THE RBA ADVISES

Buying Tips From The RBA

Laura Daly, Vice Chair of the RBA, gathered recommendations from fellow members on how to make the most of your shopping

When I go buying at Harrogate, I have a set of very strict rules, which I try to adhere to, that keep me focused on the job at hand. Together with my shop manageress, Amelia, we’ll have already crunched figures and label performance and we’ll have a pretty good idea of what we want and how much we are prepared to spend.

Most of the time, I stick to the plan, as I know it makes good business sense, but it has to be said that there have been times when I’ve been seduced by something not only totally frivolous but also, in all likelihood, entirely unsellable.

Anyway, it got me to thinking about how other people buy and who better to ask than some of my fellow RBA committee members. I asked them for a few top buying tips and here’s what they said:

CHAMELEON

Anneliese Ward Bournemouth Years of experience: 10

1 Never finalise orders on the first day. Visit all your suppliers first to see what they have and then sleep on it. Go back the next day once you know what you want and finalise the order. 2 Study your return on investment before you head to Harrogate. It’s not just the number of units that you’ve sold that you need to look at but also your margins. Don’t forget the idea is to make a profit out of what you buy!

3 Look at what percentage of rail space and inventory each designer represents in store, then check this against your sales.

4 Prosecco can make you regret your choices - I’ve been there and it’s not pretty!

THE WEDDING SHOP

Nicola Garton Colchester Years of experience: 41

1 To the above, I’d add that you want to be doing some pre-Harrogate homework on up-and-coming brands if you’re thinking of adding to your designers. Have a look in the exhibitor listings [in this issue of

Trader on pages 74-81] to see what new and exciting labels will be showing and check them out online and via social media. If you like what you see, make contact with them immediately, check availability in your area and make an early

Sunday appointment to get to know them better.

2 Don’t get caught up looking at what everyone else is buying.

Trust your own judgment to make sure your shop is the one that has the most exciting and fresh designs!

3 Prosecco AFTER you’ve placed the order!

Sharon McPherson West Kilbride | Years of experience: 37

1 Buy what you need and not what you are told to buy. Don’t be fooled by alleged ‘Best Sellers’, as what works in one part of the country will not necessarily work in yours, so buy only if you love that style.

2 Make sure you know in advance what your best sellers are and, like Tracy said, identify what your rails will need and what gaps you need to fill or what discontinued dresses you may need to replace. 3 Buy your top-selling label FIRST and keep photographs of everything to ensure that what you choose makes a coherent collection that sits well on your rail. If you are not an expert on sewing and fittings, take someone with you who understands the technical side of the gowns, so that you can relax with the alteration possibilities of each dress.

4 Always prepare your stats before you arrive.

5 Drink all the Prosecco as, for once, you’re not paying for it!

BEAUTIFUL BRIDES

Tracy Tyler Nottingham | Years of experience: 17

1 Consider buying small and large sample dresses that will work well on all sizes and include curvy styles in your purchases as well.

2 Set a budget and then stick to it.

3 Identify your best sellers. That way you know what is working well already and you won’t be so tempted to buy too many alternative styles. Whilst you’re at it, identify the gaps you have in your collection, and make sure you fill them. 4 Look back over the year’s orders for your customers’ average spend and also the average size of dress ordered. That way you can keep an eye on the cost of the samples you’re buying and you won’t price yourself out of your market when they go on your rails. Also, work out the average size sold in your store - this is the size you want to buy for the core of your samples.

5 Prosecco after hours only!

AURORA BRIDE

Alison Parish North Cheam | Years of experience: 14

1 All of the above plus...

2 Take pictures of everything you order as you go along - this way if you have a bride asking for something you don’t currently have, but you know is on its way, you can reference the pictures and potentially get the bride booked back in at a later date and still get the sale! This also stops you buying the same dress from different designers.

3 Consider taking one of your stylists with you who knows what current brides have been asking for, preferably, someone who is a completely different body shape and ‘style fan’ from yourself. This should stop you from repeatedly homing in on the same style that you know suits you, and wanting to buy it from everyone.

BELLISSIMA WEDDINGS

Laura Daly South Woodham Ferrers Years of experience: 21

The sound advice from above, plus...

1 When you’re crunching those numbers before you go, remember the 80/20 rule. 20% of your dresses will be making 80% of your sales. It’s called the Pareto principle, and can be applied to sales as well as other aspects of your business. 2 Also keep in mind the Goldilocks effect when looking at what you want to buy. If you concentrate too much on having a whole store of gowns with the ‘perfect’ price point, you could well see a dip in sales. You need to have something more expensive and something cheaper to sell the one in the middle!

3 Don’t run out of time and forget to buy accessories.

It’s easy to think you’ll do them later and then phone a hurried order through once you get home or, even worse, just resort to a box of best sellers. The perfect time to make the best choice is straight after you’ve purchased the gowns; that way you’ll be sure to have items that really work together instead of generic things that everyone else has as well.

4 I’d second Anneliese’s tip on sleeping on things first. Take pictures of everything you think you want and then go back to your hotel and look at them all together. If you have a laptop with you, then it’s easy - get the pictures all up on screen and make sure you have a good coherent group of dresses. Don’t forget that, for all the partying, Harrogate is first and foremost a place of great importance for the future of your business and, as such, you do need to put in the effort! 5 Resist the urge to ‘buy by committee’ - it’s a trap I’ve fallen into in past years but, in truth, it’s as unhelpful as when a bride brings too many opinions in to your shop.

As far as the Prosecco is concerned, I’ll say only this... Cheers!

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