Buying Wholesale at the Vegas Tradeshows

Hey, it's episode number 325, and I'm keeping it in house today with Sarah Burks and Beth Leahy, and we're talking all about all the things happening throughout the month of August. So if you are in Atlanta, if you're headed to Vegas, or if you're headed to Dallas, let's talk about how to maximize the shows and all the events happening at the Hub. Plus, some big announcements we just dropped at the Boutique Summit. You don't want to miss this. Let's talk about your business strategy and the juicy details of what works from mainstream fashion to fashion on Main street and the entire ecosystem behind it. How do we scale your company and do it with the balance and the happiness that we all seek? Let's hear from those insiders, experts, and strategists that actually make it happen. I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub, and I can't wait to chat. Hey, guys, welcome back. I've got my partners in crime with me this week. I mean, my literal partners in crime. Sarah Burks, Beth Leahy from the Boutique Hub team, welcome to the show this week. Yay.

This is gonna be fun.

I'm so pumped. So we have a really short and sweet show and kind of just an update for you today because this is such a busy month. So if you guys have been following along our social media the last couple days, you know that yesterday was our biggest event of the year, the Boutique Summit, which is Beth's baby. She can tell you all the details of the Boutique Summit. Also, some exciting news that we have planned for 2022 that we want to tell you about. So we'll hit the highlights of that, but also what's happening in Atlanta this week, in Las Vegas next week, and in Dallas at the end of the month because it is buying season and we are going to see so many of you guys out on the road. So let's hit it with this. Beth, talk to me about the Boutique Summit. If someone wasn't able to join us yesterday and they want to know what it is and what we do and the fun that we just had hit the high points.

Oh, man, it was a high. We had so many fun speakers, and if you didn't catch them either in person or via our livestream, you can still grab digital access and then you can just watch them from the comfort of your home, lifetime access. So we'll be sure to include the link for that. We also have some digital breakout sessions. So just because of COVID we weren't able to do our breakout sessions in person. So we're having a digital breakout Sessions Day on August 17th. So right when we get back from magic, we will have, I think five or six live breakout sessions. So through zoom, you can come, you can come and go as you please. You can talk, you can ask questions in the chat. Then we will have those again recorded for replay along with a couple of extra breakout sessions. So just come and look. We'll have that digital breakout session schedule linked wherever, wherever you get all your links, we'll have that available to you. We also kind of. Can we make the announcement that we made about summit for 2022?

Yes, we can. So before we do though, just in case you have not seen it yet, go to the Boutique Hub and the Boutique Summit on Instagram. Follow the hashtag Boutique Summit 2021. You'll catch all the replay the highlights. Ezra Firestone, Beau Eason, Allison Faulkner, Sarah Burks, Ashley Alderson, our entire Boutique Hub team, plus our plus size panels, Facebook ad panels, Instagram panels, all the things that we talked about. Growing and scaling a boutique with Nana Max Boutique. Tons of content. But we're so excited to be back again in person in 2022. Beth, do you want to tell us where it's going to be next year?

I'm already ready for next year. I forget about what happened yesterday. I'm ready for next year. I'm ready to go back to our roots in Dallas in March 2022. It's gonna be March 20th and 21st of 2022. Wow, that is a lot of twos. If you followed along. You know, we've had some fun stories being in Dallas with Boutique Summit and ER visits and chaos. We are excited to be back. No ER visits. We're gonna have a little bit more staff than three people.

I have to pause.

We have to tell the story. Okay. The very first Boutique Summit. What year was that? Was it 2017? Was that our first year?

Yes.

And technically I was the only full time employee at the Boutique Hub at the time. I was the solopreneur and you and Jesse Jarvis were our two part time employees. And Sarah, you were our friend, but you weren't working for us yet. You just like popped in to say hi. Yeah, right.

So I think you came to the hotel room later. Yeah, Like I. Yeah, yeah.

Oh yeah. For the party. I was gonna.

