i want to import garments and shoes made in pakistan into UK and sell them to retail chain stores in UK. the garments and shoes are of very high quality, and i have some samples which i want to show the companys
but i want to know how can i contact the big stores like Next, Marks and spensers, debenhams etc to give me a deal to manufacter garments for them.
i just need to know how to contact them so then i can send of some of my samples to them.
Re: Contacting big retail stores to sell your products
suhaib
do u have any idea how many unsolicited letters, samples the buyers for these institutions receive?
the approach f many ppl is very shoddy, and does not give the company a good sense.
samples are not the only thing they are interested in. here are a few pointers.
1) create a sample book which accompanies a few samples. e.g. for shoes you may have 3 samples, one black calfskin toe capped, one brown driving shoe and one ladies boot in tan. This would give them an idea of the quality of the final product.
2) have a sample book, imagine an album, so you have pictures of products, you have swatches of leather or other material you use, you have samples of the lining material, samples of zippers, laces and elastic used in diff types of shoes. pictures should have models and it is better t have local models than desi..
3) have company information handy, financials, production capacity, references, whether you are ISO certified 9000:2001, ISO14001:2004. which looks at mfr processes as well as whether you are a socially responsible company. No one really wants to work with a supplier who is throwing industrial waste in regular drainage or is a sweatshop.
4) set u a company website, with info, and basically everything you have in your sample book and more. you need email addresses phone numbers, business cards.
5) set appointments to go see them at their offices, or do what the more polished companies do, set up a showroom, not open to public, for a short period of time and have the buyers from mutliple companies come and look. You have the ability to show more samples, project more of the type of image you want to project by decor and lighting.
The horror stories include stalkers with bat up old 1970s suitcases with wrinkled, bad quality, jackets of 15 diff sizes and one color.
As far as contacting them, you have to be direct, contact company head quarters, introduce yourself and ask to speak with their buyers/sourcing people. you will either be connected to some chota in that dept or just told to send in a note..either way you have to make a good impression, if you have to send a mail, professionally done letter head with some info about your products and company and an interest to just show them what you have. enclose a company brochure with url and all. This is where having a showroom helps, they know they can drop in and leave rather than aving to ask u to come to their office and then be stuck with you.
Now, two othe rthing to remember are that some retailers plan their contracts quarterly, some do it on a rolling basis.. you need to know when they are doing this, some research on the company would help you.
Going to industry events will give you tons of inside info that you may not even know and you may actually get a shot to produce as subcontractor for one of the retailer's key suppliers..which is usually the better way to get in.
and remember, make sure you have capacity, marks and spencers is not going to make a deal for 500 pieces, unless you can convince them that a limited engagement at a few select stores will give them an idea of what the demand for your products would be, be willing to take back any unsold pieces, and even foot the bill for set up and tear down of displays etc. its rare but it does happen..
recognize that pakistani manufacturers are not considered high quality or high credibility in retail circles due to the shortsightedness of suppliers who in order to make a quick buck did not focus on quality lost contracts not only for themselves but also created a uphill climb for future suppliers.
realize that you have stiff competition from China and Turkey for leather. hard to compete with china on price and turkey on the price/quality combo. turkish suppliers also tend to be very up to date and basically are less than a season behind the fashion houses to provide similar products at a great price. what you will on runways of milan, by the time they hit the street for sale, turkish manufacturers would just be getting ready to start their own production.
I am most familar with leather jackets so my examples here would be of jackets but gives you an idea of whattype of attention to deatil marks and spencers expects. zipper pulls should be wrapped in foam and tape to prevent damage to them and to the jackets, buttons need to be covered in cardboard to prevent damage to jacket. silica gel in pockets, no blemishes, no thread poking out..they may return an entire shipment or atleast a batch of the shipment if they find more than a handful of items with issues. You are responsible for taking these back and destroying them in many cases, much of it ends up in grey market merchandise but the expectation is that it will not.
Let me know if I can provide any more info. I am not doing anything in this area so no recent contacts but this is as true today as it was a decade ago.
Re: Contacting big retail stores to sell your products
^ very nicely explained.. good work fraudz
Re: Contacting big retail stores to sell your products
I recommend you to make a visit to UK and get in touch with the companies by yourself.
And check the market for your goods and then analyse all the costs and find out your gross profit and stuff.
Do you own a factory ?
Re: Contacting big retail stores to sell your products
thanx for all the help
and ye i am allready based in uk and no i dnt have any factories but will be working with manufacters,
Re: Contacting big retail stores to sell your products
suhaib anytime, I had helped a turkish company land a contract with wilsons leather which is a leather products chain in US and got their foot in the door at debenhams circa 1995. rules have not changed, first impressions are almost always the last impressions, or at minimum are lasting impressions.
tke your time and go fully planned and ready. if you are meeting someone and they ask for references you should be able to name them if they ask for production capacity, u shuld have it, if they ask for types of leather and quality..need to know it, learn the lingo, be prepared and go for it. all the best
Re: Contacting big retail stores to sell your products
which references would they ask for?
also i am brand new in this business so you think big companys will still go with me,
i have some products which are not availble in big stores. but still alot of people buy them.
Re: Contacting big retail stores to sell your products
well, references from other companies you have supplied to.
since you are rand new, I would suggest you try to take subcontracting jobs from their suppliers, get your feet wet in the industry and then approach the big boys.
your definition of a lot may be different than topshops definition of a lot. you may see people buying a touand pieces, they may be thinking a half a million pieces.
You have to figure out why these items are not available in big stores, is it because they dont think they can have the volumes needed to justify the floor space/shelf space, is it because they missed the boat, or is it because their target market is different.
You are thinking correctly, but put more thought into it, try to figure out what are the challenges and motivations of the buyers and merchandisers for these stores and how your products may fit in.
Re: Contacting big retail stores to sell your products
you can have a buying agency established if you don't have a factory or manufacturing facility yourself to get orders from them on behalf of your clients in Pakistan.but you would have to prove that you are knoweledgable about executing orders,merchandising,inspection etc in the garments field.they are very particular about quality and efficieny.we often get our orders cancelled in Pakistan for those 2 reasons.it will be your resposibility to make sure that orders are on time and quality is maintained.
Re: Contacting big retail stores to sell your products
what is the process if i want to sell my own branded products to the store for them to sell for me?
Re: Contacting big retail stores to sell your products
but i want to know how can i contact the big stores like Next, Marks and spensers, debenhams etc to give me a deal to manufacter garments for them.
i just need to know how to contact them so then i can send of some of my samples to them.
It would be difficult for you to break into these these big companies....besides I am not sure a lot of them sell shoes anyway. Even if they did they would want everything on credit. They will not pay upfront for the goods and will pay after a few months.
I would suggest contacting Footware Retailers Association ( I think that is correct) and get a list of their members and contact their members. You will have better luck that way.