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Top tips: Pre-Harrogate stock analysis

Business26-Jul-2024

It goes without saying that you should plan your purchases and examine your inventory prior to any trade show. Three of our Bridal Buyer Award winners spoke with us, and their guidance is priceless.

Sophie Coulthard, The Ivory Edit, Derbyshire

NEW BRIDALWEAR RETAILER OF THE YEAR

The way we analyse stock ahead of the Harrogate buying season is firstly, we look at key trends and styles that are performing well in store to see if we can expand on these really good styles in a new way. For example, we could add a sleeve or straps - a point of difference from the existing styles that we know work really well - but not competing with that exact style. Just to add a nice little seasonal update!
We also look into the sizes that work well. We all know that brides can struggle to envisage themselves in a dress if not in their exact size. We try to make sure each style we buy is in the right size for potential clients we think might really suit that. We can’t guarantee every size, but we will always do our best - if we know size 10 sells really well, we make sure we have a comprehensive range of size 10’s in store.
Lastly, we always make note of brides requests, especially if they ask for things we don’t necessarily have, so if we have lots of brides wanting sleeves at the moment (a popular trend), we will try to buy more sleeves. If our designers aren’t offering what we’re looking for, we go elsewhere and try to pick up from new brands!

Amy, Laura May Bridal, Cardiff

BRIDALWEAR RETAILER OF THE YEAR - SCOTLAND

Our number for any new businesses heading to Harrogate this year is do your research before any buying trip. We’re lucky that we have BridalLive to help us - it’s absolutely amazing to keep an eye on what brides are buying, what sizes and styles are selling well. We look for good repeating dresses and whenever we go to Harrogate, we look for variations of these good sellers. If dresses perform well or you expect them to do well, make sure to pick them up in two sizes!
The next top tip is definitely to follow the trend, and then stay ahead of the trend. We get so many brides showing us pictures of celebrities like Sophie Habbo, Hailey Bieber etc with their lacy long sleeved dresses. We have to go purchasing with that mindset - if we see something in a similar vibe or slightly different, we always pick it up to stay ahead of the curve.
Finally, always go for a wildcard! When we look at our stock, we have lots that sell well, but we also always pick up a few little wildcards just to throw a surprise in for bride-to-be. We would always say when going on buying trips, pick a few wildcards as you’ll be surprised how well they do!

Rebecca Baddeley, TDR Bridal, Birmingham

BRIDALWEAR RETAILER OF THE YEAR - ENGLAND (LARGE)

Performing a stock analysis before Harrogate is so important - here’s how I do it.

I look at our overall sales to see what’s selling and what’s not, across the range of products.
I then drill into each label and look within the collection for any bestsellers or popular pieces.
I also look at what return on investment I’ve had over the past 12 months - for us, this is done on a Jan-Dec basis, purely because of how stock gets delivered, as it takes a few months from buying to land in stores.
For example, if we spend £1000 on samples, I would expect ideally to get around three times back for that line.
Very simple but it fundamentally is figure-based to make sure we get the best return on our investment!
Finally, we sit as a team to discuss any new trends, what brides have been asking for, and what the girls think we’re missing or need in store.