Wholesale Industry Blog - WholesaleU

Private labeling not just for the big box retailers

Robert Cyr — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:44:39 +0000

Shopping with the wife this weekend we found ourselves at Walmart pushing a cart aisle by aisle. While many people are opposed to Walmart’s market share I do find it fascinating that in the face of roughly forty years Walmart has become the worlds largest retailer. I highly recommend reading Sam Walton’s book, “Made in America” as the story of Walmart growth is enough to inspire any entrepreneur.

As we were walking through Walmart shopping for necessities I noticed the tremendous amount of “Private Label” products offered. From Dog food to soda pop the Walmart name is branded on several items in fact through further research I found out that approximately 40% of all items sold in Walmart are private labeled.

What is private labeling?

Private labeling is simply the act of contracting with a manufacturing company to produce your own line of products with your chosen name brand. There are literally hundreds of manufacturers who are willing to produce a single product or complete product line thereby enhancing your business image and strengthening your relationship with your customer base.

Why would you want to private label?

Simply put, There’s no better way to support your store brand than to sell products bearing your store’s name. Your brand can create recognition in your geographic market whether your plans are to market locally, regionally, or nationwide there is a private label solution available.

Some examples of the more popular products which are private labeled include lotions, skin care products, cosmetics, perfumes, jewelry, apparel, home décor, snack foods, candy and coffee.

Here are a few examples of private label manufacturers who deal in small quantities:

Grafton Cosmetics – offers dedicated sales advisors who will walk you through the very necessary steps to guarantee that the development of your brand meets your business goals and your marketing strategies. Grafton Cosmetics offers a total private label solution from graphic label design to product manufacturing. Based in Florida - toll free 800-662-5387

Mister Snacks - offers dozens of snack lines for small to large retail stores, regional distributors, large supermarket chains, cruise lines, colleges, promotional campaigns and everything you can imagine. Let their creative artists help you design the look you want or you can provide your own logo. Based in New York 716-691-1500

Style Source Inc - Private label apparel manufacturer offering dresses, skirts, tanks, wraps, sarongs, pet apparel, maternity apparel and dozens more. Able to provide specific size ratios, labeling, packaging and many other value added services. Based out of North Carolina 910-399-2288

Autocrat - In business since 1895 retailers can develop a partnership with Autocrat’s private label coffee program.. Autocrat offers selling support that is committed to championing your growing business with package design, brochure assistance and growth incentives. Based in Rhode Island 800-288-6272

Nutricap Labs Offers private label solutions for the supplement / vitamin industry which will offer the ability for your business to build brand loyalty among your customers. Superior products at the most competitive prices offering cutting edge label printing and packaging design services. Based in New York 800-494-6154

Companies listed above are a sampling of manufacturers who are ready to produce your products under your business name.

For more information the Wholesale private label industry offers an annual trade show which is coming up August 16-18th in Chicago. More information can be found at the PLMA website or by calling PLMA direct at PLMA 212-972-3131

Private Label Fun Fact - Walmart’s, “Ol Roy” dry dog food is the Nations second best selling behind Purina. “Ol Roy” is exclusively manufactured by Mars, Inc., owner of Pedigree, Sheba and Whiskas pet foods. Ok, maybe not necessarily fun…But interesting-

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Liquidation Merchandise - Reselling Restrictions?

Robert Cyr — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:14:58 +0000

If you have been following my posts here on the WholesaleU Blog and ToptTenWholesale you probably know by now that buying wholesale liquidation merchandise in the form of pallets and truckloads can be very profitable for your retail or auction business. Buying liquidation merchandise is a great way to source top name brands from some of the largest Big Box retailers.

I want to address the issue of “Brand Restriction Agreements” for end resellers that must be signed and adhered to prior to purchasing liquidation merchandise. If you are buying wholesale liquidation merchandise with the intent to profit from reselling then you are the “End Reseller”.

When purchasing wholesale liquidation merchandise direct from a department store or a contracted reclamation center you must make sure that you follow any reselling restrictions including brand protection instructions.

Why is this a big deal?

