Which are the right sales channels for your fashion business?

                                                 Image courtesy of Stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Choosing the right sales channels from the beginning contributes significantly to the success of your business.

There are plenty of opportunities on how to bring your products to your target customer. The first thing to decide is do you intend to retail your products yourself or sell them to a wholesaler? Or do you choose a combination of both?

B2C – Business to Customer (Retail)

The Advantages

• There is no intermediary, which means you will make a higher profit.
• Gain brand loyalty – buying directly from your brand will generate a more personal shopping experience for your customers and if they like your products, they will certainly come back to you.
• Improve your cashflow. Cashflow is the difference in amount of cash in your account at the beginning of a period and the amount at the end of the period. Selling your products directly to the customer means that money will go into your account as soon as you make a sale, while in wholesale in can take up to 120 days until you receive the payments for your products. Especially if you have just started your business it is important to have sufficient cashflow in order to pay your expenses.

B2B – Business to Business(Wholesale)

Wholesale involves selling your products to retail stores. Here are 3 facts on wholesale which are good to know:

•  Wholesale can be an effective way to grow an emerging brand as you will have larger orders on your products.
•  It is lower risk as you will manufacture according to the orders you receive from the retailers. However, as the retailer has to also make their (larger) profit margin, your profits will be lower than when selling directly to your customers.
• Having your product in the right stores can be an effective and quicker way of building your brand especially if you are a new brand and want to gain press coverage.

Do you want to learn more about how to determine the right sales channels for your business? Check out our Routes to Market workshop on 2nd October. 

More info on our upcoming events and workshops here.

By Katja Widder