For the party for sure. That's Sarah's middle name. But Beth and Jesse and I, while we were there, the whole week ahead of Boutique Summit, planning this Massive event. Got carbon monoxide poisoning in a hotel we were staying in and ended up in the ER in Fort Worth, which was a whole nother experience. An Uber driver took us there. He thought we were freaking crazy. We were, but it made for some good memories. And no one was injured. The entire event went off without a hitch. It was perfect. What did we have the very first year? 300 people, I think, that joined us in Dallas.

Yeah.

And we've grown ever since, so it's going to be so exciting going back to our roots. So if you guys want the information, the signup form is in the details of the show notes, and you can get on the list to be the first to know about Summit next year. Okay. So because we. Since we're still in Atlanta, if you guys are in Atlanta and you're catching this podcast, Beth, do you want to give the deets of where to come and find us today and the next couple of days in Atlanta?

Yes. So usually you will see us on floor five, kind of by Chick Fil A. We are still on floor five this time, but we're in a little different location just for this show. So when you get off the escalators or the elevator, you're kind of gonna go straight through. We'll have a big kind of balloon arch and go through. And you will see our booth. Our booth numbers have a BH for boutique hub. It's 3:10 and 3:30. We're right behind Sew in Love and White Birch. You will see us, our team, a lot of new faces. We have almost our entire team here in Atlanta, as well as a lot of our summit exhibitors back there. So a lot of fun new brands that you might not see usually at market. Come back to our mini trade show, and we can't wait to see you.

Awesome.

When we get back from Atlanta, we turn around and we head straight to Vegas. And, Sarah, I know you're a Vegas shopping veteran. Ooh, that was a lot of these. So talk to us. We've got some events planned, and Beth's going to highlight those for you guys in just a second. But in case you're new to Vegas or you're thinking about maybe going to Vegas next time. Sarah, will you break down the difference in the shows in Vegas and what we can expect and why we might shop some different shows?

Absolutely. You know, as being an Expo Teak owner for many years, I can just tell you that when we decided to head to Vegas for inspiration and discovery, the product selection we would bring back to our store Improved dramatically.

Right.

Because ultimately we want to be competitive in the market, but we have to get out of your comfort zone. And it's important to go to these big major markets like Magic and Wynn and off price and everything that Las Vegas has available to find a wide variety, a good selection of products, different price points. And also I will just say that the whole idea of discovery, right, the merchandising that you're going to see out there is going to inspire you for your store displays and it's going to tell the story that you're going to turn around and tell your customers that are going to increase your sales. So if you are looking for all the new, brand new trendy, just first on the market items, you're going to find them at Magic, right? If you are looking for first on the market items, more on that Missy customer, more like the bridge and better and and more couture fashions, you're going to find a lot of those at win as well. And then if you're also looking for some of those margin builders, if you're looking for some things that are still brand new to your location and your customer, but maybe that were last seasons or closeouts that your customer was still going to love, that's going to be at off price. So Beth can tell you a little bit more about the logistics side of those things. But ultimately map out some time, do some discovery shopping of your own while you're out there to bring back a great selection of items for your store, your customer. That's going to set you apart from the rest.

Absolutely. So we, I know there is a lot of logistics, a lot of chaos what is going on in Vegas. There's so many shows. So I actually I wrote a blog post and we will make sure to link it. It has all of the details, hotel information, parking dates, times, how to register. So we'll be sure to link that. But I'm gonna just give you a quick overview. The first show starts on Saturday August 7th and that's off price. So really good way like Sarah said is to start out at off price and you know margin builders. And so on Sunday we are going to be there. Our team, myself, Shannon, Nikki and Meredith, we are going to kick things off with the off price tour at 3:30 on that Sunday August 9th. Off price this year is actually at the convention center. So it's in the south hall of the convention center. That's why you got to go to this blog post to remember where everything is because everything is in a new building. They all switch all the time. So you got to know where you're going in Vegas. So come join us at off price on Sunday at 3:30 in the convention center South Hall. We are going to do a tour. It's going to be kind of informal. If you've never been to off price, be sure to come just to kind of see what it's all about. If you have been, but you've never really found what you're looking for, come join us. We will have off price management people on right along with us with the tour because they are the experts. They will show you. Hey, here, hit this location, hit this one. This is where you want to go. We really will just cater it basically where you need to go. So that is on Sunday, then on Monday that's when Sarah and Ashley fly in.

