How to break into Saks Fifth Avenue - and sell your stuff

Montreal's Jaclyn Stein has some tough words for small business owners looking to get their special product or design on the shelves of a big retailer:

“Pack your samples up, swallow your pride and show up.”

Stein, a designer and co-owner of the family-run Anzie Jewelry, recalls how she and her mother, Anzie Stein, showed up uninvited to the corporate head office of Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan armed with only stubborn courage and a case stuffed with samples of their work.

They were turned away, but not before they won a real appointment with the retailer’s buyers and, later, a lucrative deal to sell in Saks stores across the United States. That was more than 10 years ago. Today the brand can also be found in Bloomingdales and Holt Renfrew.

“We knew we had something unique and different,” says Stein of their initial winning pitch.
“They (the retailers) liked the price point. They liked the design, and we were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.”

Landing that first major contract is a significant achievement for the entrepreneurs behind many of the brands we see in our favourite department stores and grocery chains.

Sales generated from smaller shops and boutiques may stir up buzz, but it`s the big retailers with a huge consumer base that can really make or break a small business.

“It is the best way to build a brand if you can get into a high-end department store,” says Stein.
But the jump to the big-time also comes with significant risk to brand owners. Just getting in the door takes perseverance, patience and a willingness to keep phoning even when no one on the other end is picking up.

Once you do catch their attention, many major retailers won`t take on a new clothing line or collection until those in charge of the company can prove there won`t be any significant delays or complications on the manufacturing side that retailers don`t want to deal with. There`s no room for error.

“They need to trust and be confident that you're able to provide them with the product they've ordered otherwise they run the risk of having an empty shop,” said Ashley McDonald, co-owner of the Toronto-based fashion firm, Trout Rainwear.

McDonald, 32, launched Trout in the Spring of 2012 with her sister, Jennifer Lancefield, and designer Sarah Hopgood. They`ve gone on to sell their collection of designer rain gear to Holt Renfrew, and are in discussion with retailers in the U.S.

Supply and demand is the biggest unknown when starting a company, according to McDonald.
You need to be able to keep up with demand and make quick moves if your product takes off. You need a manufacturing facility that can grow with your brand.

“Being in demand is a great problem to have, but if you can't supply those demands then you lose out,” she says.

Exclusivity is another vital consideration when trying to deal with a major retailer.

“Retailers love that,” says McDonald, “because they get the excitement of launching a new line or having something that no one else has. Consumers love product that's hard to find elsewhere because it's different and new.”

But the early success also exposed the Steins to significant financial risk – more than they had bargained for. 

For Anzie, a company that prides itself on its handmade jewelry, the early success with Saks exposed the Steins to sudden and intense pressure to meet demand. Faced with supplying dozens of major department stores, the family was on the hook for huge production costs, including the purchase of the gems and precious metals needed for its collections.

“I was obviously nervous. It's a tough business and you have to invest a lot of money,” says Stein of those early days.

But, she adds,"when you start something, you never know where it is going to take you.”