Label poaching

[Trader]

Hi everyone
I am new to this forum and just wanted to pose the following question .
I have had a retail store that sells ladies fashion in a smallish country town 7 years and have the problem of of other stores in close proximity constantly trying to poach labels that we have in store .
Just wondered if anyone else is having the same experience and what they did/are doing about it .
Cheers

[FS Concierge]

Hi Trader,

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for your query.

I'm not sure if I understand what you mean though - is it that your competitors are going to your suppliers and asking to stock their products too?

All the best,
Jayne

[Trader]

Originally Posted by FS Concierge

Hi Trader,

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for your query.

I'm not sure if I understand what you mean though - is it that your competitors are going to your suppliers and asking to stock their products too?

All the best,
Jayne

Hi Jayne
yes that is what I mean , we put a lot of time and effort into sourcing our labels and products as I am sure a lot of other retailers do , and also making sure our competitors don't stock the same already , but seem to constantly battling with wholesalers after finding that our competitors down the road have been allowed to stock the same label/product that we have already without even a courtesy call from the wholesaler . We have tried exclusivity agreements etc . and that works sometimes but not always , the offending retailers always seem to get around it somehow .It is very frustrating and just another business hurdle to jump but I was just wondering if anyone else had the same problem and how they approach it .
thanks for your reply
cheers

[createdevelop]

If exclusivity agreements don't work for you, I am not sure what else you can do.

The next step I would suggest would be to use various marketing methods to let your customers know you have an exclusive agreement, and that brand is in stock. The only real way to protect your business is to improve the visibility of your brand. If a product is successful, other companies are always going to want a piece of the action.

[JohnPhillips]

Preventing your competitors from stocking the same products you do is exceedingly difficult. A better option is to develop a USP which will keep customers coming through your door regardless if they can buy the same thing down the road.

Guarantees work well in this regard. Perhaps you could have a ‘fit guarantee’. If someone buys something, takes it home and decides within seven days there not happy, they can bring it back, or maybe if your friends don’t love it, you can bring it back. It’s pretty unlikely people will actually exercise the guarantee, and even if one or two people do, the increased sales will probably outweigh the cost.

[AnaLucia]

Dear Trader,
It happens so much in any industry that is not even worth to worry about it.
I would suggest you to focus in what your shop offers to your clients, make it the best shop in town, add some lines, make some promos and good sales, maybe try to find other Expos/shows where you get your suppliers from.
Imagine this: in Sydney there are some times 3 thai restaurants in the same street: selling the same: and they are all full, that is my way of thinking.

Good Luck :)

[Trader]

Thanks for your constuctive advice everyone , I will take it onboard and keep ploughing ahead , it was good to see some other opinions on the subject .

cheers

[DavidM]

I agree with a lot of the feedback. Although it would be frustrating seeing your competitors source identical labels - rather than focusing on this as a problem, ask yourself 'why are customers choosing to go to a competitor instead of me?'

Assuming they are choosing a competitor (which they may not be), do they have a better store layout or staff? Or are they simply selling their clothes for less?

Good luck,

David