And one more thing I just want to add really quick about off price before you go on. So over the years we've collaborated a lot with off price and what the show used to be was you kind of had to go dig for what you were looking for and Sarah remembers those days. But since we started to collaborate they've done some really cool things and they've actually created like a boutique section of off price that is products and, and brands that are buying and selling just for boutiques. And I think they also have printouts of the best places to shop within off price. So if you come, come for the tour, you'll get all that. But if you go and you are not there for the tour, make sure you ask for that so that you don't feel like lost and you actually find the right pieces that are perfect for holiday buying, that are perfect for margin builders for the fourth quarter in off price.

Yeah, I would like to also add on to that. You know, you just never know what you're gonna find there. So it's definitely worthy of a few hours of your time. You know, make it, make a commitment to going there. Walk, walk the, walk the floor. Look you, you know, you never know what you're going to find when you walk into some of these booths. And we, we had some great success on our Black Friday finds, our doorbuster deals, our loss leader deals, things like that that we were able to bring people in and really draw make a good profit on our end too. Right. But at the same time where our store was, we didn't need to have the absolute first showing of a product. Right. Our customers were a little bit more reserved. They would sit back and see the trends hitting the major markets and, and The TV shows and all that kind of stuff. And a season later they would kind of start to jump on board and then the following season they were all about it. So we found a ton of close outs that were really helpful to our store at the off price show. Don't discount it. Don't think it's just not for you. Don't think it's old inventory. You guys will be really, really surprised when you get in there and find some just great pieces. Right. You might not find full collections for your store, but you're going to find some really good pieces. Just give it, give it an opportunity.

Love that.

Alright then, we fly in on Monday and we're headed to Magic. Tell us about that, Beth.

Yes. So the nice thing about off price, again, off price is at the south hall. Magic is at the other halls. So kind of close. Although it sounds like they're right next to each other. If you're gonna go from the south hall to one of the other halls, it is a walk or a drive. So you do want to make sure you have enough time for that. But Magic is at the convention center. Magic specifically is in the west hall. Just make sure you look for the west hall because I believe it was in a different hall last time. Sourcing is in the north hall and project is in the central hall. And I'll let the girls talk about that for a second and then we can talk about the party we have at Magic.

All right, well, I'll start by saying Magic is magical. Honestly, it is. I remember the very first time I walked through the doors of Magic and the music was pumping and they had all sorts of activities going on and displays like, like live displays, makeup tutorials, they had interviews going on all the time. It was just like you walked around and kind of like, oh my gosh. Oh my God, look at that. Look at that. And it was, it was crazy cool.

So.

But with that, it's huge. So don't get caught by just going to the very first vendors you see. Take a look around, take some notes, take pictures of where you are and booth numbers because I promise you, you won't find it. If you think, oh, I'll come back and buy that T shirt later, you won't. So you'll get lost and you'll think, which aisle was it on? So make sure you take some good notes when you're there. They've got a great app that can help you. Our must see list from that we provide through the boutique hub is a game changer as well to Help you map out your journey at all these major shows. But ultimately, Magic is a place to just kind of take it in, take some notes on what's working, what, what you're seeing as far as merchandising and themes and displays and props. I love the idea of looking around at what props people are using. That's going to be great for your. Your photography, your window displays, all of that. It speaks to the whole updated 2022 going forward vibe of fashion.

Right.

So you want to be. You want to be in on that.

I completely agree. It is. It is the experience beyond just the buying that is so big at Magic. Something I'm kind of excited about this year and super grateful. Sarah. I remember the first time I went to Magic, I went in under another store's name. The boutique I bought even know that was much of a thing yet. But this year, I had the honor of being asked to be on Magic's advisory board. And so kind of a perk of membership is if you guys have feedback or thoughts or questions or how can Magic be even better? I get to be a channel for you this year and. And take part in those meetings and both online and in person for Magic. So kind of excited to be the voice for the boutique owners at Magic this year.

