Posts Tagged ‘off-price products’
Company Spotlight: R.G. Riley
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
While flawed or slightly damaged garments may be kept out of retail store aisles, they retain a niche in the wholesale industry, thanks to off-price apparel companies like R.G. Riley. With its corporate headquarters in Tinley Park, Ill., and distribution centers in Los Angeles and Martinsville, Va., R.G. Riley ships to thousands of clients all over the United States.
Three generations of Rileys have contributed to the company’s success. “Go out and clean the warehouse,” and “Box that up,” were common commands that Mike Riley heard from his father while growing up. Mike still works for the company, though now with cousin John in its customer service department.
But while its familial support remains constant, R.G. Riley’s specialty and operations have changed since its founding. While the company’s first worked with sock and hosiery manufacturers in the 1920s, it now ships out irregular T-shirts, sweatshirts, and other activewear from brands like Hanes, Gildan, Fruit of the Loom and Russell.
With an average of 80 full-time employees, R.G. Riley has exhibited in the Off-Price Specialist Show and the ASD/AMD Trade Show since their inceptions, according to Mike. But while the company showcases its products just a few times a year, customers can order them online year-round.
The catalog, which launched in 2003 at www.rgriley.com , is dynamic, or continuously updated. It uses Ajax calls – a JavaScript and XML command that processes user requests seamlessly. This allows customers live to see how the company’s inventory is changing, at all times.
“It has created a lot of functionality at our Web site, and allows customers to put in the amount of time they want,” Mike said.
But with an inventory updated “by the nanosecond,” as Mike states, the company must also make sure that their prices are updated just as promptly.
“Small and medium-sized entrepreneurs know when a price is right and when a price is wrong,” Mike said. “It creates a lot of pressure on us to keep prices at market conditions.”
According to Mike, company survival – or “being the best at what you do” – is more than providing quality products and customer service. He, like his customers, know that keeping his eye on current market conditions is also crucial – and perhaps the only other strategy he needs.
“I’m still young enough that I don’t need to be thinking of our fourth generation,” Mike said.
Tags: apparel, christina lee, clothing, company profile, Company Spotlight, irregular, off-price products, R.G. Riley
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Off-Price Specialist Show
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
Tourists may hope that what happens in Vegas actually stays in Vegas. But exhibitors showcasing at the city’s biannual Fashion Week pray that their merchandise travels a bit farther than the famous city strip.
And for Don Browne, the statement that clothing can make is a little beyond personal. As marketing director and publisher of the Off-Price Specialist Show – from August 23 to 26 – he believes that consumers are not just buying into trends. He saw them buying more into off-price, marked 20 to 70 percent below the original manufacturer’s wholesale price.
“The off-price market is continuing to grow, not in spite of the economy, but because of it,” he said in a phone interview.
Off-Price offered tours, pre-show guidebooks, and exhibit directories to over 10,000 buyers navigating through nearly 450 vendors’ worth of off-price apparel – a great expansion from the few hotel rooms the show occupied 13 years ago. Much like the international MAGIC fashion tradeshow, the buyers at the Sands and Expo Convention Center flocked most toward accessories and handbags: the bigger and bolder, the better.
This lone Fashion Week source of off-price merchandise may have attracted less than ten percent of its apparel buyers, but the numbers of people attending and vendors showcasing are still consistent, Browne said. The prices also remain low. Capico Accessories, a San Francisco-based retailer, offered to buyers a pair of $300 Dior sunglasses for $75 – worthy bait of brand-hungry shoppers hunting in a dire economy.
“Everyone’s looking for that one great item that’s going to make their season and develop a reputation for their business. We are their New Deal. We are that solution,” Browne said.
The show also continued to emphasize that off-price is not always synonymous with low quality. As they first did in February 2007, merchandising students of the International Academy of Design and Tech, Las Vegas campus, became shoppers dashing to put together a trendy ensemble – for mannequins and for Browne, an advisory board member at the school.
The “Look for Less”-esque hunt is a part of the company’s T.O.P.S. (The Off-Price Show), or “This is Off-Price” mantra, which the company bestowed upon itself last year to prove that trendy ensembles exist at below-wholesale prices. True to its mission, Browne watched buyers leave the show with the same products featured on the mannequins.
“People have this perception of off-price, and then they see T.O.P.S. and think it’s a different show,” Browne said. “It established that we’re not just the promotional stuff, or the ill-fits. It demonstrates now that we have something for everyone.”
February 2009’s Off-Price Specialist Show will be held in the Venetian ballrooms. There, while also a shuttle bus stop for MAGIC buyers travelling to the Las Vegas Convention Center, Browne hopes to catch the eyes of even more buyers not yet exposed to the off-price option of Fashion Week.
“We’re right here,” he said. “You don’t have to go much farther.”
Tags: apparel, christina lee, clothing, fashion, off-price products, Off-Price Specialist Show, Trade Shows
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More Retailers are Considering Selling Off-Price Products…You Should Too!
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
For years, name-brand retailers have used off-price goods as special promotional items to attract customers to their store, with the hopes that they’ll end up purchasing additional items from their full-price lines. Now, more and more retailers are using off-price retailing on a regular basis, and their customers have come to depend on the variety and the bargains.
Off-price products are brand-name merchandise that sells significantly lower than the suggested retail price. The difference between off-price merchandise and discount merchandise is that off-price products are purchased from manufacturers and wholesalers at prices way below wholesale. Discounted products, on the other hand, are purchased at full wholesale price but are marked down lower by the retailer. While discounted products can be a regular and predictable source of inventory, off-price products are not. One month you might happen upon a truckload of Adidas workout gear, and the next it might be a pallet of Oakley sunglasses.
Why customers love off-price products
The price - Everybody loves a bargain, especially when you’re getting high-quality, name-brand merchandise. Stores like T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Ross have built bargain empires around bringing customers the clothing brands they love at a discount - sometimes up to 75% off the suggested retail price!
The hunt - For many shoppers, the thrill of sifting through racks of clothes or website pages of electronics to find that one gem is second to none. You just can’t help but feel special when you come across that Versace sweater you were drooling at in Macy’s last week - in an off-price store for 60% less!
Why retailers love off-price products
Brings in new customers - If you advertise your sensational deals and brands, you’re bound to get new customers in your store or on your website. Savvy shoppers are always looking for that next deal - and if you have it, then they will come (or at least the theory goes - it inevitably will depend upon the right mix of marketing and product pricing).
Keeps customers coming back - What’s great about being an off-price retailer is that your merchandise is always changing - and that gives shoppers a reason to check back in often. While the merchandise in stores like the Gap or J. Crew may not change much from week to week, an off-price retailer may have received a whole new shipment in - with a trove of bargain treasures just waiting to be found!
Increases sales of full-priced merchandise - There’s no doubt that getting customers through the door of your store or on your website is the hard part. Once they’re there, you’ll find that many will take the time to browse your store’s other offerings - especially if your in-store or online displays are eye catching.
While selling off-price products may not be as easy as selling regular-price merchandise, it does attract more customers, more often. And, for some retailers, that’s enough motivation to put in the extra work of finding those off-price deals. You might just find that finding those truckload or pallet deals is as much fun as it is rewarding!
Tags: advice, Carrie Hinkel, off-price products, Product Sourcing, retail, source, sourcing products, tips
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