August Newsletter

• Editorial
  - Counting down till kick-off,
• The Baby Boutique
  - Trends for Little Feet.
• Buy Baby Buy
  - Retail Buying Tips
• Accessorise Me
  - Jewellery and Fashion Accessory Speak
• Sharpen Up
  - Leading Trends in Kitchen Gadgets and Knives
• Make it a Wrap
  - Wrapping Up the Season Ahead
  

Buy Baby Buy

Retail Buying Tips

When operating in the retail industry, buying, managing and re-ordering stock and attending trade fairs are all part of the role. However, structuring, implementing and sticking to a sound buying pattern are sometimes easier said than done, especially as buying stock is only one area of business that needs managing and attention.

GiftBuyer spoke with Julie Ludbrook, Auckland showroom manager of OneWorld Collection, who has over 18 years’ experience as a buyer in the homewares industry; Christine McLaren, director of The Little Import Company and board member of the New Zealand Gift Trade Association; and Amanda Leoni, Australasian sales manager of Acland Holdings and Citta Design, who has 10 years’ experience as a gift and homewares buyer. All three are passionate about the gift industry and happy to share their thoughts, feelings and opinions when it comes to buying stock for retail stores. Before jumping onboard a plane to attend an overseas fair, or even booking your tickets, it’s essential to research what’s going to be on offer at seasonal trade fairs and the trends they are forecasting, says Julie Ludbrook of OneWorld Collection. “Definitely check out the trends – compare them to previous years. Question what’s new and exciting or has stepped in this year,” she advises. “It’s also helpful to know which categories you have to cover – such as gifts, towels, candles – and decide how much expenditure should be allocated to each area. Looking back to past sales should help you work that out.”

Christine McLaren of The Little Import Company believes that retailers should approach local fairs with the same mindset many wholesalers have when attending international fairs. “Do your homework first. Work out your budget – when you will want deliveries, scattered or all at once?” she says. “Then make a list of items that you may wish to renew, or replace with something similar. Browse the fair carefully, noting colours and trends, and build a picture of what you would like to create in your store.”

A step ahead

Coordination is the key when planning ranges for instore, says McLaren. “Decide what’s going to work for your store and then place your orders for each of these ranges. If you’re likely to forget everything you’ve ordered, ask for photographs to be sent too.”

Allocating time to the right people should also be top of the list when visiting a fair, says Ludbrook. “Retailers should definitely visit their most important suppliers first, especially the ones that have exclusive product. As an example, at OneWorld we import fabrics from Belgium to make limited-edition lamp shades from our own designs,” she says. “You need to secure ranges like these for your store where possible.”

Visiting wholesalers prior to a fair can also save you precious fair-trawling time, says Amanda Leoni of Acland Holdings. “Best practice can often be to visit the top wholesalers before the fairs so you know the trends and best products on offer,” she advises. “That way the fair can just confirm the work you’ve already done.”

Confidence upfront

Staying on guard and keeping your gut feelings in check should also be high on the to-do list when attending trade fairs, especially if you’ve travelled a long way to get there, says Ludbrook. “It’s especially important when buying high quantities of something at international fairs to do your sums,” she advises. “You might only be paying US$1 for an item, but you should know what the final cost will be to get it into your store. Be sure to include all your trip costs in that final figure.”

As for buying stock from importers, retailers need to balance prudence with flair, says McLaren. “It is no use buying one piece of several items. If you sell that piece, then you have no replacement, and if you have chosen this item as part of a range, then your range is also depleted,” she adds. “Retailers need to have the confidence to buy sufficient stock of their choice, but be well aware of their budget.”

Staying true

Whilst it’s important to stay up with trends, the latest and greatest are not always for everyone, says Ludbrook. “I do feel it’s very important to keep up with the trends, but many retailers have to please the ‘average’ shopper who may not care what the trends are for that season – they just want new, gorgeous and not-too-expensive products,” she says. “It’s essential to keep your customer base at the forefront of your mind for all your buying decisions.”

It’s also important that retailers can feel confident with Kiwi importers when relying on them to stay abreast of international trends, says McLaren. “In this current economic climate particularly, retailers should not need to travel internationally to know the new trends. This really is the responsibility of importers,” she says. “Obviously, retailers need to know about current colour and design trends, and most keep up to date with this through magazines, photographs, visiting showrooms, and sometimes international travel, but they should feel confident when visiting importers’ showrooms that they are seeing the latest designs.”

Who to see

Attendance at national gift fairs, and international fairs if budgets will allow, is essential if you are serious about your business and maintaining your customer base, say McLaren and Ludbrook. “Obviously, attendance at fairs, such as New Zealand’s Christmas Gift – which offers you your October, November and December stock – is highly important,” says Ludbrook. “But I suggest retailers attend as many fairs as they can and take the opportunity to visit showrooms of their favourite wholesalers across the fair dates.

Most wholesalers can’t usually fit all their ranges onto their stands, so it means that if you did not manage to spend your budget at a particular fair, then you have another opportunity to purchase extra stock.”

For medium to small retailers, attendance at local fairs is of the greatest importance, says McLaren. “Many retailers other than chain stores do not have the budget or customer base to meet minimum quantities for orders from international trade fairs,” she says. “This has become even tighter in the current time, as the factories in China reduce their output and concentrate on large international orders. This is why it’s so important that importers keep up with the trends, and that they have the confidence of the retailers to buy on their behalf.”

Trendy patterns

Due in part to harder economic times and a general wallet-tightening, Ludbrook believes organic buying has come to the forefront in recent years. “People are more careful with their buying – right across the board. Many are opting to buy organic or recycled products because of quality and environmental factors,” she says. “At OneWorld, for example, we ensure that our furniture is all recycled or made from controlled forests. This also helps us keep prices down which is a priority at the moment.”

Seeking out comforting products with trusty appeal is a gift-buying trend Leoni believes many shoppers have adopted due to harder times. “There is a push into stocking/buying established and trusted brands because in times of tougher economic conditions most homemakers like to make their homes comfortable and looking good rather than spending money on holidays and more expensive habits.”

Whilst McLaren hasn’t witnessed any fixed buying trends as a result of a toughened retail market, she does believe the cautionary buying and selling habits many retailers have adopted over the past three years have become a wider-spread issue. “The biggest trend in the market in general is that retailers have discounted stock for so long that they have now bred an expectation in the market for discounted goods. It is very difficult to pull out of that trend.”

She believes the Rugby World Cup months will be the best time for retailers to get out of the ‘sale’ mode whilst they have all the extra customers. “There is some hope that with the Rugby World Cup later this year, the increase in visitors and therefore customers will bring about a change in attitude. After all, we don’t want our overseas visitors confronted by hundreds of stores with ‘sale’ signs,” she says. “This would make the market much more buoyant leading up to Christmas. It would be a major step forward if we could avoid all the pre-Christmas sales this year and only discount from Boxing Day onwards. Onwards and upwards I say!”

At the end of the day staying true to your company values and sharing your experiences and advice with other retailers should be top of the list, says Leoni. “Work hard and don’t forget to be good to your wholesalers,” she adds.