4 Mistakes To Avoid When Buying Stock For Your Bridal Shop

Are you off to buy wedding dress samples this weekend? I love the buzz of seeing new styles, chatting with colleagues and having a glass of champagne. I used to love taking my Mum with me to Harrogate so we could have a girls weekend. We loved dress shopping and trips to Betty’s and The Ivy. 

I also know though what a big emotional and financial commitment bridal buying can be. I have been both a bridal buyer when I had my wedding dress shop, and an exhibitor during my time with Bowen Dryden. I have seen it from both sides of the show so here are my tips for buying samples that will get you repeats! 

Photos by Sarah Brookes Photography

Things to avoid when attending a bridal buying event: 

1- Buying styles that won’t sell 

Start by doing a sales review from the previous 12 months. Look through your orders and look at what shapes and styles appealed to your brides. I think it is important to go back and look at what actually sold, rather than what you remember sold. Most people cannot actually hold a true representation in their mind. Go back through your database and list what styles sold the best, the wholesale price and how many repeats you achieved. It can be really easy to buy what you like but make sure your ideal clients will like it too. 

Now I’m not suggesting that you buy the same stock again this year! But if you know that soft tulle or separates sold consistently over the last year, it makes sense to buy more in the same vein. Refresh your offering with interesting and versatile pieces but with in the parameters you know sell. 

2- Overspending 

Set a budget before shopping and stick to it. It is so easy to overspend and end up with a larger bill than expected. 

Have a look at what is in your account now, your upcoming expenditure and taxes due and create a realistic buying budget. Bear in mind that you will need to pay 50% of each order to write to confirm your order, then the remainder when your dresses are ready to ship. If you really love a designer but cash flow is a little tight at the moment, ask them whether they offer an account (if they are a big outfit) or payment plans. 

Remember if you can’t afford it right now you can always get in contact with a designer later in the year. The opportunity does not end when the show finishes. 

Photos taken at White Gallery. Left is the beautiful Rolling in Roses stand and right is Shikoba Bride

3- Buying What You Don’t Need

Remember those sales you missed out on because you didn’t have quite what your brides wanted? Those could have been sales. These are the items you should be buying this time around. The items that will get you easy sales. It could be a multi-use accessory or an all rounder skirt that will make the rest of your stock work for you. The icing on the cake that pulls an outfit together perfectly.

Try and target new pieces that will work with stock you already have. Items and collections that will elevate your current samples and look cohesive hanging in your store. Not only will these new items sell on their own but they will help clinch the sales that you would have missed before.

Try to not get seduced with lots of pretty and fun pieces that do not work with your current offering. Injecting something new is essential for retailers, but don’t throw out everything that worked before in order to do it.

4- Forgetting Your Niche 

It is very easy to get swept away with the different opinions at the shows. The ones from people that do something very different than you. You are mooched around the stands and get chatting with a sales person from a brand. First they ask about your store and what designers you stock. You tell them all about your incredible shop. They then tell you to be more commercial or that you need something alternative. They made you wobbly on what it is that you are doing and the brides you are serving. This is normal! These people are professional sales persons and are good at it. They are trying to make you think that you need their designs so they can sell them to you. And that’s ok, that is their job.

However, you do not have to listen. You know what sells for you. You know your ideal client so stick to your niche and politely decline. Feel flattered that they are interested in your boutique then stroll over to the champagne bar.

Take the event for what it is, an opportunity, not a requirement. Drink your champagne, watch the shows and chat to wedding industry colleagues but do not doubt yourself and your business. You are doing an amazing job. Buy the items you know fit with in your niche and that will appeal to your brides. Feel confidence in the research you have done before you arrived when you looked through your sales database. You got this!

If you are interested in learning more about wholesaling your bridal wear designs, click here to read about my Wholesaling 101 course.