LA Summer Market Week Wrap Up

14 Jan

Well I got back from market week and the Brighte trade show in Los Angeles a couple of hours ago, and as promised, a recap!

We got there on Saturday around 1:30 and checked into the hotel before going to the first appointment. I had two that day; one at Theresa Matthew Studio the New Mart and another an hour later right across the street at the California Market Center with Voom. These appointments seemed to go by so much faster than my first showroom appointment, and for some reason I was a lot more decisive. Hopefully that will prove to have been a good thing.

By the way, if you read my interview with Lauren I mentioned the four lines I’m carrying. I actually made big changes to the line up by axing one and picking up two others; but the names will stay a secret for now! I definitely will be carrying Voom though. The idea is to get people on to the website through their name and then hopefully introduce them to some of the lesser known but awesome brands I’ll have. The sales reps with Voom were great as always; actually all of the sales reps have been super friendly and surprisingly down to earth; I was a bit scared because of some of the things I’ve heard!

Anyways, back to Voom. Fans of the line, you’re really in to something this Spring and Summer! I totally see an Eva Longoria and the now infamous elephant dress redux. Super cute pieces, and I don’t like the idea of keeping merchandise from my inventory but I might have to on one or two pieces! But on the business side, what I love about this line is that they’re always open. You an buy immediate deliveries and up to about six months in advance; they’re very flexible and they cater to the buyers, which is great. They’re also flexible about minimums.

Budget? What Budget??

I ended up with a total of 16 pieces from all three lines, and when I got home I realized I went way, WAY over budget. Yikes! It looks like I’m going to have to do some editing and cancel some pieces, perhaps one of my lines, but it’s really not the end of the world. There are pieces that I feel really strong about and some that I’m a bit on the fence with, so editing isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Perhaps I wasn’t very decisive?

One more thing! I actually found another line called Nancy Rose that I absolutely FELL in love with! Seriously, they had this high waisted mini skirt that I can’t stop thinking about. I hope to carry it sometime later this year.

Photo source: californiamarketcenter.com

6 Responses

punky
24|Jan|2008 1

I saw your post on tfs, I would love to exchange links with you.
Tanya
30|Jan|2008 2

I just wanted to know How much does it cost to start your own online business? How much would i need prox. minus the merchandise?
How Much Does It Cost? by Building the Boutique
31|Jan|2008 3

[…] one of those slow periods where nothing major is happening. In my last blog I recapped the LA Trade Show. All the merchandise orders have been placed, and yes I did end up canceling about four pieces […]
Kim
31|Jan|2008 4

Hey Tanya, thanks for posting! I made a new blog answering your question.
Heather
26|Feb|2008 5

Hi,

I have been exploring the idea of starting my own clothing boutique but am thinking that an online boutique may be the best idea to start. I was wondering how you get in touch with the designers that you want to carry? Is it all through trade shows and have you run into any problems when a designer does not want you to carry their line?

I know you briefly spoke about costs, but can you give an estimation of about how much money it is to buy merchandise from about 4 different designers and about 15 pieces per designer (I am using your numbers that you provided!)

Thank You!!
Kim
26|Feb|2008 6

Hi! Im actually planning a blog that will explain your first question. Look for that tonight!

About the costs. For a higher end line, like say Voom or Tart (not 3.1 Phillip Lim or something like that) where you’re buying 4 pieces per style, I would say $5000 per designer minimum, totalling $20,000. I’m basing this off of what I’ve spent for lines that wholesale between $75-$120.

Btw, retail is usually marked up x 2.2. So if you take a line you like, average out the retail costs and divide it in half you’ll have a pretty good idea of how much to budget per line. Hope that helps!