Boutique Blog

How to Describe the Wholesale Clothing Process? 0

Clothing store owners of all kinds realize that they aren’t the only game in town for customers to buy new clothes. Other small businesses as well as corporations compete with one another for the customer’s money. Thus, generating an adequate stream of business would be no easy feat.

On your way to establish a successful boutique yourself, you will have to know how to source your clothes for little money so that you can make a profit on it. Not only that, you will need to receive your inventory quickly so that it is ready to sell and ship to your customers.

When looking for clothes you can sell in your store, there are a number of ways in which you can have them available from a number of different sources. This includes buying from wholesale suppliers, making your own private label company, buying from another private label company, dropship clothing, and import clothing made by a fashion designer. Of all these choices, the one that most merchants go to is wholesale clothing.

Here is everything there is to know about wholesale clothing

Wholesale clothing is attire, that merchants order in bulk quantities that costs less than retail, and then sell to customers at higher prices than sold per piece. For many merchants, buying wholesale is how a business can get the inventory they need without spending too much money.

No matter if you do your business online or in a physical store, you will be able to buy clothes and other products from a catalog that other stores may already sell. Regardless, you can still buy shirts and dresses from a wholesale clothing boutique and manage to sell through your inventory for that season if your customers find them appealing. New clothes will be available to buy in bulk for the upcoming season, so merchants are expected to buy inventories of clothes four to five times a year in order to continue making money from customers in need of new clothes.

If you order from a trusted wholesaler, it’s a fast way to have clothes ready for the next season. Clothing in bulk is clothing that has already been made, so all that needs to be done is to have that clothing boxed and shipped to your location. Many wholesale vendors offer quick shipping for their bulk products, so they try to accommodate merchants of all kinds, whether they plan early or late for the season.

Ordering these clothes is also simpler than ever before. Ordering clothing in bulk is much like ordering clothes for yourself in an online store. You’ll also be able to diversify your shipments with color and size options in each shipment without having to contact somebody internally about it. Ordering new clothes in bulk for next season can only take just a handful of minutes, meaning it doesn’t need to come to spending a large amount of time having to order clothes for your boutique.

When you find the right wholesale vendor for you, it’s important to build a long-lasting business relationship with them. As mentioned before, you will need to order new shipments on a regular basis. If you ever need to order new clothes, whether for the upcoming season or you sell out fast, you’ll always know who to turn to in order to get more inventory.

A History and Guide to Cardigans 0

When browsing for clothing to buy wholesale for your store, you may not be familiar with the types of garments due to their unusual names. Many women just know their clothes as what they’ve always identified them as, such as sweaters, dresses, jackets, and more. One category of women’s apparel is known as the cardigan. But what is a cardigan and why order cardigans in bulk for resale?

A cardigan is a knitted sweater that has a zipped or buttoned front to it. It is available with or without collars, and is available in round of V-neck if there is no collar. The name “cardigan” comes from James Thomas Brudenell, who was the 7th Earl of Cardigan and the leader of the Charge of the Light Brigade in the year 1854.

Today’s cardigans sold by wholesale clothing vendors for boutiques are made of either fur or worsted wool, which was believed to be inspired by the cardigans worn by British Army officials during the Crimean war. Even if that really was not the case, garments made later had a few similarities with them.

History of The Cardigan

The first known cardigan was compared to a waistcoat or sleeveless vest. By 1864, however, designers came up with a sleeved version, which they called the “cardigan jacket”. Into the 1900s, the sleeved version became popular while the sleeveless version was being phased out. By the 1920s, the “cardigan jacket” was accepted as simply the “cardigan”, while any sleeveless cardigan was classified as such.
Early cardigans were all knitted by hand, and were worn for activities such as riding a bike, playing tennis and golf, and other recreational activities.

Cardigans were originally only designed for men, but in the 1880s and 1890s, they were also designed for women with features that were exclusive to their figures. These included nipped waists and full sleeves to better accommodate women’s bodies.

Throughout the 1900s, cardigans were often worn as a working glass jacket for people who wanted to both stay warm and still have a full range of motion. Sailors were one type of people who wore cardigans to their benefit. Conveniently for sailors, they have started to wear cardigans at a time in which fashionista were starting to pay attention to their nautical attire for inspiration.

In the 1920s, the cardigan caught on in the collegiate culture, where students would all own at least one for use around campus. Chanel and Patou were two brands that inspired pairing cardigans with other garments such as skirts and sweaters to create outfits. The term “cardigan” had become looser around this time, where any long jacket was classified as a “cardigan”.

Cardigans stayed popular until the 1930s, where they would go out of style in favor of newer fashion trends. They would go on to make a comeback every two decades to mesh with newer fashion trends at the time, with the cardigan also making waves in fashion in the 2010s.

