It’s a brave new world we live in, and there has never been such a curiously amazing set of variables in the history of retail and wholesale shopping before. Let’s take a look at the old phenomenon of Black Friday, and put it up against the newer, Internet-driven market activity known as Cyber Monday. The two of these are basically about the same thing; they are used as indicators to ascertain the health of the economy… they provide direct insight about the general health of consumer spending… and they serve as a forecasting tool for the following year’s sales figures. However, this is where the two days of activity take divergent paths, and it’s crucial that the savvy wholesaler and retailer understands what drives these two markets independently… and what parts are best played in unison.

Here we are, approaching the 2009 Halloween parties, gatherings, clubs, events, and other assorted fun… and it’s the same old problem your customers have probably run into before; they don’t have a thing to wear, and they’ve got places to be. There’s also a serious undercurrent of heavy-duty budgeting that will insidiously work its way into all of the holidays this time… so the smart wholesale and retail specialists should be ready to offer wholesale fashion accessories to build your sales!

Today’s consumers are looking to you to provide them with the wholesale fashion accessories that transform a lifeless, drab, and uninspired costume into one that leaves people wondering why they didn’t find the source first? Clue your customers in to your secret (well… not so secret, I hope) cache of bling and other things that will increase your item count, and push your sales volume a tad further than if you strictly tried to rely upon the outdated strategy of thrusting a ready-to-wear costume in front of the customer… expecting them to dutifully take it, with no further questions to ask.

Dollar store aficionados and budget-conscious buyers are becoming more commonplace amidst these strained financial times, as consumers are getting wise to the ways of bargain hunting. There’s no longer any shame in the game of locating the wholesale steals and deals, and it’s especially true for those times when customers want to go all-out this Halloween, and have a good time without crashing their budgets. This may be the season for tricks and treats, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to watch hard-earned dollars disappear right in front of them… like a ghost.

It’s called a zentai suit, and this one is

an example of the crazy concoctions you’ll

find coming out of China these days.

(photo milanoo.com)

With a total attendance of over 10,000 at the recent August 2009 Off-Price Specialist Show, and over 450 exhibitors showing off their best merchandise, there was an atmosphere of high-energy activity that resulted in the formation of intense, exciting, and fresh new buzz over the steals-and-deals in the Closeout and Off-price Industry. While many of the doomsday-types predicted a rapid cooling period for the Retail and Wholesale business that would lead to catastrophic results for anyone who dared to get involved in such a volatile and dangerous market… the people who make up the Wholesale and Retail sector know that the show must go on, and it’s really up to us to determine whether that show is going to be a comedy, a tragedy, or a gut-wrenching drama…

If you need further evidence of a market that is promoting successful returns for the ones who are coming up with new answers to the old questions, there’s actually more answers out there than there were just a few months ago. Let’s think about the leading wholesale distributors that are offering big benefits to retailers during these tough economic times. Some national online wholesalers are offering free shipping to all new customers, and helping small businesses that are looking for new and improved ways to dial-in their efficiency and crank up their competitiveness in the market. You might even be surprised to find out that top-quality apparel, handbags, and fashion accessories are being put up against the goods carried by larger department stores, at considerable savings! This new angle on the perceived value of branded goods is creating a huge opportunity for those who want to break into the market.

Here’s a quiz: Do you immediately think of China when you think of wholesale jade? If you do, it’s not an uncommon perception… most people think that wholesale jade is strictly a precious Chinese stone, and that it’s really only found way out in the far-flung corners of the globe. Truth is, jade can be found in many places… there’s even a two-ton piece sitting in front of the Visitor’s Center in downtown Anchorage, Alaska!

Something that surprises me is the fact that jade jewelry has long been the understated adornment, even though it’s been around for a very long time (some jade artifacts have been excavated from prehistoric sites) and it’s always been considered a thing of beauty and value. Today’s jade can be found worn by many men, women, and children in China, Korea, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. It’s still got the mystique of being a treasured Oriental material, yet has deep roots in South American history as well. Another thing that surprises me is the fact that while I was living in the USA, I saw jade on a very rare basis. Living in China, I see it all the time.

Merchandise buyers and sellers will walk the aisles of upcoming trade shows and search online product sources for the latest and greatest goods. Wholesalers and retailers who seek Trendy New Products should scan these 3 product category tips. All are responses to the latest Social, Economic or User demands.

To apparel wholesalers and retailers, a recent Fortune magazine headline on the rapid spread of off-price product sourcing was not cheerful:

Discounters Lose Their Edge
Department Stores Venture Into Off-Price Territory

More Sales

More Discounts

Macy

That warning headline by Suzanne Kapner used her surprise as a clothing bargain hunter at finding the exact same women’s jacket, at the exact same low price, in two very different clothing stores: (1) “upscale” Bloomingdale’s Department Store, and (2) deeply discounted, “off-price retailers” like Loehmann’s and T.J. Maxx.

Should smart buyers and sellers of off-price inventory be worried about this trend, which Fortune’s Kapner says is “bad news for discounters, who lure customers on their pricing edge alone?” (That’s our emphasis added.)

And, will more “upscale” department stores, now venturing into off-price product-sourcing territory, “only become a bigger headache for discounters,” as the Fortune article warned?

Something happened while you were keeping your wholesaler, distributor, chain or independent retailer business running through choppy waters. Whether you’re navigating through overstock inventory that didn’t move during the holidays, or whether you’re planning trade deals to fill empty warehouse shelves, here’s a news flash.

Headline pulse checks on 2008 holiday sales display words like “bleak” and “dismal” and “below expectation.” After all, everyone knows about the recession, weak economic performance, the latest unemployment stats and an almost global credit crunch.

Merchandise buyers know their basic commodity lines — product inventory demanded by loyal customers. Savvy buyers also hawk latest trends, to supplement the basics and pad profit margins.

With three weeks left to count up November-December holiday totals, and after passing the online sales gate marked by Cyber-Monday, previous holiday spending expectations from comScore, Forrester Research and eCommerce Times are being lowered a bit. And that’s in spite of the surge in sales, incentives and discount specials across the marketplace.

Holiday Spending Pulse Check To Date:

·        Ditto 2007? Online retail sales trackers are revising their predictions for November-December 2008, now seeing “same level of overall holiday sales as 2007.” Flat-line predictors include comScore’s holiday season estimate of $29.2 Billion (same as last year), and Forrester Research’s downward revision of web sales growth of 12% (October 2008) to 7 or 8% (Cyber Monday December 1, 2008).

·        Cyber-Monday – online equivalent of offline retailing’s Black Friday – is the first Monday after Thanksgiving. Considered the biggest online shopping day of the year, early results from online totals Monday December 1 hint it may not increase overall holiday sales compared to 2007.

Consumer broadcast media is already warning Holiday 2008 shoppers: Black Friday starts three weeks early this year.

A Holiday 2008 spending forecast just released by the retail trade group, National Retail Federation, also predicts aggressive counter-measures. Holiday retail sales are expected to grow this year at the slowest rate in six years. That has even Big Box retailers worried as shoppers jittery about the economy shift to Essentials Only buying and are slower to part with their gift-buying money. Retailer counter-measures include: