How to Find Wholesale Women's Clothing Distributors?
Today, small business owners are concerned about finding wholesale women's clothing distributors for their businesses. Wholesalers are business owners who buy products from manufacturers and sell them to other businesses. Wholesalers don't run stores; instead, they provide your small business with inventory to sell to your customers.
Whether you run a brick-and-mortar business or an e-commerce store, wholesale distributors play an important role in connecting suppliers and store owners.
How to Find Wholesale Women's Clothing Distributors to Supply Your Small Business?
You can run a small business with one or more wholesale women's clothing distributors. However, it can be difficult to find the most suitable partner. You must find a wholesale women's clothing distributor who will:
Connect you to the suppliers and merchandise your company needs
Affordable price
Serve your geographic area
Reliable, dependable, and easy to work with
Before finding the best wholesale women's clothing distributors to work with, you need to research the types of merchandise you offer. Once you know what you're looking for, you can start looking for the right wholesalers to supply your women's clothing business.
1. Research Distribution Channels in Your Industry
There are various ways to ship products from the manufacturer to the retailer. Let's discuss 4 distribution channels...
Manufacturer: You can buy some items directly from the manufacturer. Boutiques usually buy from a small manufacturer (sometimes a single person).
Importer/Sole Distributor: A business may have exclusive rights to import and distribute products in a particular country. Some may be sold directly to retailers, and some may be sold to smaller local wholesalers who further sell to retail outlets.
Wholesaler/National Distributor: National wholesalers typically receive truck-size lots and sell them to local wholesalers who then distribute them to small businesses.
Jobbers: These guys make daily deliveries to local retail clothing stores.
2. Try It with the Manufacturer's First
Paying wholesalers cuts into your profits. You should start from the ground up and remove the intermediary from the equation to maximize your profits.
If you sell branded merchandise, please contact the product manufacturer directly. Based on their minimum order criteria, they can sell to you. If you are too small for them, or they only sell through established distribution channels, ask them for a list of reputable distributors you can contact.
The fewer people you have to pass by, the lower your costs. Thus, you will make yourself more competitive in the market.
3. Be More Specific When Searching Online
When doing your online search, don't just look for general wholesale clothing dealers. Be sure to include your product or niche keywords. Experiment with product names, model numbers, and brand names. The more potential wholesalers you find, the better you'll be able to compare stores, understand normal prices in the industry, and offer competitive offers.
4. Have a Good Relationship with Wholesale Suppliers
Start contacting wholesale women's clothing distributors, use a manufacturer's database, a phone book listing, or the wholesale directory you are looking for:
Their minimum requirements for orders
Their wholesale unit price
The regions they offer
You can make an initial contact by phone or email, followed by a phone call if you need more information or want to move forward. Be honest about what you're looking for and don't try to sound more than you're capable of.
5. Find Wholesale Locations on Alibaba
Alibaba's business model is different from other companies such as eBay and Amazon. It focuses more on business-to-business (B2B) trade. Unlike the normal business-to-consumer (B2C) approach, Alibaba is focused on being a forum for manufacturers to sell goods in bulk at wholesale prices to small and medium-sized businesses around the world, who then resell them at retail in the domestic market.
6. Keep Pace with Major B2B Marketplaces
There are several large online B2B marketplaces where you can buy large quantities of products at low prices. Like Alibaba.com, some of the other largest B2B marketplaces including apparel manufacturers, importers, and wholesale apparel distributors are mentioned below:
Global Sources (USA)
Buyer Zone (USA)
EC21 (Korea)
EC Plaza (Korea)
Find a marketplace for your country or region. There are also industry-specific B2B marketplaces; these can serve a single country or a global retail population.
7. Access to Business Associations, Forums, and Other Professional Networks
Small business owners with more experience in your industry or niche are often the best sources of knowledge for wholesalers. Other retailers may not be eager to share information about suppliers with competitors. Take the time to network to build trust and connections that will help you find the best wholesale suppliers for your small business.
Participate in online forums that can be a great source of free information and get help from others with market or industry experience. You can also develop your LinkedIn profile, subscribe to industry newsletters and join your local chamber of commerce or small business networking group to build your professional connections.
8. Attend Trade Shows
Trade shows are one of the most effective ways to build and grow your business. These events are designed to connect retailers with wholesale apparel distributors and manufacturers.
Trade shows allow you to meet and chat with dozens of wholesalers or manufacturers in one day. These face-to-face conversations can often avoid misinformation or communication difficulties that can arise when connecting with people online.
Trade Show News Network is the largest online trade show index. You can search trade shows by industry, date, city, country or state, and/or event name.
9. Subscribe to Fashion Trade Publications
Trade magazines are a wealth of business and relationship information in your industry. Almost every advertiser in a magazine is a manufacturer or distributor of a product looking to connect with you, and an issue of a fashion magazine may offer the names of dozens of wholesale clothing distributors or small clothing manufacturers.
Subscribe to online newsletters and blogs, as well as fashion magazines. These are often the best way to stay updated with industry news on a daily or weekly basis.
10. Don't Worry About Making Mistakes
Your first wholesale clothing distributor may not be your long-term supplier. Creating the perfect supply chain is an evolutionary process that involves a lot of trial and error.
Your number one goal is to deliver the product. Then, while you continue to build and grow your business, you can improve your bottom line by trying other wholesale clothing resellers.
The above has introduced you to how to find wholesalers of women's clothing. If you are looking for a supplier of women's clothing, please contact us.
Follow Simple is a professional custom women's clothing manufacturer. We focus on women's clothing for 13 years, such as dresses, tops, skirts, pants, hoodies, and so on. Our main customers are from Europe/Australia/Japan. Our production line has the skills to provide the following services: Custom Garment Manufacturing, Private Label Manufacturing, and OEM Garment Manufacturing.
