Looking for contacts of designer or brand clothing suppliers

[DMClothing]

Hello,

Basically I am going for what I have always wanted to do in having my own clothing store. Looking for a range of different mens and womens brands for example: Ed Hardy, Hilfiger, Jack Wills, Hollister, Lipsy, TFNC and more. The problem I am finding is where to get the contacts for the suppliers for these brands. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Many Thanks

David

 

[Lolleo]

Dont know where you can find legit brand name clothing but be very careful as its easy finding the fakes (or what you thought was legit). So many have been ripped off in this sector. Its the same as iphones and other high end consumer products. The scammers know there are easy targets looking for these products.

You could start by going to a store in another town and trying to partnership with them. Ask them to supply you and they will take a small margin.

 

[tony84]

Have you been to any expos?
You could also look for some Agencies - here is one a relative of mine has done some business with in the past - redalertagency.com

None of the brands you have mentioned but they may be able to put you in contact with some of them?

 

[Paul Norman]

Start by contacting the actual brands themselves. It is vital that you source the products through the brands chosen channels. Most have distributors placed strategically around the world.

As hinted above, you need to be able to demonstrate that you have genuine stuff.

In addition, building strong relationships with those brands is important. It really will help you to develope your own business.

 

[k100danny]

Big companies usually distribute themselves unless it is a diffusion line ie mcq by alexander mcqueen.

I worked in high end menswear for around 6 years and we literally dealt with pretty much everyone from adidas to prada and burberry. Smaller brands or non uk brands usually have a uk agent, people such as four marketing ect. bigger brands do everything in house, if you get someone telling you like they are an official supplier ect it's crap, why pay someone to do something they can do themselves.

There are a few things I will warn you of though, I can say with 95% certainty you will NOT get big brands in your store even if you have VERY deep pockets, this takes years to do and it's like climbing a ladder, big brands will actually want to visit your shop, take pictures and see the other brands you stock and how long you have been trading (they sent two people over from milan when we applied to stock prada and miu miu) luckily they were very happy and we got both accounts. even smaller diffusion lines are hard to get, usually want a minimum of 6 months trading, other reputable brands ect.

I am not trying to put you off just tell it like it is as everyone thinks it's simple, it took 10 year for the shops i worked for to get the big names and there are some who still wouldnt have even given us the time of day.

Also what you have to remember doing this is fashion buying happens 6 months in advance, so you will have to pay for all of your stock pretty much up front, by the time this stock comes in if will be the next seasons buying time and you will have to do this again. it's a very risky business to get into as a small business expecially with buying minimums often being very high 20k plus per season for bigger brands 35k for one brand we used to stock.

Good luck though and if you have any questions feel free to message me

 

[Paul Norman]

There are a few things I will warn you of though, I can say with 95% certainty you will NOT get big brands in your store even if you have VERY deep pockets, this takes years to do and it's like climbing a ladder, big brands will actually want to visit your shop, take pictures and see the other brands you stock and how long you have been trading (they sent two people over from milan when we applied to stock prada and miu miu) luckily they were very happy and we got both accounts. even smaller diffusion lines are hard to get, usually want a minimum of 6 months trading, other reputable brands ect.

This is very true. It is worth taking the time to land these brands. But it is not a five minute process

 

[DMClothing]

Thanks very much for the replies. Some very good tips.

I have been contacting the brands direct although its a nightmare getting a response from these companies. Thought there would have been a distributor for certain brands in the UK but again trying to find the legit and the right ones are proving to be nearly impossible.

 

[k100danny]

If you want to stock a brand contact the brand, do not look for a certain brand wholesale on google, Brands distribute themselves unless the brand is part of a licensing agreement. big brands sometimes allow diffusion lines to be made and sold in cheaper shops and have very little to do with the mainline brand they just oversee it and charge millions of pounds a year for this.

Some smaller brands do have an agent, some bigger ones even do but you will be put in touch with them through the brand only and very few of these have websites.

Lipsy is quite a cheap brand and is something you may be able to get in stock the same tfnc but only if their isn't a stockist close by and what you have to also remember is most brands have exlusivity deals with certain online retailers meaning you will NOT be able to sell their goods online, if you do your account will be taken away from you and you won't be stocking that brand ever again.

I would suggest for the mid level stuff youre looking for qhich is quite commercial and aimed at a young crowd to go to a trade show such as bread and butter in berlin or barcelona.

 

[DMClothing]

Have you any ideas of when these shows are, only came across some but either passed or are at the very earliest Feb 2014?

 

[k100danny]

well you're looking around january to do your buying of next winters stock which will arrive late summer for the brands such as hilfiger ect, lipsy and brands like that usually let you buy throughout the year as they don't run in collections as much as a designer does. instead of doing two buying appointments per year as you would with a designer a lot of smaller brands like that usually have a trade only site that you can log into and order stock.

 

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