do not necessarily use this calendar. They are typically more flexible with their buying and delivery timelines. This calendar is more applicable to department stores and mainstream retailers.

Though there are other seasons such as resort and pre-fall, this newsletter will only focus on fall/winter and spring/summer.

Very often I hear brands complain about how difficult it is to get the attention of a retail buyer. I have clients that have told me about sending DMs to stores like Revolve, ShopBop, Macy's etc on Instagram hoping to get a response. I can tell you now that there's probably only a 0.1% chance that you will get a meaningful response from these stores that way. The best way to meet their buyers is through networking events or showrooms and trade shows.

So what exactly is a tradeshow?and how different it is from a showroom?

To be clear, both of these events are specifically for wholesale. And so no?actual exchange (physical sale) occurs on the premises. Wholesale buyers only come to see samples and potentially place orders, or start to build a relationship with you.

Showrooms

Showrooms provide a more curated and intimate environment for wholesale buyers to interact with your brand and place orders. The attendance is?usually dependent?on the number and type of?buyers in the organizer's?network. And so, there are showrooms for niches such as black-owned brands, sustainable brands,?luxury brands etc.

Tradeshows

Tradeshows are similar to showrooms in terms of the goal of the event. However, they are much bigger events and can attract thousands of wholesale buyers in a day. Tradeshows usually offer brands the opportunity to participate at different price points based on different packages available.

Depending on your goals, either a trade show or showroom might be ideal for your brand. In either case, here are 3 key things you need to keep in mind as you prepare for these trade events:?

1. Capacity: Ensure that you have capacity to source, produce at scale and deliver in 3-6 months (depending) in case you get an order. ?And by this I am referring to both production and financial capacity.?
2. Linesheets: Have a professional linesheet in place. A linesheet is like a catalogue but is specifically tailored to the interest of wholesale buyers. It includes wholesale and retail prices, info on materials used,?available colours, your wholesale policy etc
3. Know exactly who you are and what you want: Before you go accepting any and every huge order, ask yourself if this wholesale partner is a good fit for your brand. Do they align with your goals? Will they properly represent your brand? Are they a partner with whom you can grow??Do your research on the retailers.

Though tradeshows and showrooms are great opportunities for wholesale, keep in mind that at the end of the day it comes down to relationships!?

Some buyers may not buy from you the very first time they encounter your brand because they want to observe you for a while. Much like any other marketing effort, it's about playing the long game.?If you've participated in any tradeshows before, comment below and share your experience. If you are looking to include these events in your growth strategy this year, email / DM me and let's set up a one-on-one to build a solid strategy.

You've got this!

Love,