Establish and Build Your Retail/Wholesale Business 

Keys to Success in Retailing and Wholesaling With A Comprehensive Overview of E-Commerce for Your Business

Topics to be covered include:

What is the customer strategy that drives the business?

• Why does my brand exist and what unique proposition do I bring to the market?
• Is an omni channel distribution system critical to reach my customers?
• What is the right pricing strategy for success of my wholesale/retail business?
• How do I manage my inventory levels for maximum productivity?
• How do I define my customer and find them? 

How to manage the retail store, inventory and the supply chain:

• How do I best dispose of excess merchandise?
• When should I be taking mark downs and how do I let my customers know?
• How do I find money to start up or expand my business?
• What are the threats to my business and what am I doing about it?  
• Can I buy enough product to justify direct importing?
• How do you determine if domestic or global sourcing is more suitable to your needs?
• How do you source with flexibility being the most important criteria?
• How do you judge if an overseas supplier is suitable for your business?
• How do you find organizations that can help you source?
• What are inventive ways of sourcing when your needs for materials are way below most factories' minimums?

How to implement your on-line store and integrate it with your business strategy

• Do you know what factors affect how much it will cost to build your online store?
• Should you build a custom store using WordPress or Magento or sign up for a monthly service like Shopify or Yahoo Store? 
• What technical pieces are needed to launch your store?
• Do you know how to protect your customers from credit card fraud?
• What are the best ways to market your online store profitably?
• How do you calculate shipping costs to keep them from destroying your profits?

Instructors:

Harry Dannenberg:

Executive in women’s footwear, retail and wholesale; developed and brought to market both better and popular-priced footwear. Worked with leading shoe designers manufacturing, importing and distributing merchandise from around the world. Harry is a SCORE NYC Mentor. 

 

J. Vincenzo Gatto:
Fashion Industry experience:  40 +  years. Owner, incubator1, marketing and brand building company targeting small to medium size fashion and fashion related businesses. Professor, Fashion Institute of Technology. Marketing, retailing, fashion buying and merchandising, manufacturing and creative presentations all geared to fashion and related fields. Stonehouse Clothing Co. Owner/operator 2 retail mens apparel stores, 5 years.

 

Olivia Spence:
Olivia Spence has spent her entire career working in the Fashion Industry primarily in the design and sourcing end of the Industry. She spent 19 years working at Dana Buchman, the Bridge division of Liz Claiborne, sourcing and developing textiles and later becoming the Vice President of Product Development. More recently she was Divisional Vice President of Textiles at Coach for 5 ½ years sourcing textiles for both their accessories and apparel. Two years ago Olivia started her own company, LoMaglia LLC, with a partner offering a full service in knitwear from development through manufacturing for apparel companies. Olivia has a passion for design, travel, and being an entrepreneur.

Maisha Walker:
The Internet Strategist, Inc. Magazine
President, message medium
Founder and President of Message Medium, a digital marketing agency that helps new and reinvested brands to harness the power of the Internet and create a dynamic, interactive and profitable presence online. She has been creating websites and online marketing campaigns for more than 16 years. Maisha has worked on digital marketing campaigns with Mars Chocolate, Columbia University, Unilever, WJ Detusch (the owner of Yellow Tail wines), NBA player Kyle Lowry, Save the Children and more. Maisha is a featured online columnist with Inc. Magazine, and a 1994 graduate of Princeton University.