Why Order Cardigans for Your Store

Cardigans today are considered versatile garments that men and women wear when going out and about outdoors. These garments also add depth to any wardrobe as well as an additional layer to any outfit. Thus, consumers are always looking for clothing such as cardigans to add to their collection of attire.

How To Attract Customers To Your Wholesale Clothing Store Amid A Sales Slump 0

When selling wholesale clothing on a yearly basis, you are sure to get down periods at certain times of year, even if you offer clothing for each of the four seasons. Down periods are times in which fewer people buy clothes from you, whether you expect it or not. You will want to continue making money in order to keep business afloat, but of course, you are still planning on the upcoming season in order to get new products in before they are ready.

Here are three tips for what you can do in the event of a wholesale clothing retail slump.

Make Changes To Your Store Or Website

For clothing store owners that have a physical retail space, you can consider reconfiguring or make changes to your store’s layout in order to update its look and make it feel brand new to customers. You don’t have to order new retail aisles, per se, but you can think of ways to make the store more convenient overall with a newer layout, featuring sections more ideal for customers looking for certain items over others.

For website owners, you can consider making changes to your website so that it looks more appealing and navigable to your online customers. If you feel your website is fine as is, you can consider creating new content for it, such as a blog, so that you can create informative posts that help to attract more customers to your site. If all you have is one or multiple social media accounts, it is crucial that you stay active by posting photos and updates on a regular basis. Photos of recent customers in their new clothes is a way for others to know you are doing good business, as well as give some of your products a great spotlight.

Offer New Products

You are probably waiting for new clothes next season before you go and order them, but perhaps the reason why your current inventory isn’t selling is due to the lack in variety. You should always introduce new items in your store on a regular basis if you are counting on customers to keep returning. If you haven't updated your “new arrivals” page on your website in a month, customers likely aren’t going to check back as often because there is nothing new that you are offering them. You should always have new items coming in every now and then in order to keep customers looking forward to your wares rather than wait until next season.

Promote Special Sales And Try To Reach Out To Loyal Customers

Of course, if you are experiencing a slump in sales, then a special promotion is a good attempt at making more money. You can mark products down to about 10 to 15 percent in hopes of making additional sales in times of a down period.

You can also consider referring to loyal customers in your mailing list and reach out to them via email. You can treat them to exclusive deals which can help you move your products along, as well as keep them interested in your store moving forward.

Summary

A few times each year, clothing stores will go on a down period due to lack of sales. There are a number of ways that store owners can combat this. They include making big changes to their store or website, offering new products more frequently than normal, and conducting special sales and discounts. These are all proven to be helpful when trying to make money before the next big event of the year.

Why Wholesale Clothing Store Owners Need A Return Policy 0

When you are running an online store selling wholesale clothing, a return policy is an absolute must-have. By the chance that customers order the wrong size clothing or want a return or exchange for any other reason, you will need a return policy that is easy to notice and understand somewhere on your website. Customer experience for online stores, of course, is too important to believe otherwise.

If you are one of thousands of store owners who sell products from plus sale wholesale vendors, here are a few tips for creating a successful return policy:

Put Your Return Policy in A Place That Is Easy to Find

As mentioned before, you will need to dedicate a space on your website for your return policy, whether it is on the footer of every page or on its own entire page. Customers will look for your return policy both before and after they make purchases, so where you place your return policy is very important.

Stores will also print their return policy on receipts or invoices in the chance that customers are looking for a convenient place to know about how to start a return or exchange. If your purchases come with invoices of your customer’s transactions, think about where to also put your return policy on it.

Stick to Your Policy’s Guidelines

You will need to be consistent with the guidelines you lay down. What customers will look for in a return policy the most is the return window, or the number of days they have to return the item since making the purchase. The return window should rarely ever change, with the exception of a few of your most loyal customers. It’s okay to let something slide here and there when it comes to a repeat customer that has purchased from you before a number of different times. A return policy keeps you competitive with other stores who have return policies and gives you an edge over ones that still don't.

How to Implement Returns on Your Store’s Website?

There are several ways for your website to offer returns for unsatisfied customers. First, you can create a return form on your website. This allows customers to inquire about a possible return at any time of day, and that request goes to the email address linked to that form. You or another employee would get back to that customer via email and give them instructions for how to complete the return.

You can also opt to implement a live chat box to your website. This allows you to engage with visitors as they visit your website, so you can ask whoever is browsing for what they need. If they say they need to make a return, you can simply show them how to do so right then and there. This is a great approach to take if you monitor your website all the time and want to deal with customer problems in real-time.

Information about the customer’s purchase should include the customer’s name, address, email address, and reason for return. If defective products are often a reason for a return, it’s a sign that you shouldn’t put that product back in stock.

You should specify what kind of return your store does, or options for the customer. These include store credit, cash, or credit card. We suggest giving your customers options for how to get their money back.