And so in the age where more folks want to be their own bosses, there has been a lot of people who are starting off in the retail sector, be it from online stores to retail chains. But no matter the scale of the business, one of the first questions which need to be answered would be "Where am I to look for suppliers / distributors?"
It may not be an easy question to answer but here are some tips you can use to find the distributors and suppliers for a particular range of products in your industry :
- Official Manufacturer Webpages - First stop made should be to the official website of the company whose product lines you aer trying to stock. They typically have a list of local/regional distributors whom can supply you.
- Online Trade Directories - Next thing which can be done without even leaving the house would be to check out online trade directories like Alibaba.com or Exporters.sg. It may be a little messy
- Online Forums - Joining an online forum which caters to a base of users of your product has multiple benefits. First, you may get to find out where the source of the goods are coming from and which retailers are doing well in the industry. Next, you get a feel the type of products consumers need and want to buy. Also, if you play you cards right, you may just be given the chance to sell to this group of key target consumers.
- Trade Shows - These should be deemed as the prilgrimmages needed if you are serious about being in the know and being the first to stock latest products. Typically, the only problem is that major trade shows are held only in the States or Europe so an overseas trip is inevitable (which can also be a great break if you take it that way).
- Trade Journals/Magazines - Second best approach if you cannot make it abroad to trade shows would then be to subscribe to a good trade journal where manufacturers tend to advertise their latest offerings. Don't try to save by getting a second-rate subcription as you may just be shortchanging yourself on valuable information.
- Phone Directory - Looking under the type of products you require would probably net you the contact details of a couple of importers and general traders who bring in the line of stuff you want. Simple.
- Distributor's Labels - For smaller items (especially for foodstuff), the distributor may place their stickers on each individual box. A part of me think it may be for regulation purposes and another part thinks it may be a bid to get in touch with more retailers. In any case, such details are a good way to link in with the local distributor so keep an eye out for these!
- Packaging Cartons - Typically, goods come in packed in SKU of cartons and these may get strewn around in the shops. Taking a peek at the print on these boxes may yield some clue as to where they originated or passed through.
- Gift Floral Arrangements - This one is a particularly Singapore (I feel) angle on things but when a competitor (especially a large one) opens a new outlet, their main suppliers may make gifts of floral arrangements to congratule them. Though, these may not exactly give you more information over what you can find out using the preceeding methods, it does serve as a guage to the level of relatonship betwen the retailer and the supplier.
- Word on the Street - The last method, but some feel is the most important, is to know the word on the street. This means that you have to be talking to the suppliers you currenly have, the other retailers in the industry and to your own customers. These days, even customers may have read or heard about things in the industry you have not know about yet so keep your ears open!
So there you have it. It may sound simple but its only a start to the followup work that you have to do once contact is established. Most of the time, lack of volume / credit-worthiness / physical presence may be issues but not are not things that cannot be solved by some good ol' negotiation.
Have fun!
(PS: Just realised that for once, the google ads on this post's page may be pulling up pretty relevant stuff due to this content... :) )
