Wholesaling is both an art and a science with a mastery of both aspects necessary to success. Wholesale jeans, like other products, are often the subject of trends, movements, and general themes from year to year like any other item of clothing. While wholesale jeans might seem to stay the same from year to year, this is not the case as consumer needs and tastes shift gradually over time. Here, we will discuss how wholesale jeans retailers can keep up with the shifting tides of demand using common, readily available tools of the trade.
Personalization and Customization
Personalization and customization trends can often help wholesalers predict what wholesale jeans are going to be popular in the upcoming season. Why? Consumers in this category tend to be trendsetters and more avant-garde than most. In other words, people will tend to copy them. Whether it’s high-end selvage or regular denim, pay attention to the fabric, cut, color, and general vibe that these consumers bring to their clothing to predict what might become a wider trend later.
Trends in the Supply Chain
If you start noticing certain pieces becoming harder to find and source than others, this is typically a clue that you need to investigate. Sometimes it could mean that something is discontinued or that a manufacturer is experiencing an issue; other times, this is a surefire indicator that you’ve got an emergent trend on your hands and a potentially new hot product category. To verify your findings, you can check pricing and dynamics across suppliers. If you see a similar store with different suppliers, you might be on to something.
Fashion Fairs and Tradeshows
You need to be active in your industry in order to know how to predict and produce trendsetting jeans. People talk and from these conversations you gain valuable knowledge and insights within and outside of your bubble. You’ll often find things at these shows you had never considered and information that will help you make insightful, pointed decisions in the future. Also rely upon your network of contacts to see what’s coming up on the horizon. Sometimes this kind of connection provides the best information about future industry directions because it comes straight from the mouth of practitioners with skin in the game.
Leveraging Data
We have more data today than ever before. You need to make use of this in your purchasing decisions. From sales trends to consumer preferences, you can model almost any scenario you can possibly imagine when it comes to data and your customers. Discover what is coming around the corner with web search trends, purchase history data, information from suppliers, customer surveys, and industry polls, among others.
Online Content
Articles, podcasts, influencer content, and other online materials are a rich resource to comb through with your team offering ear-to-the-ground information that is authentic, real, and raw. Sometimes things cannot be drilled down into pure numbers and this is one of those areas. Don’t ignore tastemakers and others who spend their time establishing what is and isn’t in fashion.
