Hello to everybody and welcome to our blog. Please do bear with us we are not professional bloggers, writers or columnists we are just average everyday people with hopefully a lot to say. I have viewed blogs and read articles in fashion mags for years now and decided to set up my own blog as sometimes although many blogs are very informative and professional how realistic are they? talking about Victoria or David Beckham being seen in a £10,000 pair of jeans and a certain brand making a copy of them for only £500, interesting yes and credit to the Beckham’s to be able to afford that kind of money but realistic? personally I don’t think so even at £500 it is a hell of a lot of money for most unless you are mega rich or even a celeb .
I have been in this trade for over 15 years now always in the independent sector and I have seen the good times and now I am seeing the hard times. I remember a day when lads/girls used to buy a brand new pair of jeans every week for there Saturday nights out the company I was working for must have averaged near enough 200 pairs of jeans a week. Plus all the other items that were in store and that was on average if it was extremely busy everyday you could imagine the amount of jeans that we used to sell. But sadly those days are few and far between now, why is this I always ask myself is it because lads/girls have got more formal over the years are they now wearing a lot more trousers, skirts or business suits? personally I don’t think so I put it down to the cost of living with constant living increases it has become unaffordable to spend your hard earned money on yourself effectively it feels like each and every one of us is working for other people. As every last penny we earn goes into somebody else’s pocket be it Taxes, Bills, Mortgages, Fuel and even food to live once all that is taken out of your packet what is left for you to enjoy?.
This being the case why hasn’t fashion labels tried to help its retailer and customer by reducing its prices making their product more affordable? It can be done I am sure many of you have visited stores that sell cheap fashion or even shopped online and found brand fashion at stupid prices. So it can be done but instead of doing this they try and make a brand more exclusive if you like by increasing the prices of the cost of goods to the high street. If you are in a very affluent area then fine this will work but in the real world it is nice to offer a mixture in a store so you do not make the customer feel alienated. In our store for instance we offer denim from £25 up to £70 and this I feel is a good mix it offers something for everybody, yes it can be hard at times because you can’t be all things to all people but we can’t forget that not everybody can afford the same luxuries in life as everybody else. And by doing this it makes our entire customers feel welcome and not afraid to come into our store.
The independents are the shops that give small brands a platform in which to set their brand onto bigger things yet they always seem to fail to remember this. Over the years I have seen many relatively big brands fall due to this, it is something that has gone on for years and I am sure will never stop. They get too big too soon and forget where they came from and the independents that helped them get there. But we are the first they try and return to on their decline, as an independent we are very rarely offered any end of line clearance stock. Why? Because that is too much like hard work they would prefer a discount store to come in and buy it by the pallet load, than make a few phone calls to see if we would like any. And now with the internet they even make lesser quality products under the same name and to you the customer you know no difference. You just see a brand you like respect and buy it nearly 75% cheaper than you do on the high street. And this is where I feel brands lose a lot of credibility on the high street it is no longer the brand to be seen wearing as it is expensive and cheap in certain places. And everybody and there dog are seen in it over crowding the market if you like. It is no longer unique to a certain customer be that by a look/style or even down to price somebody that can afford to spend £100-£200 on a single garment do not (I feel) want to be seen wearing the same product as somebody on lower income. And that is more down to a social status thing than a personal attack they wear this kind of product to show they can afford to and make their stamp when they are seen walking around town. A prime example of this was when I went on holiday in Newquay and spoke to some surfers about their fashions. And they quite frankly said to me we are all for our surf brands and styles but come the summer season when the tourists come we do not want to be associated with the “CHAVS” so we all start shopping in Top Shop and stores like that so we do not have the same look as them. And that is an example of social status and that I feel is the case across the board.
