By Ali Cudby
Selling lingerie is all about creating a relationship with your customer. Sometimes that conversation is about fit. Sometimes it’s about body image or even self care
Today, we’re going to talk about some nuts and bolts information that you can use to paint a more colorful picture of the companies behind the lingerie you sell, or the product itself. It’s the news you can use – a … Read More
By Ali Cudby
In reflecting on the recent CurveNY show, I’ve spent time thinking about the business side of the amazing product I saw in the booths. As much as I appreciated the product, what really struck me this year was less about the lingerie, loungerie and hosiery and more about the people
It’s not easy for retailers to attend trade shows. For many it’s expensive in both time and … Read More
By Ali Cudby
A lingerie retail store – either bricks-and-mortar or online – is customer service oriented by definition. If you don’t make your customers happy, they won’t come back. Without customers, you’ll find yourself out of business. Seems obvious.
So retailers want to please their customers. But what happens when the thing that works best for the business is directly opposite to what the customer wants? That gets challenging. … Read More
By Ali Cudby
The trade shows are around the corner, so let’s take your plan and put it to work for your business.
Before the Show
First, following your Open to Buy, you should have your plan laid out for the next 6 months. This will give you a sense of how your money will be broken down, month by month, across the major classifications.
Classifications include such areas as:… Read More
By Ali Cudby
So far in this Lingerie Retailers Buying Series we have covered a lot of ground talking about Open to Buy, SKUs and overall buying strategy.
One question that comes up a lot when it comes to buying actually has to do with selling – namely, the philosophy of taking markdowns in your lingerie business. In this article, we will show how markdowns can actually make your … Read More
By Ali Cudby
In preparation for the upcoming lingerie industry trade shows, Ellen Lewis and I have been discussing the art and science of buying for lingerie retail stores, and particularly specialty stores. In parts one and two of this lingerie buying series, we covered the basics of buying strategy and how open to buy works in a lingerie boutique. In this article, we will tackle the more complex area … Read More
By Ali Cudby
In the first part of this Buying Strategy series, we talked about the philosophy of creating a store’s Open to Buy.
To review, an Open To Buy calculation allows your store to map incoming inventory against expected sales. It is important to begin by thinking through your inventory across the main product verticals, such as bras, bottoms, shapewear, etc. Once those basic categories are determined, you can … Read More