Samples / retail bridal collection - questions from a designer

[Anna Schimmel]

Hi, I'm a New Zealand based bridal designer who has built up a good name locally for beautiful wedding dresses, mostly created to order in my own workshop. Now I have downsized my business and am hoping to ease out of custom made.
I am currently working on a new ready-to-wear collection for a larger market. There are two bridal shops in Australia who have asked to stock us. One is receiving samples free of cost to them as I finish them (one in each style, 10 in all this season) they've been really good giving me feedback.
The other shop has offered to pay half wholesale price (though no payment has been made as yet + she's a start up) and wants 10 styles before Christmas.
I am currently planning on a wholesale price of NZ$2000 per gown (approx 880 pounds). The gowns are high quality fabric, excellent cut and quite modern but beautiful. Am I completely off with the wholesale price? The making + fabric costs me NZ$1000, though if I get the numbers up I may be able to squeeze that a little.
What is an average retail mark up? Is my price reasonable for a boutique designer and where would this retail in the UK market? Would I expect to provide samples for free, or can I ask for payment? What about shipping?
At the moment I make all dresses myself, but would love to outsource production to China long-term ( I think production outsourcing in NZ may be initially possible, but problematic).
Is it ok to charge extra if gowns are made to specific measurement? If so how much? What timeline do shops expect to be supplied with?
Thanks so much for reading all this, can't wait to hear from you!
Anna

 

[Katiekat]

Hi Anna, I would be interested in viewing your collection if you would be open to it. I run a bridal boutique.
Katy.

 

[Anna Schimmel]

Hi Katy
thank you for your reply!
Do you have an email address where I could send you a drop box invite for you to view the photos of our first designs? You are welcome to order, ask any questions, I also very much appreciate any feedback!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Anna

 

[Katiekat]

Hi anna this thread wont let me put my email up can i get your fb or insta name so I can msg you?

Im excited to see your collection!!
Katy

 

[Anna Schimmel]

Try emailing me: Anna at Anna Schimmel . co . nz
Without the gaps
You can also just google me under Anna Schimmel, European Bridal Designer, New Zealand, my website will come up.

 

[rossatron3]

Hi Anna, your dresses are stunning and I too would be interested in them also. The mark up for the mid range price point is about 2.6 - 2.8. You are sitting around the same as Stephanie Allin, Sassi Holford. however as these are made in UK they do have a slightly height price point so fo China made gowns, the price is expected to be less. You would definitely be expected to charge for the samples to be in each shop. We expect our lead times to be around 16 weeks. Yes it is ok to charge extra for made to measure, the wholesale charge would be about £100 - £150. And yes shipping is always added on.

Best wishes

 

[Anna Schimmel]

Hi Rossatron
thank you so much for your detailed reply. Would you be so kind and look up my website on Google: Anna Schimmel, European Bridal Designer, New Zealand, and email me? I can then send you images and some info. I would love to hear your thoughts!
Warm wishes
Anna

 

[Chris Ashdown]

As a male and having nothing to do with Bridal clothing I wonder if giving samples to just two shops is really the way forward, especially as in most countries there are plenty of designers to compete with.

My own thoughts would be to pay for some professionally done photo's and send to all the most likely magazines along with a full story about you and what you do which would probably get people coming to you at a far lower price than giving away samples.

Other outlets would be wedding trade shows and even local wedding shows often held at Hotels

Most probably you have already thought of all of these idea's, but good luck anyway

 

[The Byre]

Good Morning Anna!

Elsewhere on this forum, you praised me for giving a detailed reply to someone making garden furniture. As it turned out, he was making fire-baskets to order in his shed and not general furniture; so detailed as my reply might have been, totally relevant it was not!

Let's get back to basics. You are in a similar situation. You have a life-style business and now you are beginning to think "Hey! I want more than this!"

In other words, you want to grow out of having a life-style business and having a scalable business, capable of growth.

The only problem with that, is the obvious fact that you are sitting on one of two islands in the Pacific Ocean with a total population smaller than that of Scotland, but with the same economic and social problems.

