Wholesaling Fashion Jewellery and Accessories – a day in the life.

It is an exciting and challenging time for all those involved in the  gift, fashion jewellery or accessory business. From workshop to the consumer, the past ten years have seen unprecedented changes in the way gifts, jewellery and accessories are brought to market. Where there was once a clear chain from manufacturer to importer, through distributor to wholesaler then retailer there is now a parallel channel via the internet. A million internet savvy ‘bedroom’ entrepreneurs offering a seemingly limitless array of product in any style, size or colour at the press of a button direct from country of origin to the consuming market are competing for the business. The potential for bypassing of ‘middlemen’ or women – often the importer, the wholesaler and the retailer, inevitably impacts on everyone’s sales and on margins. Not only do direct sellers working from the country of origin over the internet benefit from low overhead, Chinese operators also have the advantage of Government subsidised shipping and a complete absence of safety and or health regulations.

The temptation of bypassing those further up the chain might seem attractive; the consumer can cut the retailer, the retailer the wholesaler, the wholesaler the importer. In theory every bypass makes available extra margin and profit for those in the trade and a cheaper price for the consumer. However, for the consumer the conventional retailer still has certain advantages in that they allow the consumer to see and touch the product before buying it, to buy it and own it immediately and pay for it in a wide variety of ways and perhaps more importantly, that they have a real ‘physical’ person and place to return to in the event of a problem.  These things count for a great deal with the consumer as is witnessed by the resilience of the ‘bricks and mortar’ retail trade in the face of the onslaught of internet sales. Not so obvious is the value of a good wholesale supplier to the retailer. Like the consumer, the retailer can also deal direct over the internet with a seller in the country of origin, but the benefits of using a good European fashion jewellery wholesale company like ourselves. whilst not so apparent are none the less substantial.  Joe Cool offers the independent or multiple retailer, department store or destination outlet a wide range of   advantages.  Importantly we have nearly forty years of experience in the costume jewellery and accessory business. Our persistence and dedication has enabled us to build and refine an extensive range of interesting, quirky and eminently saleable fashion jewellery and accessory products. Our designers and buyers travel all over the world for inspiration and take advantage of a diverse range of skills and techniques from accomplished handcrafting to cutting edge technology.  We employ a wide variety of materials from low tech wood, leather and gemstones to silicon, steel, acrylic and ceramic and importantly have put our creative energies into focussed product ‘stories’ and meaningful  ranges and collections.

Over the years we have painstakingly manoeuvred the often confusing and complex intricacies of importing fashion products; cultivating innovative partners, trustworthy contacts and established long term and fruitful relationships with makers, manufacturers and agents across the world. All this and more is embodied in our products; all our products are illustrated and clearly described in our sales literature and samples can be provided for inspection and review.  No matter where and when our products are needed we can deliver and we can deal with all the problems of logistics and customs along the way. Our long term experience in selling to a wide range of countries and a diverse selection of customers means we have an intuitive feel for what will work in which market and we can confidently navigate the increasing legal requirements and consumer demands of the Western market. Our customers, be they the museum shop, department store or theme park, have the benefit of our experience and research. They enjoy the assurance that our items comply with both European and US legislation regarding the use of materials such as lead, cadmium, nickel and phthalates and meet the standards required by the destination market. Equally, we pay attention to quality and finish to a degree which simply does not automatically happen in Asia and if we do inadvertently let something faulty through the net, our customer has instant recourse, meaning we are the ones dealing with the problem, not you. We take pride in maintaining high ethical standards – taking the trouble and time to establish the environmental and ethical credentials of our sources and we take pleasure from the fact that we have contributed to the success and growth of many small time fashion jewellery producers.

Simply put, although you can go online and find an extensive random array of product you have no guarantee of quality, health and safety or saleability either at source or for the end user, you rarely have any recourse in the event of things going wrong, with no supportive back-up, and delivery and supply is likely to be unreliable. A company with years of experience in the sector – Joe Cool – has done a lot of the work for you, you do not have to learn the hard way, you can focus on that aspect of the business which most appeals and is most profitable.