Choosing the Right Products for Your Store

Miss Milly is a new and growing UK wholesale jewellery supplier but in her previous business, Sarah Watmore, our Managing Director, also ran a successful retail jewellery and accessories business.

Craft Business magazine recently asked Sarah to contribute to its Retail Clinic feature by responding to a reader's question about how to choose new products for their store. The main tactics Sarah outlined were:

• understand your location and target market; buy with your customers in mind

• keep up with the trends in the industry; read trade magazines (many are free to subscribe to) and go to trade shows

• don't focus solely on price; building a relationship with a supplier with excellent service and a personal touch is worth its weight in gold

• competitor shopping; don't copy your immediate neighbours, variety is key to a thriving retail area, but visit shops similar to your own in other locations and also use the visits to look at display ideas. You might find an amazing product but it will need to be displayed well to maximise sales

• form a focus group with similar retailers to share ideas and success stories; just make sure you're not selling to the same customers

• ask your customers what they'd like to see in your shop; you'll undoubtedly reject some of their suggestions but they are your most important critics

Annanova Distribution Deal

The lovely team at Gift Focus magazine have been very kind to Miss Milly this month with some great coverage on our wholesale jewellery and our Annanova wholesale purses, including this write up of  our exclusive distribution of Annanova in the UK and Ireland.

Spreading the word about Miss Milly's gorgeous new Spring wholesale jewellery collections.

Our Managing Director, Sarah Watmore, has been busy spreading the word about Miss Milly's gorgeous new Spring wholesale jewellery collections, including her personal favourite, the Harmony Collection featuring wholesale gemstone jewellery and wholesale pearl jewellery.

"At Miss Milly we're extremely excited about 2013. After a fantastic launch in the autumn, we're looking forward to introducing our spring/summer lines filled with colour. We have played with the themes of asymmetry and mixing materials. Our new Harmony Collection is the perfect summary of how we see the main trends for the coming year; it uses a harmonious balance of natural stones and man-made stainless steel. Some of the detail is asymmetric to engage and keep the eye, as symmetry is too quickly read and digested by the brain. The colours are bold, block tones to welcome back the sun."

Ready for Spring Fair '13

After a hard day's graft at the NEC yesterday, the Miss Milly stand is now set up and we are ready to meet with lots of existing and potential customers at the Spring Fair when it starts on Sunday.

I've been exhibiting at the show for eight years now and still get excited by the buzz of meeting customers, showing new stock and catching up with other wholesalers in the industry. Spring Fair takes over all 20 halls of the NEC and I've yet to see most of it. A quick dash down the neighbouring aisles is about as far as I get.

If you're on the lookout for gorgeous new costume jewellery, scarves, fashion accessories, gifts, greetings cards, stationery, furniture... and the list is endless.... and you have never been, you really should make the time to visit.

Keep up with our news from the show on Facebook or Twitter.

Successful Advertising

Our recent adverts featuring the Annanova green elephant designer wholesale purse has worked really well for Miss Milly, encouraging new customers to buy the purses and wholesale costume jewellery from us, as well as encouraging existing customers to try out the purses. And the adverts created by Kev Flannigan, our Worcester graphic designer, continue to grow our brand.