Basics of How to Start a Wholesale Clothing Business

One of the growing trends in businesses today is wholesaling, especially wholesale clothing. This is because apart from any other wholesale businesses, a wholesale clothing business is always on the demand.

Part of the reasons is that clothes are one the essential needs of mankind, and fashion clothing lines are always on the demand. But before starting a wholesale clothing business, here are important details that an aspiring wholesaler would have to know before starting an online wholesale clothing business.

The Wholesaler’s Role

The main task of wholesaling is being the middleman that oversees the transition or distribution of stocks coming from the manufacturer to retailers and dealers. For example; a new batch of clothing line was manufactured by a company. This company will then seek out different ways on how to distribute their products on a large scale, one of which is through wholesalers. After acquiring the stock from the manufacturer, the wholesaler will then use their wide connection of retailers, dealers, or exporters to sell their stock at a profit, which will then be distributed to the consumer or end-user.

To put it simply, the wholesaler will be buying goods to sell at a profit, much like a retailer would. The only difference is that wholesalers will be working in a business-to-business realm by selling to retail companies and other wholesale firms, and not to the buying public. But there is also an exemption to this.

Wholesaling involves two processes, a business to business process and a business to end user process. A business to business process involves the wholesaler doing business with other businesses such as retailers, dealers, and other wholesalers. Wholesalers that deals with end users or the consumers are called retail distributors or wholesalers.

Before Starting a Wholesale Clothing Business

Starting a wholesale clothing business, like any other wholesaling business, entails careful handling and maintenance. A wholesale clothing business requires good negotiation skills, a nose for sniffing out the next “hot” item, and keen salesmanship. The idea is to buy the product at a low price, then make a profit by tacking on a dollar amount that still makes the deal attractive to customer.

One of the key to success in a wholesale clothing business is experience. An individual should possess a varied job background such as sales background that involves being an outside salesperson who hits the streets and/or picks up the phone and goes on a cold-calling spree to search for new customers.

In addition, the owner of a new wholesale distribution company will need the operational skills necessary for running such a company. For example, finance and business management skills and experience are necessary, as is the ability to handle the “back end”.

Setting up the Business

A wholesale clothing business engages on the same process that any other wholesaling businesses would have, the only difference is its start-up costs. One of the reasons why a wholesale clothing business is popular with starters is because of its basic needs.

Setting up a wholesale clothing business may vary according to what type of product the wholesaler chose to specialize in. For example: a wholesaler chooses to run a wholesale business that involves food products such as hotdogs or burger patties. This may involve a rather sophisticated warehouse such as refrigerated storages to keep the food frozen and fresh.

In a wholesale clothing business, one may buy or rent a storage space for their stock or run a business from their basements. A wholesale clothing business doesn’t require any kind of sophisticated storages or offices to run. All it needs is a secure and time-efficient store house where clothes will be kept safe from any outside elements such as weather and break-ins.

Transportation is also as important as setting up storage. For those that are just starting out in this line of business, it’s important to set up business on a location where manufacturers and customers are close enough for a short transport. This is because this will cost wholesalers much less to order from local manufacturers and suppliers than ordering from far-off companies or overseas manufacturers. Ordering close to where the business is can save money on shipping.

The Customers

Wholesaling is commonly a business to business process where wholesalers deal with other types of businesses. As a wholesaler, their choice of customers includes:

• Retail businesses: This includes establishments like grocery stores, independent retail stores, large department stores and power retailers.




• Retail distributors: This includes the distributors who sell to those retailers that wholesalers find impenetrable on their own.




• Exporters: These are companies that collect United States-manufactured goods and ship them overseas.




• Other wholesalers: Wholesalers may sometimes buy off from another wholesaler due requirements that they can’t overcome such as exclusive contracts and issues like one-time needs.

Finding a Niche

In any kind of businesses, finding out a niche unique from any other is the most important to become successful in their industry, especially in a wholesale business involving clothes.

A wholesale clothing business requires one to have the ability to sense of what others cannot provide such as specializing in cheap but luxurious night gowns, plus sized clothing lines, unique urban clothing lines, cultural or traditional clothes and many more. These kinds of clothes are those that other wholesale clothing businesses commonly leave out because of its small demand.

Thought that is true, there are still those that looks out for these kinds of clothing lines, and when they do find one, they’ll likely buy it all out because of the fear that they can’t find another wholesaler that sells these kinds of clothing lines. The technique here is to take advantage on what others leave out, and sell it high on someone looks for it.

In other words, what matters is not so much what the wholesaler sell, but how the wholesaler sell it. There are profitable opportunities in every industry, from beauty supplies to hand tools, beverages to snack foods. No matter what they’re selling, wholesale distributors are discovering ways to reaffirm their value to suppliers and customers by revealing the superior service they have to offer, as well as the cost-saving efficiencies created by those services.

This mind-set opens up a wealth of opportunities to provide greater attention to the individual needs of customers, a chance to develop margin growth, and greater flexibility in product offerings and diversification of the business.