Sunday 6 June 2010

The dash for cash - how wholesalers can ruin the reputation of a brand

Have you ever bought an item at full price only to walk round the corner and find it on sale for a third of the price? Well its very galling I can tell you. It happened to me today in Brighton. Wholesalers trying to get rid of past season's stock while its still for sale in the independent stores for full price.

Everyone needs to sing from the same hymn sheet - isn't that what corporate responsibility all about? Its fine to want to move old stock to get the cash in but we all need to be responsible for the likely repercussions. Its like grey imports. You buy cheap overseas in another market and undercut the brand in your own country. It happened to Tesco with Levi jeans and that resulted in a court case where they proved the supermarket were devaluing the brand.

As a small retailer you are in a vulnerable position so make sure that you can trust your brands otherwise in an instant you can loose your credibility. Thats why sourcing the right mix of brands in a small retail boutique is so very important.

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