Being an independent retailer will always be a challenge but it is worth it yes you have to compete with big companies who hit the sale the month you start getting in your new product as they have got it up to 3 months earlier than you. But I can guarantee you will never get the service or care you do in an independent a lot of our customers that shop with us we are on first name terms with. They even sometimes just pop in for a chat and a coffee which is something we offer to our customers. We have taken this customer care online with us we are always just at the end of the phone and emails we make sure are answered the same day as they are sent to us. That level of care you will not get from anywhere other than an independent retailer and that is a worldwide thing. I remember as a young boy I used to go to a certain shop every Christmas to buy some china for my mother and as I walked into the shop I was followed all around the shop by security. Until I got to the department I needed to be in he/she would then hide behind racks as I looked at the china. Finally I would make my choice ask the assistant for a little help and then I would pull out a ball of cash to buy it. As soon as that cash came out where was the security guy? heading straight back to his post for his next victim. If I was what the authorities like to call a hoodie I would kind of understand but is it that strange that a young guy would be looking at china at Christmas? And that is the level of care I am talking about if I did not have a good sense of humour I would never return to that store but it became a bit of a Christmas ritual to see if he/she would follow me and they did every year. And I would start saving earlier so my ball of cash would be bigger I still return to this store now but thankfully with age said security guard’s leave me alone. Basically our main aim is to make everybody feel welcome from all walks of life we never judge a book by its cover and treat all people old and young with the same amount of respect. And that is what keeps the independents alive in the tough times everybody is driven by targets but that will never come across on an independent retailer’s shop floor. No matter what sector of retail they are in too often I walk in big high street stores and am bombarded with SALE SALE SALE, BUY BUY BUY, BUY ONE GET ONE FREE. And personally I find that depressing no not because there is a sale but because the sales seem to be twelve month things they are no longer fun don’t get me wrong I love a bargain we all do. But the good old fashioned fun of sale shopping has gone, gone are the days of end of summer sale and then the big Christmas sale that people used to rush out too. People no longer need to do that with pre pre summer sales and Christmas sales that start in November to me it’s no fun anymore there is constant sales in your face wherever you go whatever time of year . I have the pleasure of looking out of my door this morning at a multiple that has had Autumn Winter stock in for only 2 months and already they have big sales signs offering 20% off I know next week that 20% off will be 30% off and will continue to increase to the run up to Christmas. This makes me ask only one question how they can afford to do that they must be buying it dirt cheap. Because nobody is in the trade to lose money and I know from previous years the sale in the said store will be 75% off by November plus all the buy one get one free. So even at the 75% off they must be making money as it happens far too often to be a genuine sale. If it is genuine they need to fire there buyers as obviously the product being bought is not being sold. In five years I have seen another multiple with 5 closing down sales that’s one a year and they are still open. Two weeks ago the store was to close now the signs have changed from closing down sale to closing down for refit sale so yet again another multiple chain get away and turn over decent money from a misleading sale. So all those poor customers have rushed into buy product they think they will no longer get only to find out they will still get those products. Yes they got some bargains but were they really bargains is my question? So that goes to show it is just a PR stunt to drive more sales. This is the difference from Independent retailers and multiple high street stores I know for a fact that when you see an independent in a sale it is a genuine sale to make room for new season’s products and any offers are genuine offers where they pass any of their discounts onto you.
But this being said we independents never seem to lose sight on our goals and try our best to keep our business thriving. Always on the lookout for that must have label or got to buy look but yet trying to keep a hold of being unique and offering that something just a little bit different that you don’t find in every window of the high street.
Thanks for taking the time to read this blog and I hope that you enjoyed finding out the thoughts of an independent retailer. And next time you see the big multiples in sales you will remember some of what I have said. And to all the fashion labels out there I hope this gives you an insight to what most independents think and hopefully it will make you pick up the phone and check how us guys are in this economical slump.
And to all prospective independent retailers you have got to have the passion for fashion to succeed and you must respect everybody that comes through your door old, young, rich and poor. All these people are potential customers and so are their families in return. Establish the market you are aiming at but remember your customers will mature so you still need to cater for there needs to keep them buying in your store but never forget about the next group of adults that are coming through which 9-10 times are children of your current customer. It’s a great trade to be in but it can be a hard struggle nothing is easy in life. You have to fight to get labels you need in your store often hit by massive minimum orders only to find the same brand similar products cheaper elsewhere but what will set you out from the rest is your great relationship with your customers. I know a few independent retailers and I don’t know one that does not ask why we do this? We do this because we love the buzz. We love buying for every season seeing great products but most importantly we love the thought of dressing our customers and seeing them around towns in your products. There is no greater feeling knowing that you have made a man/woman feel good about themselves and given them confidence in how they look in what they wear. This alone is enough to drive you in fashion retail sector and this is something only an independent retailer feels as they are not as driven by sales but actually care about the product they sell it is not just a job to us it’s our life and we take pride in every inch of our shop and our relationship with our customers.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment