Product is King in the world of an E-Retailer. One of my duties at Legendary Whitetails is to make sure our product is best bang for your buck. Legendary Whitetails wants to be known to great quality products at a affordable price. We want our customers wanting more.
I need to make sure our product line is balanced, up to date, on target, affordable, and appealing.
With that said, I will give you a little insight on where I have been this week. I went to Las Vegas to attend the MAGIC Marketplace.
What is the MAGIC Marketplace?
The MAGIC Marketplace is the preeminent trade event in the international fashion industry, hosting global buyers and sellers of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, footwear, accessories and sourcing resources. As an incubator of fashion, MAGIC is where new trends surface and develop into what will be seen on the consumer. The show’s goal is to connect and inspire the fashion community, fuse diverse trends, while offering unbeatable service to its customers.
While attending, you see a lot of retailers placing orders for their stores for the upcoming season. For example, Fossil watch company will be there with there complete fall 2010 line. The Buyer for ABC retailer will come and say I want 6 of these, 6 of those, and 12 of those.
That is not how Legendary Whitetails works. For the most part we are like the exhibitors at the show. We already have our 2010 line nailed down. We are meeting with our vendors to make some final adjustments to private products we worked on with them. We have the ability to customize products because we are able to order so many. Instead of ordering 6 on one style, we would order 2,000-15,000 units of a product. Legendary Whitetails is unique, we want to make products no one else has or has thought of. This is why we are so successful.
At the show you will many kinds of exhibitors. For the most part they can be considered middle men. For example, Legendary works with ABC company to develop a product and ABC company takes your request to a factory to be made. You will also find Factories at the show. Legendary will also be working him. I find this to be one of best parts of my job. Being able to communicate with someone from China to create an amazing product. Where it would cost $30 to make in the USA it only cost $10 to make in China and the quality will be better. Pretty amazing.
You will find anything and everything at the MAGIC show. It is amazing to see what is out there. For example, exhibitors want to make you see that they are there, so you will dress in costumes to grab your attention:
You may also find the ladies wearing nothing more than a shoelace, or a man wearing nothing more than a cup to cover his junk. That's how it goes for jabbing your attention. When it comes to products, you will find your fair share of that also. T-shirt's that look like they are from planet disco to planet bling'd out ninja. It's always good to see the new techniques people are using to create apparel. The show is rather expensive, but if you are able to come out with just one thing from that show, I think it is worth it.
2010 is almost complete. I would like to have it finalized by the end of March. 2011 will be here before you know. In this business we have to work also a year in advance. The bigger you get the more in time you need to react, therefore decision need to be made even before a company like Legendary.
I will stop here. Next week we can get into the details or what needs to get done since am back at home base.
"It's easier to ask for forgiveness, than ask for permission."
Mitch
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