New Geek_CONUS

[SFA437]

TY

I've been considering setting up a shop in Baghdad for reps- the market there is INSANE for high end replica items.

Be nice getting a perspective from someone who has BTDT in the same kind of face-to-face atmosphere!

[j.james]

In the early 90’s there were only a couple of people in the same geographical area who had periodic access to replicas; nobody had a steady supply. When product was available they only carried Gucci watches, TT jubilee Rollies with gold dials, and LV purses. Had there been more competition, sales would have probably decreased by 75%. While the growth of the business was attributable to hard work; the old saying, “right place/right time” also played a key role. A business plan was drafted which focused on developing sales from three primary market segments.

1) Students/On-Campus
I knew a lot of people so this wasn’t difficult. Louis V. purses were sold to 5 hot girls, at cost, who went out all the time and had like-minded friends. They were offered a commission for each purse bought by a referred customer OR they could have a free purse for every three bags purchased by their referrals. The referral customers resulted in 75 purse sales the first month. The same referral offer was made to some of the girls who purchased the 75 purses; it snowballed from there.

Initially only Gucci, Movado, and Pepsi Subs were offered to students. Ten watches were sold to friends at cost which resulted in about 25 sales the first month. Watch sales developed at a slower rate and yielded on average 35 - 40 sales per month prior to #3 gaining momentum.

2) Off-Campus/Direct to the Public
There was a huge flea market open each weekend. I figured it would be safe to maintain a booth for approx six weeks before the cops started lurking. The primary goal was not to have an ongoing presence at the flea market but to let people know how to make contact going forward via a pager number. To generate traffic to the flea market different flyers were printed based upon the target market and distributed as follows:

a. Placed on cars at large office complexes
b. Placed on cars parked behind strip clubs, assumed to be the dancer’s cars
c. A girl I knew worked at a local department store and obtained the customer mailing lists for the Junior and Jewelry/Accessory departments. They were mailed color flyers with product pictures.
d. 10% Off color flyers were given to hair salons for distribution to their customers. The flyers had reference numbers identifying each salon or individual stylist which allowed them to receive free products.
e. Starting at 1pm on the last day, 15 people placed flyers on cars at the mall and other flea markets.

About 15 people came by the booth the 1st weekend which yielded sales of 8 watches and 3 bags. Week 5 was the last weekend and approx 80 people came through resulting in sales of 30 watches, 60 bags, and several wallets. The word of mouth advertising from this segment allowed the next segment to flourish.

3) Distribution Network
The end goal had always been to become a supplier to multiple people and get local businesses to stock replicas such as hair salons. By the 6th month it was taking 2 to 3 days to return calls from the pages being received. I needed to focus more on school and getting higher volume cheaper suppliers who offered a larger variety of products. I developed a list of people who would be capable of dealing with the end customers and use me as their supplier.

Two of the girls who initially bought bags had already negotiated a wholesale price and were doing well selling on their own. I had a sharp friend who started to help returning the pages. He took some of the customers and became their primary contact and the remaining customers were divided between the two girls. They continued to expand the business and purchased increasing quantities each month. A few other girls who bought early on transferred to different schools and were buying 200+ bags a month and about 50 watches.

I continued to find better cost effective suppliers which allowed the initial distributors to supply others. At graduation there were 8 distributors in four states responsible for 1,300 purses and 250 watches each month. Sadly more money was made during Senior year than the next 2 years combined working a legitimate job.

TY

I've been considering setting up a shop in Baghdad for reps- the market there is INSANE for high end replica items.

Be nice getting a perspective from someone who has BTDT in the same kind of face-to-face atmosphere!