All written contract restrictions share one common theme that you must take very seriously….”End User Returns”. Lets say you buy a pallet of DVD players and you are able to offer them to your customers at 50% off of original retail. Sounds like a great deal, huh? What happens when your customer buys a DVD player from you at a great price and then attempts to return it to the original store for full retail credit? The store will come back after you with fines and/or a lawsuit for breach of your reselling contract.

You must take all precautions to avoid this from happening. Delabaling and defacing merchandise will protect you as a reseller of liquidation merchandise. If you follow all of the original stores guidelines for reselling there should be very little if any problems with store level returns.

Make sure prior to buying that you carefully read all written requirements making sure that you can fully comply with reselling terms. You will be asked to sign a contract with your merchandise source before a pallet or truckload will be sold to you. This is one area which you should not take lightly.

Some retail stores will not allow you to resell liquidation merchandise within a a certain mile radius of an actual store. For example Kmart liquidation merchandise cannot be sold within a 50 mile radius of an actual store (Kmart). If you live within a large city this could pose a problem as most larger US cities do in fact have a Kmart or Super Kmart.

To give you better idea of what an agreement might look like I am going to list a few of the requirements for reselling liquidation merchandise purchased from the Target Corporation. Target is a large chain department store, which operates stores throughout the United States selling general merchandise, electronics, home decor, apparel, jewelry and in some states grocery items.

Delabeling and Defacing Agreement for Target Salvage Merchandise:

All warranty cards to be discarded and destroyed
If warranty is included with product information, the warranty section must be removed with exception of sewn in labels
All tags of clothing, both Target and licensed brands to be removed with exception of sewn in labels
Black out all sewn in labels
Discard all hang tags and tags
Remove all Target brand products from boxes and packaging from the Target box unless packaging is necessary for the product
Black out all UPC codes
Black out all reference to the Target name

You can see from just a few of the above requirements that there is work involved in reselling liquidation merchandise. Whether you buy direct from a liquidator or buy from the actual store you must follow all reselling requirements. Again, make sure you fully read and understand all reselling restrictions before buying a pallet or truckload of liquidation merchandise.

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Celebrity Designer Lines Come In All Price Points

Marie Marra — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:01:44 +0000

Never underestimate the fashion buzz and eye-grabbing power of a celebrity’s fashion, accessories and footwear designs.

Famous faces of films, TV and music don’t always have what it takes to design women’s strappy sandals, sundresses, casual dresses good enough for work or weekend knock-around capri pants and T-shirts. But they sure do attract attention, copycat clothes and media. These days, celebrity designer lines also come at ALL price points … not just up-market and high-priced lines.

Sarah Jessica Parker’s Bitten. Sex sells; Sex In the City sells even better to fans of the TV show (now a major film) in which Sarah Jessica Parker plays New York City fashionista and lonely hearts advisor Carrie Bradshaw. Most unexpected was the price-point and retail chain through which SJP decided to market her very own Sex In the City women’s wear style — the Bitten brand. All those puffy skirt and fitted bodice sundresses, sophisticated cut-off pants, midriff T-shirts and the shoes. Oh, those shoes! (Parker held onto her high-priced Manolos from the TV show wardrobe mistress for SIX years.) Sarah Jessica Parker negotiated in-store boutiques for her Bitten design line with Steve and Barry’s – the young and casual retail chain known for cut-rate logo T-shirts and discount priced tween, teen and 20-something clothing. All part of Parker’s ethic: On A Budget But With Style.

Rental Designer Handbags are another buzz point where art (Sex In the City film) imitates life. If you see the film, listen for Carrie Bradshaw’s on-a-budget assistant who points to her designer handbag and says, “It’s mine till Tuesday, baby.” One such rented chic site is BegBorrowOrSteal-dot-com.

Amanda Bynes Goes “dear.” Another star-powered fashion line called “dear” distributes through youth apparel, shopping mall-sited Steve and Barry’s, noted above. Amanda Bynes developed her “dear” line with lots of horizontally-striped, plunge-necked, push-up sleeve sweaters, in school bus yellows and robin’s egg blues. Bynes stays en-“dear”-ed by black, stretch leggings (the Spandex look but looser) and high, black stiletto heeled shoes.

Lohan Likes Black Leggings, Too. The Lohan line, called 6126, for reasons we cannot divine, hit stores in June 2008. Her stretchy black long leggings feature slit or zipped cuffs to fit over very high strappy heels.

