5 Reasons why you Should Consider Wholesale for your Jewellery Business
As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Owning a jewellery business is a practise of patience, from growing the initial seedling to meeting supply chain hurdles, waiting on the benefits of campaigns and riding the ebb and flow of sales patterns over the years. For many jewellery brands, summer is a particularly slow period for sales.
Whilst Rome wasn’t built in a day, the saying also goes that they were laying bricks every hour. “Wouldn’t it be great if those bricks could lay themselves in the background?,” you ask. Well, Therese Oertenblad of Small Business Collaborative – the leader of our next online masterclass – might just have the solution.
“Wholesale is THE quickest and easiest way to grow a sustainable product business without having to wait on social media and SEO to start working,” Therese says.
This blog post is an introduction to wholesale and its numerous benefits – an exploration to be continued in Therese’s masterclass at 7pm on Tuesday 30th July. Click here for your ticket.
First: What is wholesale?
For designers and makers, wholesale involves selling goods in large quantities at a reduced ‘bulk’ cost to a wholesaler who then resells them to retailers or directly to consumers at a higher price. In the words of Lela Barker, creative business consultant, “Wholesale doesn’t have to mean foreign factories or assembly lines cranking out thousands of cookie cutter products night and day. It doesn’t have to mean being a slave to your craft or losing touch with your inner artist.” In fact, there are numerous benefits to this foundational business strategy; let’s explore just some of the ways wholesale could be the game-changer for your jewellery business.
1. Wholesale can streamline operations
When managed efficiently, wholesale distribution simplifies internal processes for manufacturers like you. If you feel your hours are too stretched to balance the promise of attentive, tailored customer service with point of sale considerations and the 1,001 other responsibilities you’re juggling, now might be the time to think about drafting in a third party who can take some of that load. Allowing wholesalers to liaise directly with buyers can help to minimise complexity and distractions at your end, enabling you to take a backseat from customer-facing interactions if that’s your creative preference.
2. Wholesale can reduce operational costs and boost cash flow
Wholesale sales are often executed at 50% of retail prices, which, in the first instance, can sound absurd. Who in their right mind would sell at 50% when they can sell at a 100% margin? It’s worth bearing in mind, however, that selling via wholesale also entails buying your materials in volume at a reduced cost. What’s more, handing over some of your responsibilities to a wholesaler can mean spending less internally on sales efforts, logistical solutions and admin.
What’s more, wholesalers generally order products on a large scale, spending thousands at a time. A generous infusion of cash could be just the kick-starter your emerging business needs to accelerate momentum, enabling you to invest in helpful services like graphic design, web development or product photography. Again, this outsourcing of skill can free up more time for you to focus on what you’re good at.
3. Wholesale boosts sales and market reach
Unfortunately, “If you build it they will come” is no longer a viable philosophy for any independent business willing their website to get off the ground. As we all know, standing head and shoulders above a crowded marketplace and ensuring your message is heard by those who need to hear it is largely a case of investing time and money into SEO, PR, content strategy, paid advertising and partnerships.
Investing in wholesale, however, invites a third party to do some of that shouting for you. It’s the responsibility of a wholesaler to expand markets and sell products, so with a wholesale arm incorporated into your business, your jewellery is more likely to be stumbled upon by a new customer in a shop, found by way of a website already optimised by somebody else, or picked up by journalist or editor. In best-case examples, reach of this nature is an evergreen asset, working away for you whilst you’re busy creating.
4. Wholesale enables faster and more extensive delivery
Selling via wholesale can enable you to better plan for producing new pieces, creating only the products that you know you will have orders for. In turn, this eliminates wasted time and materials, and avoids the need to store excess inventory that might never sell. Wholesalers have the warehouse space to store the vast quantities of your stock that they order, together in one place. They also have the resources to promise cheaper shipping fees and more efficient delivery than the average one-person business, not only resulting in happier customers but wider global reach for your pieces.
5. Wholesalers help to fortify the supply chain
Wholesalers play a crucial role in maintaining supply chain stability by managing inventory and reducing the risk of shortages. This is particularly beneficial in times of supply chain disruptions, ensuring continuous product availability. This consistency can help you to exercise a greater degree of control over your schedule, mitigating the impact of market peaks and troughs throughout the year.
When a wholesale order is placed, you as the designer or maker are prepped with a clear brief of exactly what’s required and in what quantity, without the usual uncertain around the ultimate pay-off. This predictability means mapping out production times with ease and establishing deadlines that work for you.
Suitably convinced that wholesale is an avenue worth exploring for your jewellery business, but unsure of where to begin? Please join us for our wholesale masterclass at 7pm on Tuesday 30th July 2024. Therese Oertenblad, Founder of the Small Business Collaborative, will lead the session – debunking the myths stopping jewellers like you from getting started with wholesale in the first place, explaining how to overcome the one step most brand owners miss, and exploring the pricing margins wholesale retailers might expect from you.
Therese has been a player in the home and gift industry for over 16 years. Since 2018, she’s been working with purpose-led, product-based business owners who want to grow their wholesale and create a powerful and consistent income stream for their businesses. Her clients and students include Studio Wald, Claude & Co., Etta Loves, Sister Paper Co. and many others, many of whom are now stocked in Liberty, Selfridges, Oliver Bonas, Anthropologie, and independent stores around the world. Therese is on the National Committee for The Giftware Association, and she hosts Let’s Talk Shop, a seasonal business podcast sharing industry-specific business advice. We’re ravenous for the knowledge she is going to share!
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