A very good question frequently asked is “how to get into boutiques?”. Ok ok, this is mostly asked by my clients who are new to the fashion industry and haven’t launched their brands yet, but this is indeed a good question, and learning to work with boutiques is an important way to find new partnerships and maximize your sales. Even though this is part of the wholesale world, there are ways of getting into boutiques and keeping small production quantities.
If you have read my blog INSIDE THE FASHION INDUSTRY - Wholesale VS Direct-to-customer, you would know how the wholesale market works. If you haven’t, I strongly suggest you go back to that post right after this. Everything will make more sense. But, for now, let’s focus on working with boutiques.
As a new brand, it can be hard to insert yourself into the market. Especially if we are talking about stores like Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue… if you are not a well-established brand, the chances of them working with you are almost zero - not impossible, but you will need to know people to get into their stores before making a name for yourself. Not to mention that, when working with these retailers, you will need to be prepared to produce on a larger scale. Different from working with smaller boutiques.
A good point of working with smaller boutiques is that their order can be as small as 100 units per style. This certainly helps start-up brands that are looking into producing low MOQs because the investment is much smaller than producing on a larger scale. But how to partner with local boutiques? Strong branding will be your main ally on this.
Ok, let’s face it, strong branding is everybody’s main ally, especially for start-ups. But strong branding doesn’t only mean great marketing materials and a very well-structured business plan. You need to show your brand’s personality and a very strong social media presence.
When trying to work with a boutique you need a reason that it is better than “because they are a famous store”. When partnering with a boutique, that store needs to fit your brand products and your brand identity. A really good example is Flying Solo NYC. They are a boutique focused on emerging brands and with a very strong brand personality. At least three of my clients partnered with them for this very reason: getting their name out there in a store that is authentic and has everything to do with NYC style. So, when choosing a boutique to partner with, that store needs to fit your brand personality as well as your production budget. As I said, working with smaller local boutiques can be a better way to avoid large production numbers.
We all know that the first contact customers (including boutiques) will have with your brand is through social media. So a strong social media presence is essential, but nowadays EVERYBODY needs a strong social media presence. That goes unsaid! But, in this case, social media needs to be more than nice content and influencer partnerships. As a start-up, you need to show your customers why you started a brand in the first place. What is the problem you are trying to solve as a new fashion brand? Your social media needs to be a reflection of that.
Do you work with small influencers that are also starting their careers? Is your brand materials all-natural or recycled? What is your brand story and what does your brand stand for? That needs to be translated into your social media. If you launched a brand that targets skateboarders and NYC street style, then what kind of skateboard events has your brand participated in? Or what kind of ONGs for skateboarders and supporting kids to practice sports instead of being on the streets is your brand supporting? All of this needs to be presented on your social media along with perfect marketing materials - aka photoshoot editorials and lookbooks.
When you are working on your business plan, you create your customer moodboard, you identify your perfect customer. You need to remember that working with boutiques should be the same thing, after all. boutiques are also your customers. Growing your name and maybe, one day, having your brand in between many other famous brands in Saks Fifth Avenue would be a dream come true, but before that, you need to put your name out there and work with local boutiques that fit your branding as well as your budget. Don’t forget, your marketing investment needs to be coherent with your production investment, so starting small and working with boutiques where you can keep low production quantities is certainly a great way to get your brand out there, you just need to find the right stores to partner with.
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