That's super cool. And then I will just say, you know, as you're mapping out your time, Beth mentioned sourcing. You guys. I think from a retailer standpoint, if you're. If you're serious about building your business and understanding retail business as a whole, it's important to walk the floor at sourcing to understand how many people touch an item from the time it's thought of to the time that your customer takes it home and wears it is crazy. And to go into the sourcing and start to look at the different fabrics and the zippers and the buttons and all of those things that have to go into a product, it just gives you a whole new perspective on fashion. It helps you understand the pricing of fashion too, which you can communicate that back to your customer. But ultimately, the more education you have about what you're selling and what the industry's like, the better. So try to hit that even if you're not into manufacturing yourself. You might be one day. You never know. So that's a great opportunity for you right there at sourcing.

Perfect.

Beth, just do a lap. Yep. Do you want to just quickly talk. Talk about project and what that is?

Yes.

Or. I'm sorry, what was that project? Oh, yeah. So on as when you're coming in and you're, you're sourcing out like the brand new items, like the new lines hitting, hitting the industry. This is a great place for you to kind of come and see those brand new unique things as well. So there, like I said, it's the industry as a whole is all under this roof. All the different dynamics of it. There's, there's so much for everybody just depending on where you are at and coming from in your business to take, take a little sneak peek of this because like I said, you never know when you're interested in bringing in new sustainable fabrics, the brand new things that nobody else has ever heard of before. You're going to find those things here. And that's honestly what's going to set you apart. If you're one of those stores right now sitting there saying, how do I look different? Well, this is it. Between sourcing and project and, and pool and all these things, there's something there for you to set yourself apart.

Yes. And so the main thing, when you think of Magic or when I think of magic, I think fun and I think it's like a party. So we are going to have a boutique boss party at Magic. You know, we always try to do it every year and I'm so excited that we're finally going to be back. And so the theme of that is just fun. We are going to have fun. So that is on that Tuesday evening from 5 to 7pm in the VIP lounge of the west hall at Magic. It's sponsored by Monobe. You can come and grab a drink ticket, you can see people, you can take a picture, you can dance with me. We're just going to have fun. That's, that's the gist of it. Fun. So that is again all at the convention center. Magic is at West, Sourcing is in north and Project is in Central.

I'll just add to your party plan, Beth, a little bit. You know that whole I, at the end of the day of being at one of these shows, be it Magic, Dallas, Market center, it does not matter. You're mentally exhausted and you need a place to just get together, just talk it out.

Right.

Like the date happened and it's a whirlwind. So getting together with like minded business owners that have went through that, it's almost like they went through a fight. Right. Like they're coming out on the other end. And now it's time to celebrate that victory of Market day. Right. Talk about what you saw. They might have seen something different than you saw.

Right.

Talk about what your customers are looking for. Collaborating together over a drink or just, you know, fellowship. That's so important, and that's what we wanted to provide. Everybody wants that in person experience, so. And then, you know, if you choose to want to dance with Beth or join in on one of her TikToks or something, you know, that's all part of it too, but because I guarantee you there will be a TikTok or two made by Beth at our party. But nonetheless, y' all need to just come and join us. It'll be fun.

I mean, I know how to dance for them. I think Shannon on our team can do the recording because I don't know how to do all of that.

Oh, yeah, no, we just video you, and then we put it together as a TikTok. You don't even know what's happening.

Exactly. Perfect. Perfect. All right. Anything else to add on those before we move over to our new show?

Let's talk about the third show.

Yes. So that is on. That's Las Vegas apparel, and it's put on by the same people that Atlanta Apparel. The same people. Imc. And so it's at the expo at World Market Center. It's a whole new building. I can't give you the address about that because I don't know where in Vegas it is, but you could probably Google that. Their show runs from Sunday to Tuesday, so you might want to hit that before Magic. We're gonna be there on Monday evening for a cocktail hour at 4pm so you can come meet us. There's gonna be some temp booths, some showrooms. Just like a new place. Find some new brands and meet us and get to tour with us.

