How important is your business to your vendors?  An unexpected bonus of the trend towards direct overseas sourcing by big box stores is that orders from independent retailers have became essential to the success of many American vendors and sales agencies.  But smart retailers know that they can increase their clout with a line by agreeing to making a commitment to carry all or most of its products.

In exchange for offering to be a major player in presenting a vendor’s products to the consumer, a store can usually negotiate better terms  — dating, discounts and freight allowances.  And although it is often difficult to get a vendor to offer a protected territory to a retailer, this concession would be a common perk for a store carrying a large portion of a line.

Your sales rep will also want to devote more time to your store if you have agreed to be a key account.  Their commission is based on the dollar amount they’ve sold, so it makes sense that if you represent a large portion of their income, they’ll want to work hard to make you successful.  Make it clear to your rep that you intend to commit a serious amount of money and space to their line, and let them know what kind of service you expect in return.

Carrying a lot of merchandise from one line has a huge advantage when it comes to display, as you can see from this holiday display in the lobby area of the recent New York Gift Fair.  The items are all designed to go together, so their colors and sizes create a harmonious effect with little effort on your part.

The strong statement made by a display like this has an impact on the customer, who can see at a glance that this is a line that you strongly believe in.  In addition, the wider selection that you offer in key lines make selecting the right item easier for the consumer.  There are more opportunities for add-on sales and cross-merchandising.

To be honest, I do enjoy “cherry picking” the items I like best from most of our vendors.  But the lines that we reorder regularly tend to be those that we have committed to in a big way — and that in turn have made us feel important, providing excellent service and special benefits.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder