Ladies Footwear

Eve 09

Currently doing some research on a possible business opportunity in Ladies Footwear (Price point is mid to high end). I am trying to find out the following:

What percentage of my overall stock should I anticipate having to sell at reduced prices at the end of season sale?

Post the end of season sale - what percentage of stock would remain unsold?

I appreciate there are lots of factors which influence whether your stock sells or not but what I am trying to work out - is there an industry norm that I should apply when considering what volume of stock I will have to sell at sale price? And then calculating what stock might remain unsold?

If anyone has insight on this area - I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

nosilver

Eve 09 wrote: »

Currently doing some research on a possible business opportunity in Ladies Footwear (Price point is mid to high end). I am trying to find out the following:

What percentage of my overall stock should I anticipate having to sell at reduced prices at the end of season sale?

Post the end of season sale - what percentage of stock would remain unsold?

I appreciate there are lots of factors which influence whether your stock sells or not but what I am trying to work out - is there an industry norm that I should apply when considering what volume of stock I will have to sell at sale price? And then calculating what stock might remain unsold?

If anyone has insight on this area - I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

If you have a very good eye for the footwear fashion trends and understand the sizes required by your customers, then less than 20% would need to be cleared.

If you buy wrong it will be well over 50%.

The trick it to buy small quantities and divide the year into eight seasons so that there is always fresh stock arriving. - example Early Spring (now finished), Spring (finishing soon), Early summer (starting now), high summer (May/June), Sale in July, Early autumn, Autumn, Winter & Party shoe seasons.

Never be afraid to sell out of a style and disapointing a customer. Next time they see something they like they won't delay the purchase in case it sells out.

Fashion is a notoriously difficult retail market. High end fashion footwear is one of the most difficult within that market.

Stores like Kurt Geiger can dictate trends through press releases and photo shoots and economies of scale.

Stores like Fitzpatricks on Grafton street rely of the expertise of their buyers and is probably one of the best examples of a mid-high end fashion footwear store - but they have built their experience over decades.

Trade shows in Italy, Spain and Germany are important (2018 trade shows start in July)

Eve 09

nosilver wrote: »

If you have a very good eye for the footwear fashion trends and understand the sizes required by your customers, then less than 20% would need to be cleared.

If you buy wrong it will be well over 50%.

The trick it to buy small quantities and divide the year into eight seasons so that there is always fresh stock arriving. - example Early Spring (now finished), Spring (finishing soon), Early summer (starting now), high summer (May/June), Sale in July, Early autumn, Autumn, Winter & Party shoe seasons.

Never be afraid to sell out of a style and disapointing a customer. Next time they see something they like they won't delay the purchase in case it sells out.

Fashion is a notoriously difficult retail market. High end fashion footwear is one of the most difficult within that market.

Stores like Kurt Geiger can dictate trends through press releases and photo shoots and economies of scale.

Stores like Fitzpatricks on Grafton street rely of the expertise of their buyers and is probably one of the best examples of a mid-high end fashion footwear store - but they have built their experience over decades.

Trade shows in Italy, Spain and Germany are important (2018 trade shows start in July)

Thank you for your comprehensive reply - it's very insightful.

With regard to the trade shows, is it cheaper to buy at the shows rather than buying through agents appointed by particular brands for the Irish market or is there any difference?

nosilver

Eve 09 wrote: »

Thank you for your comprehensive reply - it's very insightful.

With regard to the trade shows, is it cheaper to buy at the shows rather than buying through agents appointed by particular brands for the Irish market or is there any difference?

No cheaper, but means you can compare a lot of different designs, quality etc.

Sometimes there are extra offers at the shows and I'd certainly attend 2-3 of them before opening any store as it would show you the range of product out there and how difficult the market is.

Eve 09

nosilver wrote: »

No cheaper, but means you can compare a lot of different designs, quality etc.

Sometimes there are extra offers at the shows and I'd certainly attend 2-3 of them before opening any store as it would show you the range of product out there and how difficult the market is.

Thanks for the further clarification. I plan to attend some shows next time round.

Can I ask if you own a store or are involved on the agent/ distributor end of things?

nosilver

Eve 09 wrote: »

Thanks for the further clarification. I plan to attend some shows next time round.

Can I ask if you own a store or are involved on the agent/ distributor end of things?

Used to be sales manager for an international brand in the UK. (nineties) Almost 20 years out of the trade now, but loved it.

Imo, 2 best high end shoe stores in uk/Ireland are Fitzpatricks on grafton st and Russell and Bromley in UK. John Lewis best dept. store footwear.

Eve 09

nosilver wrote: »

Used to be sales manager for an international brand in the UK. (nineties) Almost 20 years out of the trade now, but loved it.

Imo, 2 best high end shoe stores in uk/Ireland are Fitzpatricks on grafton st and Russell and Bromley in UK. John Lewis best dept. store footwear.

Very good - sounds like you really enjoyed it.

I spent many a day dreaming in Fitzpatrick's window when I was a poor student many years ago!! It's a great store. Good UK choices as well.