The Cruz Sisters do it Shapely. Star Penelope Cruz with sister Monica built their MNG line of women’s wear for the huge Spanish chain store Mango. Think Vintage Clothing based on the vintage styles pulled from Las Hermanas Cruz wardrobe – satiny dress fabrics; stretchy jersey-like fabrics for sleeveless unitards, and a simple skimmer dress with beadwork at the scooped neckline. Oh … and black. Lotsa black.

Bubble Skirts Times Two.J-Lo, Jennifer Lopez, and Teen Vogue designer turned fashion designer in her own Lauren Conrad Collection, both feature Bubble Dresses. Whether strapless or slung over one shoulder, these celebrity bubble dresses are short hemmed, poofy and either shirred or drawn in over the hips. Jennifer Lopez features hers in “Just Sweet,” which targets a higher-priced line of women’s clothing. (The bubble silhouette doesn’t mix with weight-loss wannabes; skinnies only.)

Natalie Portman Does it With Attitude. Actress Portman is well known for her vegan and animal-lover lifestyle, from home furnishings (no rainforest mahogany or leather couches) to fashion. No surprise that Portman designed the Te Casan line, featuring very high, spindly-heeled, open-toed, cross over the toes sandals. Bright colors. Leather free. Te Casan is billed as “cruelty-free footwear.”

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Retailers: "Reach Out and Touch Someone"

Robert Cyr — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 15:31:41 +0000

Everyone can relate to the seeing a movie and walking away either ready to cry or put on a cape and save the world. Those of you that are old enough to remember the movie “Rocky” with Sylvester Stallone will understand what I am talking about.

Spending money can be a real emotional experience for many people. When shoppers buy based upon an emotional feeling they will spend more money.

Ok, for fear I am loosing some of you lets look at some examples of emotional spending:

Buying a new car - Taking that test drive…ah that new car smell, the acceleration and the fact that you look very cool in a new ride! Pure emotion. The dealership ~~shark~~ salesperson understands that if you are involved emotionally…a sale will take place. You will hear him say things like, “How did it FEEL driving down the freeway” or “Wait until your friends see you in this ride!”

Buying an engagement ring - This very act has emotion written all over it. The buyer will typically experience FEAR that if a large enough diamond is not purchased the receiver will not feel LOVED. When love is involved, money is never an issue….right?

The above examples are large purchases and may be a bit extreme, but emotional spending occurs with smaller purchases as well. If you have a retail store of any size you should use the power of emotion to increase sales and cash flow.

“Ok, makes sense…how do I implement this emotional marketing in my store?”

I am so glad you asked…

Retail advertising phrases like, “Inventory Reduction” or “Final Markdown” create a sense of urgency and emotion in retail shoppers. Combine this emotional advertising with products at a great price and watch your sales go through the roof!

Large Big-Box retailers will heavily advertise extreme discounts to bring shoppers through the front door. I have been in large department stores and watched the sales staff open new cartons and cases of merchandise that is already marked “clearance”.

Did you catch that? Here it is again…new retail merchandise already marked down before it hits the shelf! Why? Consumers want to feel as though they are saving money. Happy shoppers spend more!

I would suggest that you maintain a particular area in your store for Liquidation merchandise…ongoing. People love to save or feel like they are saving money!

I like the phrase: emotional retail marketing…as a retailer you should as well. Appeal to the emotional side of your customer base offering products at unheard of pricing and your average sales ticket per customer will increase.

When ordering inventory plan on ordering merchandise to liquidate as apart of a liquidation promotion. Ask your wholesaler if they are “closing out” any merchandise or better yet find a wholesale liquidation company to start buying from. Bring merchandise into your store with the intent to liquidate it. Wholesale liquidators specializes in selling name brand closeout merchandise at a fraction of the original retail and/or wholesale price!

Sourcing merchandise from a liquidator allows you, the retailer, to stock your clearance shelves with fast selling, low priced merchandise. Make it a habit to buy merchandise on a regular basis and hold “Final Markdown” sales events.

Get emotional!

Your customers will love shopping at your store!

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Time to Pay…What is a Wire Transfer?

