The Power of Brand-Retailer Partnerships

As more and more D2C brands diversify to include wholesale in their business plan, the importance of collaboration continues to grow across the fashion industry. But what are some of the benefits you can expect to reap from brand-retailer partnerships? And how do you go about securing the right ones?

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Read on to discover everything you need to know about brand-retailer partnerships, their rewards and the key factors that can help you decide if a partnership is right for you.

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How Partnerships Can Benefit Brands

To drive growth, fashion brands must build relationships with high-quality retailers. By finding suitable retailers to stock your product, you can increase your points of distribution and put your product in front of new customers. Being stocked in reputable stores can also help to validate a brand’s positioning in the market. 

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For former D2C brands or brands that have primarily ecommerce availability, working with a brick-and-mortar store can also be a great opportunity to give more consumers a chance to experience your product in real life. Memorable in-store events also help to bring a brand to life and differentiate brands from competitors, a particularly useful tool in highly saturated categories. 

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How Partnerships Can Benefit Retailers 

Multi-brand retailers are always in need of exciting product curated for their customer base to drive loyalty and appreciation for their unique point of view. By building wholesale relationships with brands, retailers can ensure that they always meet their customers' demands. 

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Cultivating mutually beneficial and lasting partnerships may also result in opportunities to collaborate with brands on limited-edition products that are exclusive to a particular retailer. This not only gives the store a unique product offering to draw in clients, it could also position them as a more desirable and premium destination in a customer’s mind.

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Working on exclusive in-store events with brands can also help to increase footfall and often cements retail stores as culturally relevant social spaces. This fosters feelings of community for customers and encourages them to return in-store again and again. 

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Brand-Retailer Partnership Strategy 

Now that you understand just how powerful wholesale can be for your business, there are several elements to consider when choosing a partner:

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Establish Retailer Compatibility 

Collaborating with a retailer that doesn’t align with your values will lead to a failed partnership, so it’s imperative to choose a business with a similar customer demographic for the best chance of success. Firstly, identify which of the three main retailer types you wish to target:

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Price-Based Retailers

These retailers will have a customer base that cares about product price over quality, so they are best suited to creating partnerships with brands that want to emphasize value. 

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Speciality Retailers

Offering a unique assortment often built around a niche or category, these retailers attract shoppers who are searching for specific pieces and are willing to pay competitive prices for them. They would be best suited to starting a partnership with brands that align with their niche.

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Premium Retailers

These retailers have recession-proof customers who are willing to pay top prices in exchange for premium product, so they are a perfect match for luxury fashion brands looking to build a partnership. 

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Align on Target Audience

Once you have selected which type you want to target, look to connect with retailers who have overlapping customer demographics with your brand. Even if your goal is to enter a new market, you still need to ensure you are establishing relationships with retailers that can connect you to like-minded customers who will be drawn to your product. 

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Get Clear on Your Business Goals

Before reaching out to a potential retail partner, get clear on what you hope to achieve from a collaboration.

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Is it increased sales, brand exposure or consumer insights? Do you want access to the retailer's data to see how your brand is performing? Will you be comfortable with a retailer stocking products from your competitors? Is your product going to be stocked in competing retail stores or is your partnership an exclusive arrangement? Create a clear set of terms that define the partnership and outline the benefits to both parties.

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Decide What Your Partnership Will Look Like

Alongside the traditional buying and selling of product, it is often beneficial to work with retailers to drive awareness of your new collection. Joint blog posts, shared social media content and video campaigns are a simple and often effective way to further benefit from your partnership by sharing audiences and increasing visibility.

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You can also negotiate discounts, loyalty program promotions and exclusive offers with retailers—all tools that can be particularly useful to drive sell-thru later in the season. 

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Nurture the Relationship For Lasting Success

Remember retail partnerships often change naturally over time. Keeping in regular contact with your partners and maintaining an open two-way dialogue will not only help you build a lasting connection but will ensure you are working optimally.

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Regular check-ins will allow you to make buyers aware of new product launches and also give them a chance to share consumer insights that can inform your future product development.

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How to Establish Brand-Retailer Partnerships

Once you have defined your wholesale strategy, all that’s left to do is start making connections. JOOR Discover makes it easy to find and connect with the right retail partners for your business by providing access to JOOR’s exclusive network of vetted retailers from around the world.

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Use our Find New Retailer feature to filter for the exact demographics, prices and categories that meet your requirements and then use our in-platform messaging service to easily start prospecting.

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Unlike other wholesale platforms, we have no rules against collaboration on or off of our software and encourage connection in all forms. Our focus is always on helping our network achieve maximum success.

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Read to make long-lasting retail connections that drive growth? Request a demo today!

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