How To Find Wholesale Clothing Distributors : 10 Tips To Supply Your Small Business in 2023

Nowadays small business owners are concerned about how to find wholesale clothing distributors for their businesses. A wholesaler is a business owner who buys products from the manufacturers and sells them to other businesses. The wholesaler does not operate a store; instead, they supply the inventory to your small business for selling to your clients. 

Whether you're running a brick and mortar company or an e-commerce shop, wholesale distributors play an important role in linking suppliers and store owners. 

How To Find Wholesale Clothing Distributors To Supply Your Small Businesses 

You can operate as a small business with one or more wholesale clothing distributors. Yet it can be difficult to find the best one to work with. You will have to locate a wholesale clothing distributor who will:  

• Connect you to the suppliers and goods that your company needs
• Have prices to afford 
• Serve your geographical area 
• Is reliable, dependable and easy to work with 

You need to study what type of goods you are offering before you can find the best wholesale clothing distributor to work with. Once you are aware of what you are looking for, you can start looking for the right wholesaler to supply your clothing business. 

1. Study The Distribution Channel of Your Industry

There are many ways to carry a product from the manufacturer to the retailer. Let’s discuss 4 types of distribution channels…

Manufacturer: You can buy directly from the manufacturer for some of the goods. Boutique stores usually buy from small manufacturers (sometimes one person). 

Importer / Exclusive Distributor: An enterprise may have the sole right to import and distribute a product in a particular country. Some may sell to retailers directly and others may sell to smaller local wholesalers who will sell to retail stores further.  

Wholesaler / National Distributor: National wholesalers typically take delivery of boxcar-sized lots and market them to local wholesalers who distribute them to small businesses. 

Jobbers: These people make daily deliveries to local retail clothing stores. 

2. Try First With The Manufacturers

Paying the wholesalers will cut your profit. You should start at the root to remove intermediaries from the equation to maximize your profit. 

If you are selling branded items, go straight to the product manufacturer. Depending on their minimum order criteria, they could sell to you. If you are too small for them, or they sell only through established channels of distribution, ask them for a list of reputable distributors that you can contact. 

The fewer people you have to go through, the lower your cost will be. Thus you’ll make yourself more competitive in the marketplace. 

Related topic: How To Find Wholesale Clothing Manufacturers 

3. Be More Specific In Online Searches  

Do not just look for general wholesale clothing distributors when you are doing an online search. Be sure to include your products or niche keywords. Experiment with product names, model numbers, and brand names. If any of the possible distributors you want to encounter but do not have readily available an email address or telephone number, you can do a WHOIS search to find the contact details of the website owner. 

The more potential wholesalers you find, the better you will be able to compare the shop and get a sense of what the normal prices of the industry are, as well as having competitive quotes. 

4. Have Good Relationship With Wholesale Supplier  

Start contacting wholesale clothing distributors, either using the manufacturer's database, phonebook lists, or a wholesale directory you would like to find out: 

• Their minimum requirements on order 
• Their prices for wholesales units 
• The region where they provide 

You can make this initial contact by telephone or email, then follow up by telephone if you need more information or want to move on. Be honest about what you're looking for and don't try to sound bigger than your capability. 

Let's discuss our wholesale clothing store JNNA. JNNA is the fastest growing wholesale clothing store in the USA. We are providing styles that are ready to wear from everyday lifestyle to elegant occasions. We are specialized in women’s tops, dresses, bottoms, sweaters and outerwear mostly for the young contemporary. We are providing service from the heart of California, Los Angeles. You are invited to experience the innovative creative styles with JNNA.

5. Look For Wholesale Lots on Alibaba 

Alibaba's business model is different from those of other players like eBay and Amazon. It focused more on business-to-business(B2B) trade. Unlike the normal business-to-consumer(B2C) approach, Alibaba focuses on being a forum for manufacturers to sell goods in bulk at wholesale rates to small or medium-sized companies around the world who then resell them in their domestic markets in retail. 

Related topic: How To Buy Wholesale Clothing  

6. Keep Updated With Major B2B Marketplaces

There are several large online B2B marketplaces where you can buy huge numbers of products at low prices. Like Alibaba.com some of the other largest B2B marketplaces including clothing manufacturers, importers and wholesale clothing distributors have been mentioned below: 

• Global Sources (USA)
• Buyer Zone (USA)
• EC21 (Korea)
• EC Plaza (Korea)

Look for a marketplace serviceable to your country or region. There are also industry-specific B2B marketplaces; these can serve either a single country or a global retail population. 

If you are looking for wholesale women’s clothing marketplaces, we’ll recommend our marketplace Stylepick from Los Angeles, CA, USA. Stylepick is an online wholesale fashion marketplace dedicated to inspire manufacturers and the best wholesale women's clothing vendors through the combination of trendy styles and user friendly web interface. It is a virtual fashion district for all vendors and retailers globally. Established in Los Angeles, Stylepick offers experiential wholesale environments and a mix of the latest and top wholesale women's clothing from different vendors like J.nna, Blue B, Day & Night, Hers & Mine, Davi & Dani, Spotlite and many more. 

7. Enter Business Associations, Forums & Other Networks of Professionals 

Small business owners with more experience in your industry or niche are often the best source of wholesaler knowledge. Other retailers will probably not be eager to share information about the supplier with competitors. Invest time in networking to develop the trust and connections to help you find the best wholesale suppliers for your small company. 

Participate in online forums that can be a great source of free information, and get help from other people with market or industry experience. You can also develop your LinkedIn profile, subscribe to industry newsletters and join your local Chamber of Commerce or small business networking groups to build your professional connections. 

8. Join A Trade Show 

Trade shows are one of the most powerful ways to build and grow your business. Those events are designed to link retailers with wholesale clothing distributors and manufacturers.   

Trade shows allow you to meet and converse in a single day with dozens of wholesalers or manufacturers. These face-to-face conversations often avoid misinformation or difficulties in communication that may arise when contacting people online.

Trade Show News Network is the biggest online tradeshow index. You can search for a trade show by name of industry, date, city, country or state and/or event. 

9. Subscribe to Fashion Trade Publications 

Trade magazines are a wealth of business and relationship information in your sector. Nearly every advertiser in the magazine will be a product manufacturer or distributor looking to reach you, and the names of dozens of wholesale clothing distributors or small clothing manufacturers may be given by a single issue of a fashion magazine.  

Subscribe to online newsletters and blogs, as well as fashion magazines. These are often the best way to keep updated through the news from the industry daily or weekly. 

10. Don't Worry About Making A Mistake

Your first wholesale clothing distributor may not be a long-term provider for you. Creating your perfect supply chain is an evolution which involves many trials and errors. 

Your first goal is to get a product delivered. Then, while you continue to build and grow your business, you can improve your bottom line by trying other wholesale clothing distributors.   

 

Source: https://stylepick.net/blog