Robert Cyr — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:52:21 +0000

What are your payment options when purchasing wholesale and wholesale liquidation merchandise from a supplier, or should I say what are the payment requirements? Many on line vendors who distribute wholesale merchandise accept the traditional forms of payment including Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. There are many companies that will also accept payment via Paypal, which is a way to electronically send money to an individual or company by way of an email address.

You may have run across some companies who list, “wire Transfer” as a payment method. In fact most companies who distribute wholesale liquidation pallet and truckloads require that your purchase be paid for with a bank initiated wire. A wire transfer is an almost instantaneous electronic transfer of funds from your bank account to the receivers bank account. You must have the payee’s full business name, bank name, routing and account number to send a wire. A wire transfer is issued from just about any bank and takes a few minutes to complete while in the teller line. Your bank will charge a fee to process a wire transfer. Fees will vary, but average around $15-$30 for an outgoing transfer.

Although wires are immediate, it can take 12 to 24 hours for payment to arrive in the payee’s account.

In my experience it is an industry standard when purchasing large quantities of liquidated merchandise to use a wire transfer. When you are buying liquidated inventory direct from “Big Box” retailers..this is your only option for payment.

Wire Transfers are final, there is no recourse. You can charge back a credit card purchase, but a wire is unstoppable. Once funds hit your payee’s account…it is a done deal. Make sure you fully understand what you are buying and who you are buying merchandise from before you initiate a wire transfer.

Before you make any large purchases using a wire transfer make sure you have investigated the company you are about to buy from. Check references and ask as many questions as you can before making an investment.

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Wholesale Liquidation Brokers - Get the Facts

Robert Cyr — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:16:50 +0000

Are you Investing in the stock market or buying a new home? Chances are you will use a Broker to complete either one of the transactions. Maybe your scheduling a much needed vacation or getting a new auto insurance policy…you might use the services of a Broker here as well.

Being a professional Broker is a well-respected career unless, of course, your talking about liquidation Brokers. Why does the term, “Liquidation Broker” leave such a sour taste in the mouths of so many? I have been on both sides of the transaction when it comes to brokering liquidation merchandise. I have acted as and facilitated hundreds of brokered wholesale purchases and prior to becoming a Broker myself; I purchased pallets and truckloads from Brokers.

A wholesale liquidation Broker locates merchandise for sale and then actively looks for a buyer.

A broker makes a profit in one of two ways:

Broker finds 100 Cell Phones for $10 each and agrees with seller to a 5% selling commission. The Broker then advertises the cell phones, completes the sale and the seller receives proceeds. The seller then would issue a check to the Broker for 100 x $10 = $1,000 x 5% = $50

The Broker finds another 100 Cell Phones for $10 each, but this time the seller will not offer a commission. The Broker will then advertise the cell phones at $13 each, adding his markup/commission of the “front end” of the transaction. Assuming in this scenario the phones sell for $1,300 the Broker would then pay the seller $1,000 and arrange delivery of the phones. Here the Broker has made $300

The second example represents how most brokered transactions are set up. Be cautious when purchasing from a Liquidation Broker:

Brokers cannot accurately describe the merchandise they are selling because it is not in their possession

Brokers tend to offer “Inflated” claims about the quality/condition of pallets and truckloads of liquidation merchandise they are representing

Brokers typically set their own merchandise “markup” and if too high this will decrease your ability to profit from your wholesale purchase. In each transaction you really do not know how much markup or commission you are paying to the broker

Brokers tend to be very responsive with purchase inquiries, however once a purchase is made customer service usually becomes non-existent

Very few Brokers work for repeat business

The above points represent my personal opinion based upon years of experience in the liquidation industry. As earlier stated, I have purchased pallets and truckloads of wholesale closeout merchandise and have witnessed first hand how a purchase can be grossly misrepresented through a brokered transaction.

If you are new to purchasing liquidation merchandise it is best to inspect the actual merchandise before you make an investment. There are plenty of Liquidators who maintain actual warehouses full of merchandise. You might have to research your particular State and plan a road trip visiting a few companies, but in the end the effort and time invested could save your pocket book tremendously.

What is your experience working with Liquidation Brokers? Share with our community your story…

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Stocking up on Wholesale Sunglasses

admin — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:21:35 +0000

Sunglasses are that necessity item for most people. When the sun comes out our eyes can feel the strain. Retailers have great success selling sunglasses because of this reason. Another thing about sunglasses is they are easy to lose or break so customers are always coming back to buy another pair.

