FACED WITH A DAILY DIET OF
long hours, staffing headaches,
fickle shoppers and a floundering economy, retailers have to be
a tough can-do lot. The ability
to roll with the punches, bend over backwards and change on a dime, are all characteristics of a successful store owner. So
too is identifying emerging categories and
trends, and being among the first to offer
them to customers.
Ten years ago fashion accessories and
jewellery were carried by just a handful
of “gift” retailers. Today, the categories
account for a good part of sales in a high
number of shops.
Model turned fashion designer Robin
Barré, the CEO of Artizan Fashion,
started her career wholesaling candles to
gift shops. “When candles started to really trend, the Chinese started making
knock-offs, so I knew I had to figure out
what was going to be the next big thing.”
Barré shifted her focus to fashion jewellery, adding scarves and then one-size apparel. Today her company sells a full line
of sized fashion. Because she came to
fashion through the world of gifts, those
are the retailers she continues to sell to.
“I don’t even bother doing the fashion
shows; they’re too cut-throat.” And with
over 2000 small and large independent
retailers carrying her lines, she doesn’t
need the hassle.
“In retail, it’s all about how much
income is generated by each square foot
of floor space.” For the retailer looking to
expand into fashion, she suggests starting
small. For example, an 18-foot by 18-foot
by four-foot display unit, placed front and
centre and stocked with scarves, jewellery
and belts, can generate as much as $4000
per week in sales, she says.
Of course, trend watching goes without saying when you sell fashion and jewellery, but the real spoils go to those who get
in front of a trend. Watch what’s happening in other far-away, but similar markets
and in nearby, but seemingly unrelated
markets. A trend Barré is following is tag-reading. Folks are starting to care about
where a product is made. In response, she
launched her made in Canada line in
2011 and it quickly became the company’s
most popular.
For retailers operating well outside the
world of fashion – hospital gift shops,
pharmacies, spas, garden shops, book
stores – the key is stocking items that
make thematic sense. Items that diverge
from a shop’s usual stock should be treated as impulse buys and placed at the front
of the shop or near the cash.
If you’re not accustomed to handling
fashion and accessories, it’s vital to have sales
and educational support, preferably free,
from wholesalers. Barré offers her wholesale
clients instructional DVDs which teach
them how to market her products.
In Orillia, Ont., a town of just over
30,000, Mariposa Market embodies the
old investment motto of diversify, diver-
sify, diversify. Judy McLaughlin has been
the retail manager of this café and bakery
for 24 years. She’s seen a lot of trends
come and go. Occupying 6400 square feet
of prime main-street space, McLaughlin
markets her fashion items in her “scent”
section. “Our number-one seller is, and
always has been, our Guess purses. At a
very close second are the Artizan scarves
and jewellery.
“For us, carrying fashion and accesso-
ries is the perfect fit. The café is what
brings them in and having the shops at-
tached to the café turns it into a fun ex-
perience not just another shopping trip.”
The quaint, country town of Vankleek
Hill, Ont., seems a sleepy place for a busy
hub of international fashion sales, but
that’s where Pottery Lane Imports is
based. Wholesaling to the Canadian,
Australian and New Zealand gift markets,
CEO and creative director, Josee Tom,
is a big believer in integrated product
lines. “Fashion and apparel are natural fits
in the home and gift market. If you love
to keep a beautiful home, you will love to
dress well also! Fashion accessories make
wonderful, functional gifts, as well as fun
treats for yourself when shopping.”
Be creative when merchandising, she
continues. “Keeping the displays looking
new and fresh is important. When we mer-
chandise we are careful to combine com-
plimentary colours and to theme displays
based on style, such as boho or city chic.”
One issue that often arises when non-apparel shops introduce fashion is the
question of what sizes to stock. In a retail
