If you wish to distribute your products in stores & boutiques, there are a few things you need to know. For example;

Let’s get started.

You will need to walk around town and look at local stores.

Psst! Remember that they are also non-traditional clothing & accessories boutiques, like art galleries, museums, gift stores, jewelry shops, bookstores, etc.

Once you have found potential homes for your products, look at other brands & designers they carry. Investigating these brands can help you understand what your customers are looking for and where to find them (psst! These brands will often have store locators on their websites. These locators can help you target new boutiques in the future!)

Immerse yourself. If you feel at home, it’s probably a good match already. However, if you don’t feel comfortable, you won’t be comfortable selling there either.

Take a look at colors and patterns. It will give you a sense of what they are looking for and what’s trending. Even though your art transcends the traditional trends, the boutiques still need to fit your products with the rest of their assortment.

You can now list your first targets (we recommend starting with a Top 3).

Scarcity is vital for independent boutiques. They can’t have another boutique close. So you walk into your favorite boutique and buy your products. Congratulations! You have lost the opportunity to sell to your top 1 and 2. Always approach your favorite boutique first.

Have you spotted a few brands that speak to you or that your clientele would like? It’s time to do some research! A close look at your competitors will help you:

Your products should complement their assortment. If your products are designed in a way to be sold alongside products from other designers, your boutique will sell more items at once.

The price range in a boutique is also critical. For example, if the store carries 40-dollar dresses, they probably won’t be able to sell your products.

Wholesale has two central budgets: The planned budget for future seasons and the On-hand budget for short-term buys.

The planned budget for future seasons is sometimes called “prebooking” or “seasons”. For example, a brand may ship its Fall Deliveries in August or September. In fashion, the typical prebooking for Fall is from mid-January to mid-March (also known as the “sales period”).

Unlike Le Galeriste, most manufacturers have large minimum order quantities and require months for production and delivery (if the manufacturer is overseas, as is often the case, the boat ride needed for bringing in the goods can take up to four months 😭). These delays and these minimums are the core reasons behind the concept of prebooking.

This buying strategy is mostly used for longstanding relationships (when a store has been carrying a designer for a few years).

A boutique will also buy for immediate delivery. This budget has many names: “open-to-buy”, “OTB”, “Immediate”, “Cash-And-Carry”, etc.

Immediate delivery is the preferred approach for new designers.

Our partners will often use a hybrid approach. For example, meet and sell to stores in January for a March Delivery & so on. We strongly recommend you start with this hybrid strategy.

Now that you know where you want to be / alongside which brands your products will stand / which season your first products will be shipped, it’s time to build your first Boutique Collection!