What is the process of clothing wholesale and retailing?

Whether you are planning to open a clothing store or start your own clothing line, you will find that the clothing industry is multi-faceted and diverse. There is usually a wholesaler at every stage of production and distribution, but sometimes it is also possible to buy directly from the manufacturer or from the liquidator, which can result in much lower costs. If you sell your own line, you can distribute it directly to retailers or take advantage of wholesalers.

When you start a retail business, one of the first things to find out is where you will find products to sell. This could mean buying from wholesalers.

Most retailers do not make their own products. Instead, they source their products from wholesalers. Not only are wholesalers a great source of merchandise, but as your business grows and evolves, they are flexible enough to help you along the way.

Bulk wholesale clothing suppliers can seem a bit of a mystery at first, which is why we've shared our tips to help you get started. We've been helping retailers do better business for more than a decade.

Start with textile mills

The garment factory is a good place to start when learning how a product goes to retail. The factory sells textiles to a manufacturer, either directly or through a textile broker, a textile wholesaler who supplies sewing workshops, brokers and farm shops. Sometimes a brand designer orders or selects textiles from a factory and concludes directly with tailors or makes the clothes in-house. The larger the branded clothing line, the more likely it is to have contacts with textile factories that manufacture specialty textiles to order.

If you want to have designer brands in your store, buy your inventory direct from the designer maker or from a wholesaler who processes these and other designer lines.

Sewing workshops, craftsmen and manufacturers

The sewing workshops cut the textiles according to patterns and assemble the garments. Workers sometimes run sewing workshops, but generally do finishing work such as embroidery or embellishment, add belts or other accessories, and prepare the garment for shipment. Well-known brands buy the largest quantities and achieve the lowest unit prices. It's often cheaper to order more units than you can sell in order to get the lowest price possible. Your additional units are known as overstock and are sold through factory sales, overstock liquidators, or wholesalers.

Wholesalers overseas or in the UK

Wholesalers are the intermediaries involved in organizing the transactions. The price of an item of clothing can represent multiple levels from wholesalers, especially if it is made overseas and imported into the UK. In this case, the importer buys from an overseas broker or wholesaler and sells to retail stores or sells to wholesale clothing suppliers in the UK. Some importers buy direct from sewing shops or brokers overseas and sell them to retail outlets, eliminating at least one level of wholesale distribution.

Large and small retail stores

Small retail stores that don't have enough stores to buy in large quantities buy their products from wholesalers who represent the brands or buy from importers, middlemen, and liquidators for excess inventory. Large national retail chains buy directly from the manufacturer, which can be the design house or a contract manufacturer running its own tailoring and finishing stores to create bespoke clothing for the retail chain.

You can find all levels of clothing manufacturers, wholesalers, and brands in the apparel, footwear, and accessories industries at this show, and it's a good place to buy inventory for your store or sell your own line of clothing.