Wholesale Men’s Apparel Business Tips You Must Know

The wholesale men’s apparel business is an intricate market since it is fueled by two distinct needs, one is utilitarian, basically men who are buying their clothing for a purpose, and not as concerned about the fashion appeal. Think of workers in the construction, maintenance, and environmental field. They need sturdy and high quality clothes such as Levi jeans. Then there are men who are make their clothing selections based on the latest fashion trends, whether because they want to look really good for a night out, or are in industries where a strong sense of fashion is essential, such as in the entertainment business and legal field. Brands that cater to this market are Marc Ecko and Guess. There are meeting points between both needs, and there are designers who have capitalized on this by creating clothing that is both utilitarian and fashionable. Think of Hugo Boss dress shirts, they are suitable for an office dress code, while at the same time being highly fashionable. Or how about the dual purpose that Calvin Klein jeans serve? They are both comfortable enough to work in outdoors, and are fashionable enough to be worn on a Hollywood movie set.

You can have a very successful retail or online men’s apparel business by focusing on the reasons that men will be buying your clothes. Remember, while one approach in the retail business is to have something for everyone, you will be able to more easily stand out from your competition by focusing on a specific niche. Alternatively, you might found yourself setting up a business to serve a market need which you notice is not being well served, or served at all. Examples of focused niches in the men’s clothing industry are: Brand name suits for Nigerian bankers, designer jeans for guys in Port of Spain, designer office shoes for men in Zambia. The more targeted your niche is, the more likely customers you will find for the closeout men’s clothing which you are retailing.

While supplying clothing for men to resellers from my New York closeout business, CloseoutExplosion.com, I have found that men primarily shop based on a need for a specific item, whether it’s a pair of leather shoes for their office job in Manhattan, or a polo shirt for their day off at the beach. Having said that, I have personally seen that clothing made by brand names outsells private label clothing, with the exception of markets where the budget of the average consumer is very limited. While I have exported designer merchandise to Haiti, for the most part my Haitian customers shop based on price first, brand selection being secondary. On the other hand in more affluent markets such as in the United States and Canada, there is more of a focus on designer label wear, even though the overstock merchandise with a designer label is priced higher than similar clothes by lesser known designers.