Fashion trends with sunglasses:

Many times people will purchase sunglasses to be in style. Fashions change often this is why you see so many different styles of sunglasses. At this time the ones that seem to be in fashion are the bigger plastic frames with the antique look, also the 80’s styles seem to be coming back the wayfarer styles and even the new shutter shades are in style.
We make it easy finding wholesale sunglass suppliers we have a full section on wholesale sunglasses listed at Wholesale U. We realize you can do an internet search in the major search engines like Google or Yahoo but we make it easy. We have a category for Sunglasses on our site. This is the easy way to find major wholesale companies offering wholesale discount sunglasses.

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Bargain and Used Clothing Outlets IN with Teens: It’s Hip to Be Square, Again

Marie Marra — Sun, 11 May 2008 03:04:16 +0000

Is there any good news in $4.00 per gallon gasoline, higher food prices and rising unemployment among free-spending teens?

Yes! Bargain Stores, Second-Hand Clothing Outlets, Off-Price Discount Stores and even … gasp … sewing and make-your-own Bling advice, targeted to teens, are now considered v. cool.

Tween-Teen belt-tightening is unmistakable: Retailers who target teens – like American Eagle, Tween Brands, Inc. and its Limited Too — have seen up to four consecutive months of sales declines (says UBS-International Council of Shopping Centers). Fewer teens remain in the part-time workforce over the past 14 months, squeezing out C-note Coach wristlet handbags and $80 jeans from Abercrombie & Fitch and pre-distressed surfer hoodies with brand new Brand Hollister price tags. Even Teen Food Staples – pizza, potato chips – cost more of youths’ dwindling discretionary dollars.

Opportunity knocks for off-price and bargain apparel traders!!! Now it’s cool to be frugal, including:

Buffalo Exchange, a chain of second-hand clothing stores based in Tucson Arizona that operates throughout the west and central California, says business is surging. Because teens can trade in jeans and apparel at Buffalo, shoppers are still buying top brands like Banana Republic and Juicy Couture. The brand-name threads are simply “recycled” and cost a fraction of regular price at Buffalo X.

Off-pricing and low-pricing still works. Another tween favorite, Aeropostale, sells jeans to teens for 30% less than look-alikes at Abercrombie & Fitch … and is thriving during this downturn. Teens are re-branding their shopping hangouts from higher-priced Hollister to lower-priced Target; and they’re shifting from pricey Pacific Sunwear of CA demo stores to thriftier knock-offs at H&M and Steve & Barry’s.

Even if the prices aren’t bargain basement, a “thrift-store ambience” keeps frugal Teens loyal. Or, so say trend experts who look at Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie brands, which are staying afloat in the economic storm when they only look like thrift stores.

For anyone who thought free-spending Teens would never, ever cut up credit cards, pinch dollars till George yelps or turn to sewing machines, get this: the teen-targeted spin-off of women’s Elle Magazine (called Ellegirl.com) launched videos titled, “Self-Made Girl.” It’s all about making clothes, crafting accessories like a prom clutch bag, and altering what’s already in the closet to look more stylish or fit better.

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Mother’s Day Displays

Marie Marra — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:42:33 +0000

Mother’s Day 2008 is two weeks away: day of last-minute flowers, candy and Mom Bling jewelry.

Dollar Stores and merchandise resellers already took shipment of their Mother’s Day gift inventory. Online search advertisers – Keyworded Mother’s Day; Mom’s Day; Jewelry for Mom; Flowers for Mom – are just launching their mid-May holiday Mom-marketing campaigns.

Here are some online and in-store merchandising/display tips:

Cross-Reference Mom Stuff. It is good enuf for specialty retailers, like Jo-Ann Fabrics; Cook Books headlined in Barnes & Noble or Borders emailings; and local Scrapbooking and Crafts groups featured on Meet-Up, Gather and other social link-up sites. Then, it is good enuf for Dollar Stores and general merchandise retailers to copy, too.

