Holday ‘08 Update

Holiday season is off to a great start; much better than I expected. I’m so glad I decided to do presales , it not only brought in sales quickly but it helped me make a lot of buying decisions for Spring 2009. With the success I’ve had with Love Quotes and Lauren Conrad in just a short time (and with no paid advertisement), it really showed me how much easier it is to sell well known brands and especially celebrity endorsed brands. That was probably the biggest reason why I decided to take on some of the labels I purchased for Spring, but the downside is I feel like I’m losing the initial vision I had for the boutique. I was always a bit more interested in unique, unknown labels. It’s such a double edged sword!

Delivery Delays
So, my Love Quotes holiday delivery still isn’t in (although it probably will be tonight, if not tomorrow). The delivery window was October 1st – 15th but the company moved their warehouse and didn’t have certain colors in, so deliveries were delayed for every boutique. It’s been pretty stressful for me sense I have about a dozen preorders just waiting to be sent out, so once these are in I’ll be so relieved!

I have a couple of colors that are already sold out. Some of the newer ones like Bordeaux and Deep Teal have been fast sellers. The only one that has sold much slower than I expected is Cobalt. Probably the fact that it’s an older color has something to do with it, but this was supposed to be one of the hottest colors of the season!

Sometimes it’s better to trust your instincts…
Like I mentioned before, the Lauren Conrad line is doing really well for me. And it’s funny because the fastest selling piece by far, the Ashlee Dress, is one I initially passed on. Why? Well, the sales rep told me neither she or any of the other buyers cared for the dress and that she hadn’t sold it to ANYONE in my territory. So of course, this worried me and I decided to go with this purple draped asymmetrical dress instead. After thinking about it for a while I changed my mind and decided to go out on a limb. I was felling so daring that I ordered it in red instead of the safe color, black. The decision definitely paid off, which shows sometimes it’s better to take a risk! And I still appreciate the sales rep warning me, she definitely meant well. I kind of wish I had chosen riskier colors for some of the other garments I purchased, but oh well, too late now.

Fit Troubles
Here’s another problem I’m experiencing for the first time. I’ve never seen so many all over the place sizes. On one hand I have Bryce & Bouji which runs two or three sizes large (seriously, the size XS in a few of the pieces can fit like a 6 or even an 8 ) and then in a couple of the Lauren Conrad styles there was barely a difference between in size between XS, S and M (very odd) so I ended up sending a couple of the sizes back. So that just goes to show why it’s so important to try on EVERY item that you get and give fit instructions based on that. It’s not a bad idea to measure out the other sizes as well.

Tomorrow I have an interview on a college radio station. Wish me luck that I don’t stutter.