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| image from Racked.com |
The amount of merchandise at these sales can be astounding. Yes, there are the clunkers of the collection- a sore reminder of listening to Anna Wintour and putting into production a coat she bought off the runaway that looks good on no one else or the crazy prints that are interesting but not very commercial- but there are also plenty of pieces that are just "extra". This extra merchandise is money, a LOT of money and it needs to be liquidated. In my job as a managing director of a small retail chain, I had this problem once, and let me tell you- the longer you keep it, the harder it is to move. Fashion has an expiry date and your loyal clients know when things came out and they are interested in it when either new or vintage and a lot of time passes in between those.
The secrets of outlets stores and sample sales are another one of those fashion insider things. We insiders know that brands manufacture garments that are solely for the outlet stores although the general public does not. There is also another rumour that brands are overproducing to stock their sample sales (they still make money even with the discounted prices) and I just heard that a well known Paris designer was told to "stop" with her seasonal sample sales or she'd be dropped from one of the major department stores as they felt it cannibalized their full price sales- a pretty serious request for a supposedly secret sample sale.
A friend of mine who is relatively new to NY asked me how everyone knows about them (especially considering I knew about one that the company her husband works at was having and she didn't). Racked.com was my answer. Websites like Racked and SampleSally report on all things shopping and give views (sometimes real time) on what is happening on the front. Photos of pricelists, available merchandise, progress reports on lines to gain entry- readers constantly email them to keep them up to date. Sample sales used to be a thing of knowing people and paper flyers but the internet of course has changed that- although it does help to know someone to have access to the Friends & Family preview which usually takes place a day before opening to the general public.
I love sample sales and as a long-term fashion professional rarely pay full price for anything bar special editions (Jil Sander at Uniqlo etc)- I just don't need to. And my designer-heavy closet is proof of it.
So I ask:
- is it worth brands cannibalizing potential full priced sales to purge excess merch at a sample sale? is this good business?
- do you think it matters if it's only the "insiders" who know about it and can get to them? Or do you think the word is out- everyone know about them?
- do YOU shop full price or wait for sample sales to get your designer goodies?
2 comments:
Très intéressant. I try my comments in proper understandable english...
Designers need to produce a higher quantity of pieces to lower their rates. There is then at the end of the season more pieces to sample sell. It's probably a better choice to produce a higher quantity and lower general production rate than selling at a more expensive rate smallest quantities.
Sample sales are also a way to keep the energy around a brand and having it circulating in circles it normally would'nt. It does stimulate the desire.
Great point! This introduces another interesting aspect- that of minimum quantities for production- a very real part of the equation of the mathematics of any business.
I agree with the comment regarding the buzz- even if it is at a level that is still "insider". In reality there is a hierarchy of access to these kinds of things: Editors, employees, friends & family then the public so making the way up the chain or gaining access earlier than others is always seen as a success- first access means pick of the best pieces.
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