An outsider’s perspective on what it really means to buy
It was HOT! Not the ‘temperature is rising and it looks like a great day to be outside’ kind of hot. But the ‘my skin is feeling attacked by the suns rays and I’m not too sure how long I’ll last out here’ kind of hot. We were hot, and in need of a rest.
I had spent three long days living as a retailer where I studied and embraced upcoming trends, then sought out the product (making selections totally based on my trends 101 lesson), that would eventually fly off a North Vancouver’s retailers’ shelves. We wore down the soles on our walking shoes – and did I mention the heat? There was only one thing to do… find a beach. And a beach we found!
You see, I had the wonderful opportunity to follow a Director of Shelfspace, and an exceptional retailer, Kristina Egyed of LaLa’s in North Vancouver, down to one of the biggest gift and jewelry buying shows in the States. It was a perfect opportunity to not just write about, learn about and network ‘retail’; it was the chance to actually ‘live’ retail.
Many say that this is the most fun part of retail – the buying! And who wouldn’t love it? ‘I’ll have two dozen of those, five dozen of those, a couple of those, and not those, they’d never sell’. I would have to concur that it is exciting to see new product and decide how a store will shape up for the upcoming season – and really, when isn’t it fun spending someone else’s money on trendy sparkly things?
Anyways, after an early morning of traveling, and equipped with a short lesson on the upcoming season’s fashion trends over lattes, we put on our comfy shoes and scurried throughout the jewelry district in search of the ‘cool’ buys, funky new trends and unique finds. We ventured in and out of questionable storefronts with papers reading ‘venta al por mayor’ or ‘wholesale only’ hastily attached with scotch tape to vaguely translucent glass doors.
After years of such trips, Kristina is a pro in deciding what ‘stores’ were worth digging through, and which were unable to offer wares worthy of her retail business. In and out - armed with the retailer’s form of ‘the notebook’ listing numbers, items, wish lists, store names and addresses scrawled inside the pages. In and out - as the temperature continued to rise – purses, earrings, scarves, hats, necklaces. You name it, if a girl wants it, we were searching for it.
At the end of the first successful travel and shopping day, we plunked down, shared a few well deserved lagers and again poured over numbers, needs, purchases, and what we’d have left open to buy. A quick call back to the store to confirm a few things offered more direction for the following day: “We need kids stuff, nothing with animals. Find bright colours, soccer balls and fairies please – the smaller the better… oh and anything that makes you say ‘ohhhhhhhhhhhhh cuuuuuute’!” So there we were, exhausted – part of the task achieved, and lists of have, need and could use columns based on stories, trends, turn times and customer demand.
The second day began with a jaunt over to the trade show hall. First stop: the cash and carry level. An entire gigantic floor lined with ten by ten or twenty foot stalls housing exhibitors featuring their creations, their finds and their passions poured into metal, wood, pearl and fabric. Bee lining for a few key vendors, we waited no time in discovering what the offerings of the ‘unselected’ would be.
‘Would you buy this for your niece?’ ‘What would you pay for this?’ ‘Is this cool or too out there?’ ‘Would my customers buy this?’ These were only a few of the stream of questions we pondered that day, regarding every wall of jewelry, hat stand and book we looked at.
Often times I almost heard the numbers churning around in Kristina’s head answering the questions like: ‘How much would this come to landed?’ ‘What margin would I have to make to warrant this?’ ‘How fast would this product turn?’ ‘Are my people interested in these?’ ‘What would shipping look like for this?’ ‘Would my staff wear this?’
I also began to learn that the ability to display, ship and store products became as important as the products themselves. Items too fragile that would break in transport were overlooked. And constant thoughts of how things would look displayed together became a driving force. What would go with what? “Remember those hats we bought on Thursday from that second store? These bangles would go well with that and this necklace, which will blend into these stories over here with the browns and taupes. But remember, no hearts or stars, they don’t sell. Find ones shaped as leaves if you can”.
As she began picking up and mixing and matching items, a steady flood of other buyers began following her around like lost puppy dogs. I am certain they thought they were in the presence of creative brilliance. They picked up the pieces she had in her hands and baskets to replicate the displays that we will ultimately see at LaLa’s North Vancouver location. Given the interest of one puppy-dog-follower-buyer in particular, there is no doubt that in the upcoming months the same pairings and displays that Kristina picked up, will also be seen in Pensacola, Oklahoma.
As an outsider, it was starting to become clear to me how the art and science of retail begins to blur in the face of buying decisions. I began to understand that my opinions of what would be in style for Christmas, or what others may buy for the fall, had more of a significant impact that I realized. My response to ‘yes, I’d buy that’ generated an ‘I’ll take two dozen pieces’. That is an investment that needs to be realized and turned into profit. As we went on, hundreds and thousands of dollars were spent on gut feelings and good ideas, balanced with a sales plan for the upcoming months.
The reality of retail started setting in. With it came excitement about bringing product back and showing it to the world. We also began generating ideas on how to move and sell the merchandise. With that exhilaration came the reworking of numbers of what that investment really means, and what needs to happen in order to ensure success.
And there we found ourselves, a three day whirlwind of a total buying frenzy – equipped from the outset with a plan of what was needed – balanced with the knowledge of the trends for the upcoming months. Emotionally we were exhausted, accomplished and a bit worried. Back at the hotel room, bags started getting unpacked, calculations made and items priced. Buried in bangles and clutches, the importance of the next four months began to crystallize. I caught a glimpse into the nerves of steel it would take to be a retail entrepreneur, as the reality of dollars spent and inventory to be moved began to sink in.
With enough items purchased to take the store through the next few months (in this one category anyways) we decided to spend the final – and well earned - day on the beach. As we lay there (of course wearing some of the jewelry we’d bought on the ‘big buy’), it was clear that all the planning in the world, all the science of retail, all the math involved in projecting, all the studying of trends, all the gut feelings on hot items and inclinations of what is fashionable can only get you so far. The real magic happens when the art and science of retail intertwines, all the inputs are considered and weighted, you close your eyes, you commit to the business, you invest your entire self, and you jump! Magic!
Written by: Sonja Kennedy