Awesome.

All about discovery. I like it.

Something new, things, finally. How about Win?

Yes. So that is our final show. Wynn runs from Monday to Thursday. We will be there on Wednesday. Sarah's going to give a talk. But before you dive into there, I want to mention that Wynn is now at Caesar's Palace. So make sure you go to Caesar's palace this year for Win.

Yeah, yeah. So when I had this store, I loved shopping at Magic. And that was live and entertaining and exciting and everything, but that was a whole nother side of the. Of the industry. And as far as the products that I was trying to source, I found it when I was looking for a little bit more mature fitting clothing. What maybe call it Missy.

Right.

And I always found good plus lines at Wynn as well. The price points might have been a little higher. The quality of the items are exactly what I was looking for for our store. But I always found our jewelry lines at Wynn as well. New and unique. Whether you want to go back and say costume jewelry, fashion jewelry, whatever it is, higher end jewelry, I found it all there at Wynn. And the I will say that they have great collections of shoe vendors, they have outerwear, they have resort wear. It is, it's a collection of all sorts of different lines that you're not going to see at Magic. So if that customer is who you're serving, maybe she's a little bit more mature. Maybe you are looking for those plus size lines, those beefier fabrics. I'll just say go to win. Definitely go to win. The price points. You some people are saying it might be a little higher. Well, you're paying for what you're getting. I will say it's very well merchandised. I'm excited to see now that it's at Caesar, see what that's going to look like. But that was definitely a show. I always mapped out a day for to go and do a lot of ordering there for my, my more Missy customers. Yeah. And I'll be talking there Wednesday and my session is all about why I'm not profitable and I can go back, dive into that a little bit more. But ultimately, you know, starting with what you're selling, what your pricing strategy is and identifying your expenses and things like that. But it'll be a fun talk and because everybody likes to figure out why they're not making money and everybody likes to, you know, wants to make money. So that anyway, that's what we're going to be discussing at the wind show when I'm on stage speaking.

Yes. Come grab breakfast and then hear Sarah talk at 9:30 on Wednesday, August 11th at Wynn, which is at Caesars.

Awesome gals. We are busy at the moment. We are a little bit of everywhere. And then at the end of the month we're headed to Dallas. So Beth, if anyone comes and joins us in Dallas, can you just mention our showroom number for for those wanting.

To see, head up to the 13th floor. And our showroom is 606. We will be bumping the music out. Just look for the party at the showroom. Follow the pink signs. We're gonna have a lot of people from our team there and they are just really excited to meet you. Say hi and just help you help your business.

Including Eric Alderson. He does.

I know. I wanted to mention that Eric doesn't.

Listen to this podcast, so let's just throw him under Eric's gonna be there. He is like probably over preparing over in his office right now wondering what he's gonna do when he's there. So just go say hi, like call him by his first name. Make him feel a little uncomfortable that you know him and he doesn't know you. And it's gonna be so much fun to watch. I wish I was gonna be there like a mouse in the corner, make him squirm.

It'll be great. I'm sure he'll, he'll be taking all sorts of selfies with all the, all the hubbies. It'll be great.

Oh my gosh.

It's gonna be a good trip.

It is a busy month. It's a big month. You guys are headed into the fourth quarter. A couple things that we're really looking forward to and that if you were at summit, you got to hear some big reveals that I was able to drop yesterday. So I'll give you the skinny right now. Look for your emails. If you're on our email list, you're going to hear all about it. If you're not on our email list, be there, be square, get there. You're going to get all the inside skinny. But a couple things, Summit, save the date we mentioned March, Dallas, 2022. Boot camp. Students, if you have been through retail boot camp, you know that we are building a mastermind just for you that is going to include a monthly masterminding, it's going to include luxury retreats, it is going to be all the in person hub things that you want in a very small intimate setting with our team and the experts that we're choosing to pull in for this exception experience. We cannot wait for this. Basically it means Sarah and I and Beth are getting out of Wisconsin in the winter and going somewhere sunny to meet up with you. So Mastermind is coming. Second is we just released a sneak peek of the Boutique Boss Planner. If you were not at Summit, you're going to get to see this online this week. We'll be sharing all the details. You'll get a sneak peek. The 2022 planner drops in October. When it lands on our doorstep, we will be the first to let you know so we can get it into your hands and get it out. So it's very exciting as well. And then, oh gosh, I mean there's just a small project we've been working on for a while. Just, it's just a small pastime that we've all taken up for the past two and a half years and it's called building a wholesale platform. So a big secret the hub has been working on for longer than I can even imagine is building wholesale platform.

