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Planning your beauty product range is important. You don’t want to be sitting with stock that doesn’t sell.
Inventory. For some the word is spoken with dread. Having a meeting with a retail buyer to discuss how you are going to move stock or come up with a solution to promote and clear your stock is not always high on your agenda. Unfortunately, there will always be slow moving products in your range. Some products will naturally sell better than others, however for the purpose of offering a complete regime of products you may need to consider retaining these products in your range. You need to think about how you are going to manage your stock levels.
Put yourself in the retailer’s shoes and remember that a buyer’s success is measured on financial results, so don’t take this personally. And think about your brand and your success and how you are going to drive sales. This then becomes a win-win conversation where both parties’ needs are met.
Come to a meeting with solutions, the conversation is going to centre around moving stock at an agreeable price. It is a collaborative conversation where the end objective is to deliver sales and margins. So, work on how this can be achieved. Monitor your sales and see where you have slow moving lines and think of solutions as to how you can help to clear these products. Remember if you are not coming up with solutions, why would a retailer continue to buy from you?
Whilst some products sell very well in certain retailers, due to differing customer demographics these same products won’t perform equally well in other retail stores. Whatever you do, don’t wait until it’s too late to act. Being proactive demonstrates that you are invested in the retailer relationship. By looking at your sales results each week, you should understand when you’re executing below your targets and be prepared to intervene before you reach this point.
Retail has been challenging over the past few years with online retail and direct-to-consumer business models changing the retail landscape. Buyers are risk-averse, and to avoid poor results they rely on suppliers to provide opportunities and examples to mitigate risks. If you think discussing stock is a once-a-year thing, you’ve already lost the picture. Successful brands treat meetings with buyers as an opportunity to build an on-going relationship. They take advantage of buyer meetings to demonstrate value and to bring challenges to the table proactively.
The best suppliers can be critical and concise on how targets were met or missed and transparent on the performance of their brand. They communicate well before supplier meetings and keep buyers posted on opportunities. Their recommendations are supported with point-of-sale and market data whenever possible.
Buyers want to believe in your pricing strategy and promotional ideas, but they need to trust that your insights are supported by data. Your retailers want you to come prepared with data – after all they’re sharing sell-through data in the first place – and buyers expect you to bring forth new ideas on how to grow sales and improve margins. So, the easier you make decisions and the more data backed they are, the better your conversations will proceed.
Successful brands are proactive and look at the long-term results treating reviews as an ongoing process. Being proactive and invested in commercial results shows commitment to the partnership, this is after all a relationship that serves both parties interests.
Do you need support with managing your inventory and planning your product strategy? Get in touch to discuss how we can work with you.
As a beauty and wellness consultancy, we develop a comprehensive strategy for your business by understanding your vision (and the marketplace) and then delving into the details to create order and structure neatly packaged up to deliver you commercial results. We design brand identities and visual elements, manage your product development, build your go-to-market strategies to help you to engage with your ideal customers.
We are proud to support our clients from different regions of the world – from Saudi Arabia, to Dubai, Sri Lanka, Africa, Australia, the US, Canada, Europe and the UK – from entrepreneurs, to multi-award-winning beauty and wellness brands, retailers, investors, distributors, embassies and trade bodies. And we work with you across the retail sector, and the professional sector, including the hair care market, professional nail care market, spas, salons, hotels and the aesthetics market – here’s a snapshot.
If you would like to discuss your ideas with us, get in touch, we would love to hear from you.
As an international beauty and wellness consultancy, we are proud to work alongside clients from different regions of the world – Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Africa, Australia, Canada, US, Europe and the UK . We love collaborating with entrepreneurs, multi-award-winning beauty and wellness brands, retailers, investors, distributors, embassies and trade bodies across the retail sector, and the professional sector, including those selling into the hair care market, hotels, spas, professional nail care market and aesthetics market.
If you need support with devising a new strategy, developing a new product range, designing your packaging or rebranding your current product range, managing your PR, or with planning your market-entry into international markets, get in touch, we would love to hear from you.
Bespoke is a brand management expert with deep industry knowledge, extensive experience and a comprehensive understanding of the beauty and personal industry in the UK and Europe, complemented by an extensive network of contacts in the relevant market segments. Bespoke’s expertise, experience and contacts significantly contributed the success of the UK/Europe project with the companies that Bespoke assisted successfully entering or well on track to enter the UK and European markets. The Bespoke team was very professional, responsive and obliging and always delivered within timeframes. It was a pleasure to work with them.
Working with Janet over the past year has been a real pleasure, she has fantastic industry experience and knowledge of the UK beauty market. She has delivered a number of webinars for my clients looking at how to enter the UK market, providing an overview of the market and how to build a strategy. She took the briefs we provided and added real value to them, included key insights and information that my clients have found incredibly useful. Feedback on these sessions has been very positive. Janet is a clear communicator and has always delivered as agreed and on time. We are continuing to work together on other projects and I very much value the conversations we share.
‘Janet has a wealth of experience across retail, buying and marketing. She conducted a full strategic review of our cross functional business and the travel retail market to develop a comprehensive buying and quality control strategy that was signed off at board level. I highly recommend her as an asset to any business.’
‘As a Queensland-based company, we were determined to tap into the European market and establish a strong presence. From the very beginning, Bespoke Advantage demonstrated a deep understanding of our export goals and objectives. Their comprehensive knowledge of the European market, coupled with their extensive network of contacts, enabled them to connect us with key decision-makers and influential stakeholders in our target countries. Their strategic guidance and insights were invaluable in shaping our export strategy and positioning us for long-term success.’
‘Through Janet’s management skills, expertise and proven track record on the job she successfully managed the purchasing of our retail operations and ensured the integrity of our brands in-stores. Her enthusiasm and total dedication, delivered results in any project she was involved in.’
‘Janet has excellent beauty market knowledge. Level headed with clear vision, direction and the ability to drive business forward, Janet led the teams through a complete product design change advising on what the key marketing messages should be, incorporating her technical knowledge and beauty expertise.’
‘Absolutely fantastic course. Condensed learning from Janet, an expert in developing beauty brands. Also, valuable introductions to expert professionals, in the Masterclass sessions. In 12 weeks, you will learn from Janet, what would take years to learn by yourself. A very worthwhile investment’