How to Find Wholesale Clothing for Retailers?
The fashion industry is a very competitive marketplace which is why it is so important to find the right wholesale clothing seller to suit your personal business needs. A good fashion wholesaler is an essential source for any retailer or clothing business to ensure you have the correct garments and accessories in stock, and have chosen the right products and price points for your customer base. So if you're wondering how to find wholesale clothing for retailers, we've put together a simple guide with the most common fashion buyer techniques.
Traditionally, finding wholesale goods could be a time-consuming process, firstly deciding which clothing brands you want to stock, then tracking down and seeing how each wholesaler can distribute them to you individually and at what price. If you're a small business this can take up a lot of time and personpower, you may not have staff to man the business while you go out picking brands, and you definitely don't want to be shutting up shop and missing out on trade time. Using several fashion wholesalers at once for numerous individual orders can prove costly and confusing - if you are able to order more stock under one brand you could arrange a bulk order loyalty discount to lighten the load, but this may also limit your options.
Another way of sourcing wholesale stock for your fashion business would be by hiring an agent to assist you in purchasing the required wholesale stock from their abundance of contacts. Agents are expensive, but they have spent time building up a reputation and have a wide range of brands on offer. This option is a luxury for many businesses and not a problem if money is no object, but a trade agent isn’t ideal for those with a tight monetary budget. If you can afford the agency fees, fashion agents have a wealth of knowledge and have lots of varied brands at their fingertips, so are a great option for new business without connections in the trade.
A key way to make those all-important wholesale apparel contacts is to indulge in a visit to some trade shows. Visiting a trade show can become a highlight of the work calendar and market-leading garment wholesalers show at a variety of big shows such as Moda, Pure and Top Drawer, where key wholesale dresses are displayed on hundreds of trade stalls, offering an abundance of choice (you can find a calender of upcoming trade shows here). Ultimately, visiting trade shows does mean taking time out of your schedule, but has the huge advantage of meeting the brands, seeing the pieces for yourself and building strong business relationships.
Wholesalers can also be found in key industrial areas for clothing wholesale in the UK, and can be divided into specific locations across the country such as Merchant City in Scotland, Cheatham Hill in Manchester, the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, and Commercial Road and Great Portland Street in London. These areas are great for creating instant stock supplies in a day, especially if you really need to be attending your clients rather than outsourcing stock. But again, the luxury of travel is not always available to all businesses, especially those on a lower budget or with limited staff.
Trade magazines are currently seeing a decline in popularity, especially in comparison to their heyday in the 1980’s and 90’s. Once a very popular way of researching brands and finding exactly what you are looking for, they are still an abundant resource showcasing the latest trends and are now available online. A well-recognised publication with excellent recommendations such as Drapers or Boutique Magazine can be vital in aiding your business to aim in the right consumer direction.
Each fashion business can use a variety of these methods to create the purchase planning which best suits their style. And, of course, there is now another option with TradeGala - the latest way of sourcing the best fashion brands using a state-of-the-art technology and the immediate nature of the internet to create a new online wholesaler which is revolutionising the wholesale fashion industry. At TradeGala we have a huge range of wholesale brands available in one place - from vintage style fashions, traditional high-quality key design pieces, plus size clothing, sustainable fashion and trend-led pieces at your fingertips; as well as high quality accessories, jewellery, shoes and bags in one easy to access online marketplace. We have done the legwork so you don't have to, and you can find your entire stock from the comfort of your home or office, saving you precious time and money.
The UK has a fantastic variety of clothing wholesalers on offer. TradeGala’s modern approach as a one-stop-shop for several wholesale brands is a new development made possible by recent technological advances. Why not combine the tried-and-tested methods of researching wholesale brands with TradeGala's simple to use wholesale fashion marketplace? If you'd like to register as a buyer it's simple and free. Find out more
Written by: Luanne McLean