Put themed Mother’s Day displays, banners and signs over categories of merchandise: Crafts and Handicraft Items; Scrapbooks and Miniatures; Glue Guns and Glitters; Remaindered Cook Books; Specialty Cookware (cake decorating utensils; piping bags; nonpareils and silver “Jimmies”); Party Favors, Paperware, Festive Holiday Cupcake Liners and Cake Molds.

Post See Also :: Mom Also Likes cross-reference signage and web links to: Beach Totes, Flip Flops, Sun Parasols and Beach Reading Paperback Books. To Grapevine Wreaths, Wicker Baskets and Artificial Flower aisles. And to In-Home Spa Products such as Body Wash, Bubble Bath, Scrubs, Moisturizers, Nature Sprays, Manicure Sets, Nail Polishes, Nail Transfers or Charms, Candles and Incense, and Personal Care Products.

Leave a Breadcrumb Trail to Mom Gifts. Whether you are looking to pull online clicks to a web site or eyeballs to a brick-and-mortar display, make a trail to the Mom Merchandise easy to follow.

· Use the same icon, colors, posters and headlines for Mother’s Day Gift Suggestions … whatever the category or aisle. (See above.)

· Then “silo” on the web site, or stock on the shelves, all Mom-targeted gift items. Count on serendipity: Searchers and shoppers may have an idea of what they want to buy for Mom; but seeing other suggested gift items nearby may help them refine their gift. It also helps cross-sell and up-sell higher revenue sales … like personalized, homemade gift baskets.

Make Mom a Headliner. All the Mother’s Day-themed greeting cards, helium party balloons, singing eCards, party banners, gift wrapping and flowers (fresh and fake) rotate to the front of the inventory, or top of the web landing page. And help out The Indecisive Shopper: If you sell Gift Cards, offer Mother’s Day themed or wrapped Gift Cards to give Mom freedom of choice.

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Let Leap Year Be Your Year to Leap Forward in Fashion With Wholesale

admin — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:29:36 +0000

So, a few months ago, I promised Shawn Saba from US Style, Inc. that we would consider letting him write a guest post here and sharing his knowledge with all our readers. I never got around to posting it and he called me today saying I’d better put this up before he and Sam came down to San Diego and kick my butt back to Connecticut. Just kidding…I think I can take them anyways so their threats were falling on deaf ears But seriously, ApparelUS.com is one of the leading online resources for great deals on wholesale fashion and we welcome the knowledge of experts like Shawn any day. Shawn, I should have gotten this up back in Feb. but thanks for your work.

Shawn writes:

Every four years we add one extra day in the month of February in order to
re-synchronize our calendar with the seasons. This year, 2008, is a leap
year, which makes it the perfect opportunity to re-synchronize your clothing
collection with current fashion sense. Because fashions are sometimes as
fickle as the changing weather patterns, it‚s important to update your
clothing inventory periodically. There‚s no better or more economical way to
do that than by shopping wholesale online.

Wholesale clothing shopping online allows you to shop for and buy the
hottest new fashion designs at a fraction of their retail price. Shopping at
online wholesalers cuts out the middlemen, which allows you can spend as
little as possible. The less you pay wholesale, the more you profit in the
end. Another great thing about wholesale clothing shopping is that the
fashions are constantly being updated, so you can always choose from the
most contemporary styles.

When you purchase wholesale clothing, you can afford to completely redo your
clothing collection to fit with the modern fashion landscape. Many of the
newest fashion trends can be found at Apparelus.com, the best source for
wholesale clothing and accessories on the Internet. They offer their
customers a wide range of top-quality clothing and accessories at steeply
discounted prices. With exclusive contracts from many of the hottest
designers and manufacturers in the market, Apparelus.com always has the best
wholesale prices.

Apparelus.com has thousands of different clothing pieces you can choose
from. Their departments include tops, pants, dresses, skirts, jackets and
more. They even have hundreds of accessories like shoes, handbags,
sunglasses, belts and jewelry. No matter what style of clothing or
accessories you‚re after, you‚ll probably find it for pennies on the dollar
in their extensive collection. You‚ll be amazed to see that the unit prices
for most of their clothing items are just several dollars when they could
easily be sold for 5 times more. So, visit Apparelus.com to take advantage
of this once in a leap year opportunity to do yourself a big favor and give
your clothing collection a total overhaul. Your bottom line will thank you.

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