The wholesale market for designer brands: who buys, who sells and at what pace

A collection designed in a Paris studio can end up, the following season, in a boutique in Lyon, a concept store in Milan and a department store in Tokyo, without the brand opening a single shop. Selling to retailers is often still the fastest way to be present in many points of sale and in several countries. Yet this model follows its own rules and its own calendar.

What is wholesale?

Wholesale refers to a brand selling its products to professional retailers at a wholesale price. Those retailers then resell them to consumers at the retail price. The model differs from direct sales, which go through the brand’s own stores and e-commerce site. It also differs from consignment, where the retailer only pays for what it sells.

Fashion has no monopoly on it. Eyewear, footwear, watches and jewellery, home décor, sport and cosmetics largely work this way too. Each industry brings its own trade shows, units of sale and constraints.

Five players, five roles in the wholesale chain

The chain has few links, each with its own role and its own way of being paid.

The brand

It designs the collection, sets wholesale prices and terms of sale, then has the ordered quantities manufactured.

Retailers

They buy in order to resell. They are independent multi-brand boutiques, concept stores, chains, department stores or e-commerce sites.

Sales agents

They are independents paid on commission, representing one or more brands within a territory.

Showrooms

They are permanent or temporary spaces where buyers discover collections and place orders, often in the fashion capitals.

Importers and distributors

They buy on their own account and resell in their country. They handle logistics and sometimes local marketing.

The wholesale calendar: the collection is sold before it exists

Wholesale follows two main seasons, spring/summer and autumn/winter, often supplemented by pre-collections or capsules. Each collection is presented to buyers several months before it reaches the shop floor, at trade shows, fashion weeks and showroom appointments. The orders placed during this campaign determine the quantities the brand will have produced.

Replenishment follows a different logic. It lets retailers reorder, during the season, products that are already in stock. Stock is limited and must be shown in real time, delivery must be fast, and orders are smaller but more frequent. See our guide to wholesale replenishment.

Trade shows and showrooms: in-person holds firm, digital adds to it

Trade shows remain a highlight of the wholesale year. In a few days, they bring together buyers from all over the world. Every industry has its own events, from fashion to eyewear, from home to sport, listed in our calendar of trade shows by industry. A showroom offers a more intimate setting: buyers take the time to go through the collection and build their order with the sales rep.

In recent years, these in-person appointments have been complemented by video presentations, virtual showrooms and online portals. They make it possible to prepare or finalise an order remotely. See our article on the digital showroom and video appointments.

Cash flow, minimums, prices: the five economic stakes for the brand

Five issues decide whether wholesale is profitable for the brand:

• Cash flow: production is financed before it is sold to the consumer, hence the importance of deposits and payment terms.
• Minimums: a minimum order (MOQ) protects the profitability of each account and each production run.
• Wholesale price: it must leave the retailer a sufficient margin while preserving the brand’s own.
• Customer risk: each retailer’s outstanding balance needs monitoring, especially for export.
• Data: knowing what sells, where and to whom makes it possible to adjust production and the next collection.

What is changing in the wholesale market: more cautious buyers, more hybrid brands

Many brands see it for themselves: their multi-brand buyers have become more cautious. They commit less during the collection campaign, keep part of their budget for replenishment and expect brands to provide accurate, immediate information.

Brands, for their part, increasingly combine wholesale and direct sales, and seek to manage their sales network as a whole. Digital order-taking supports both trends.

What a designer brand should organise first

A brand moving into wholesale does well to treat the two calendars as two separate jobs. The collection campaign is prepared with wholesale prices, minimums and a deposit fixed before the first trade show. Replenishment requires stock visible in real time and fast delivery. What remains is to connect the two in a single tool, shared by the in-house team and the intermediaries, so that everyone sells with the same information.