Keeping in mind the challenging environment of the retail industry in Australia, as a retailer, you could take advantage of your wholesaler’s services to strengthen operations and make savings in terms of finances.
Sunwood Imports understands they can win over such a situation by helping customers in achieving their goals. Their endeavour lies in helping their retail customers in overcoming the difficult times, further they also aim at gaining opportunities which can help cherish more success in the future.
The range of assistance would vary according to individual wholesalers. Your wholesaler-distributor may provide the services listed below. In case if you are yet to take advantage of the services, its time you do so.
We would want to elucidate further –
Promotion
Stock Control. In some of the cases, the wholesaler provides assistance with stock control. For example, a practical way is designed whereby the wholesaler’s representative with minimum brief from you can maintain the inventory at a level that you need for seamless supply to your customers. The representative starts its operations on receiving an email containing the sales report for the products supplied.This practice helps the retailer in better planning and to avoid investing money in slow moving products.
Point-of-Sale Promotional Aids. Some wholesalers are the major sources for display material designed to stimulate “impulse buying”, some wholesalers are very supportive towards special promotions.
Co-operative Advertising. Advertising on a co-operative basis with a wholesaler-distributor can be a reasonable and economical way of featuring your products and thereby building customer loyalty.
Market Information
Consumer Demand. The wholesaler’s equations with the international suppliers and local buyers enables them to “feel the pulse” of the consumer demand. The wholesaler can recognize. Through numerous contacts with the local retailers, the wholesaler gathers knowledge as to which items have attracted the attention of consumers and which items have not. By reviewing orders, he or she can analyzethe market and predict when demand for a product would change and accordingly advise customers to adjust their buying habits and inventories.
Price. Quite often you receive comprehensive and up-to-date information from your wholesaler. Most wholesalers can collect competitive price information from their customers in a much more economic manner than the individual retailer could collect it. Recommended retail prices are also offered byfew wholesalers.
Supply Conditions. You can usually depend on your wholesaler to keep you informed about primary market conditions that would affect the supply of particular items. Information concerning the popular products with low-volume is of particular importance when the wholesalers reach you in time to be reflected in your buying plans.
New Developments. One of the easiest ways to keep abreast of new products is through shoe fairs, wholesalers’ newsletters and websites. The condensed articles that appear in the trade press (former Footwear News) are of great importance too.
Financial Aid
Many wholesalers also provide a type of financial aid that retailers take for granted. A type of indirect financial help is called the trade credit. The wholesaler-distributor bills you for the products purchased and allows a discount for payment within a specified number of days. In some trades, though, wholesalers extend direct financial assistance through the practice of delayed billing. For example, wholesaler Sunwood Imports deliver shoes to retailers in July or August but have an option of splitting the payments over the months of August / September on request of the retailers, this invariably helps the retailer by delaying the payment date.
Most wholesalers have accounts with multiple freight companies, they select the most cost effective one for the delivery of goods depending on the locations your retail stores. It is a usual practice at Sunwood to ship the shoes to the retailers in the current month but delay the billing to the next month. And shipping future orders along with current orders to minimize the freight cost for retailers.
In long-range financing, the retailer who deals with a relatively few wholesalers is in a better position than the retailer who buys small amounts from many wholesalers.
Which Services Can You Use?
As a retailer, you should know your customers well. For mutual assistance, such as special promotion, you can arrange for special promotions that are offered by the wholesaler that are suitable for mutual plans of promoting sales and profits.
As a shoe wholesaler, Sunwood Imports constantly looks to help and support their retail customers. You can contact your local sales representatives and find out which form of assistance is best suited for you, Sunwood Imports would be glad to help you accordingly.
Sunwood Imports focuses on selecting the most popular product from the market and squeezing the profit margin to the extent that it helps retailers in overcoming the difficult times.
