Establishing a good relationship with our suppliers

Since the beginning I’ve always made a point of checking with new suppliers if they already supply shops in my area. If they do I move on, there’s simply no point having the same products as my local competitors.  I want to offer my customers something that they can’t find elsewhere.

This used to be so much easier before the chains started stocking everything en masse and uber cheap. But that aside, I still like to offer products that the other local independent shops don’t have. I believe diversity in a local area is not only great for the customer but benefits the retailer.  If each independent retailer has a unique identity and range of products differentiating it from its neighbours, customers have access to a great shopping area and retailers don’t have to undercut each other with pricing for the same products. Unfortunately, not all retailers think this way.

A couple of years ago we had problems with our Big Tomato mug range being duplicated in a nearby shop. A few polite emails and phone calls got us back on track and the problem was resolved. Having a good track record with my supplier went a long way. When I experienced the same difficulties with our Bluebell33 scented candle range, it was also resolved very quickly. Thanks to the support of our suppliers we’ve been able to maintain a great collection of ranges unique to our area. Luckily we have suppliers who understand that its not always the best market strategy to flood the market with their products.

Times are tough which means protect your assets, and that’s just what I intend to do.

London Zu – Pearls, Girls and Wedding Jewellery

Pearls and Girls & Wedding Jewellery

As the wedding season begins again, it’s time for us to stock up on the wedding pearls and create new wedding jewellery designs for 2012. Our jewellery studio is already busy with its first bespoke order working with colour swatches of bridesmaids dresses to create the perfect pearl necklace, pearl earrings and pearl bracelet sets.

Its a fine balance between creating the perfect wedding jewellery that the bride is proud to adorn her bridesmaids with whilst also designing the perfect brides jewellery which outshines the bridesmaids set.  Another challenge is to create something lovely even when the colour swatches for the bridesmaid dresses may be somewhat garish. Well we aim to please.

And what about the wedding gifts, well it’s a tricky area but we are slowly building up a great collection of wedding gifts for all budgets. Big Tomato have released some great designs in ceramic ware with red and pink love heart motifs and titles such as ‘home is where the heart is’ and’ there’s no place like home’ just perfect for the new couple and their new home together.

Tales from the Earth are always worth considering with their sterling silver momentos to celebrate those special occasions in life, such as a wedding. And of course we can’t forget cufflinks for the groom and best man to show off the snazzy wedding suit.

We know that organising a wedding is a mammoth job and it’s important not to forget all the people that help make it possible along the way, but that can get expensive, so keep to a budget and choose cleverly.

A personalised keyring is a great gift for all the boys involved in the wedding processes, it’s a practical gift that can be used (which men love, they don’t understand gifts that are just pretty with no use) but at the same time you can make it personal by adding their name or initial, plus there are 5 colour ways to choose from so each one is slightly different. They are presented in a gift box and look great.

For the girls, you have the option of jewellery or you could put together little gift bags of pretty girlie things, keep to a budget by selecting small and inexpensive. 

Have a fabulous wedding day! xxxx