Can I say the name?

I'm so nervous. Do it.

Come on.

Just. Welcome to Hubventory. Write it down, know it, love it, remember it. So Hub and Tory is the opportunity that you are going to have to shop wholesale through all the brands that you know and love through the boutique hub. Many different types of brands, all product categories, but most of all, it is your one stop trusted place to find brands that love doing business. With boutiques, you can follow, shop, save, all in one place. The brands you love that are curated based on your style and your past purchases. Also some inventory planning boards that are some pretty cool features that you're gonna have to wait to experience on Hubventory. But basically our mission is to build a platform that is grassroots, that is built by you for you, that has all the fair fees and exciting features that really matter most to your business. So we couldn't be more excited to roll this out for you and continue to evolve this platform. We will be going into beta testing this fall, bringing in several brands and boutiques to break the platform and make it run as smoothly as possible before we open it up widely in 2022. But huge project. Excited to get to tell you about it and you'll get to experience it very soon. Soon.

And you'll probably have a podcast all about it sometime this fall. Right, Will?

Yeah. It feels so weird to talk about it out loud for the first time.

You don't need to whisper. You can talk louder.

You can shout it from a rooftop. Yeah.

Welcome.

Okay, I have a couple things. I have some tips to remember when you're going to market. Remember to bring your hub lanyard so we know that you're a hub member. If you have a buyer's badge, make sure to remember that as well. Your must see list. We share those and so you can print those out or if you see us, we will hand them out to you. Make sure you have those. And comfy shoes. And a good attitude.

Yeah, good attitude. And you're open to buy plan. Open to buy plan. People, make sure you're harmonized with the plan.

There's your mom, Sarah, just telling you, don't drink the margarita. Ashley, don't do it. Don't do it. Buy the merchandise without drinking the margarita. No.

I just want everybody to remember now more than ever, the supply chain is still disrupted. There's still a lot of unknowns out there, and you cannot sell what you don't have. So, you know, I want you to be mindful of what you need, right? Like what categories you guys have heard me say, what do I need to feed, what do I need to fix and what do I need to forget? What are those categories that you do not need to buy again? And make sure you don't find yourself wandering over to that section because it's pretty. But if it doesn't sell for you, just don't even worry about it, right? Concentrate on those categories that are really going to feed you. Feed you the money, right? Feed your. Your business. So come to. Come to market with a buying plan.

I love it. All right. We cannot wait to see you guys in person. As always. If you see us, please stop us. Please say hello. We love to get to meet you, member or not. We just want to get to know you. Please let us know if you listen to this question podcast, if you're a member, whatever your connection is to the hub, we just want to get to know you. You can tag us anytime at the Boutique Hub at AJ Alderson. You gals better share your Instagram handles while we're at it in case you get to meet them. Sarah?

I don't know. Beth Leahy. Or maybe it's Beth. Emily.

He.

I don't know.

Yeah, my Instagram handle. I think it's ragged S. Perfect.

We'll get those in the show notes corrected. Perfect. Well, you guys, we can't wait to see you. It's going to be a busy month of August. Have a great one. We will see you soon. As always, thanks for listening to the podcast and we will be back. Hey guys, thank you so much for listening to this episode. We hope that you loved it. Don't forget to hit subscribe and leave a rating and review down below for a chance to be one of our featured listeners each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and how to access complete show notes and bonus downloads from our guests, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.