Well, I said 'only', but there is another problem - you are making bridal dresses. I read your c.v. and according to you, you went on to get a masters' from the Deutsche Meisterschule für Mode, München. For those who don't know and are not part of the fashion cognoscenti, that's about as good as it gets! Rather like the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film, München, it turns out top talent who, because of a lack of opportunity in Germany, go out and become some of the World's top talent.

And like the film school, the positions of power and influence in Germany are clogged up with middle-aged men who see no reason to change anything in the way they do things. If their buyers come to them with funky designs, there is an intake of breath and a quick call to the marketing department for the head of fashion marketing to "come and have a look" - which is tantamount to "How can we stop this silly idea!"

(OK, that's not everybody and always, but it really does sum up how far too much of the market works, for both TV and fashion. And on a side note, for those of you looking for great, great creative talent, go to Germany. They combine a German work ethic, with great skill and massive creativity.)

Now, let me make it quite clear from the outset, I know squat about the fashion industry and I know even less about the wedding industry. I try to avoid formal weddings, as they seem to be such miserable affairs. They start off joyful and full of hope and end up in morose, drunken sadness. My own wedding involved a case of Bitburger Pils, a bottle of whisky, a rock band from Texas called The Worms and me sleeping in the pond. And that IMO is how these things aught to be arranged!

Funerals go the other way - we start off sad, but once the body has been shoved in the oven or bunged in a hole in the ground, we toddle off to the pub and have a good laugh.

All of which reminds me of the hilarious story of the wedding of a young boy from Argentina we nicknamed 'Pyjamas' in Israel - but I'll tell you about that another time!

Where was I? Oh yes! Deutsche Meisterschule für Mode - that means that you have 'horizon' or 'Horizont' as one says in German. Du kannst über den Tellerrand schauen! (You can see what is beyond the edge of the plate.)

You now want to export your wedding dresses and TBH, that is going to be difficult and for all the obvious reasons.

So let's get back to what you are doing right now. A customer comes in, you measure them up and they get a wedding dress. The trouble is, the next time they get married, they realise that spending vast sums on dresses, videographers, catering, venue hire, limos, horse-draw carriages and all that gubbins is for the birds. A smart suite, a bunch of roses and a few friends and the job's done!

They then go home and dance to the sound of The Worms playing ACDC covers and watch the new husband drink a case full of Bitburger Pils, a bottle of Wild Turkey and toddle off to sleep in the pond. Monday morning, they are back at work!

And (IMO) the answer to your desire for scale is in those last two paragraphs.

(1) "A smart suite, a bunch of roses and a few friends and the job's done!"
(2) "Monday morning, they are back at work!"

You need to see your present customers more than just once in their lifetimes!

My wife has the same problem women all over Planet Earth have. She works and she enjoys her work, but part of her work involves travel and holding meetings where she feels the need to look attractive, smart and business-like.

Men have it easy. Nice suit and the job's a goodun! Even our choice of tie is decided for us - school, university or regiment.

But a woman? Browse the web pages of the various clothing outlets and you would think that no woman has ever chaired a board meeting, or had to attend a Monday morning production briefing. And if you look at the pages slyly targeted at 'women-of-a-certain-age' the colour and designs are simply atrocious!

All I could glean from the pages of M&S, is that there is now 30% off Twiggy, which I suppose makes her 'Stumpy'.

Of course you cannot sell an 'Anna Schimmel Business Line' and charge wedding dress prices. You would have to take a fresh look at where and how you manufacture - but then, at least you will get you will get to see your customers more than just once!

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Wow where did all that come from,

I read it and reread it and still don't understand what you are telling her to do

 

[The Byre]

I'm not telling her to do anything, but I am taking her through a thought process.

• She wants to expand and become scalable.
• This is very hard to do with wedding dresses in NZ.
• She gets to see her customers just once in their lifetimes!
• She has great talent and this must be used.
• There is a yawning gap in the market for smart, chic, good quality business clothes for women.
• Filling this gap would require a totally different approach to procurement and manufacturing.

Anna Schimmel Business Line? It would fulfil a need, make her business scalable, utilise her considerable talent, exploit existing goodwill, but require a rethink, as it is a totally different beast to wedding dresses!