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COMMITTEES | Marketplace |
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Before the Marketplace chair recruits vendors, the committee should create their target list of preferred vendors ranging from shoe boutiques to accessory designers. If your goal is to have six to eight vendors, be sure to have a few more than that targeted to be recruited. Be strategic in your selections for variety, interest, quality and pricing. Shoe Vendors are great. Ask boutiques to bring accessories as well. It's likely they carry scarves, sunglasses and handbags. Ask shoe vendors/boutiques to bring a full run of sizes in their most popular styles, and display them without crowding. Each shoe vendor should bring 20 styles of shoes, with a good choice of sizes, at least six sizes per style. Ask how they will facilitate filling orders if a size is unavailable. The other three or four vendors should be split between accessories and jewelry. Ideally, the shopping consists of a harmonious balance between shoes, jewelry, handbags, and other accessories. When procuring potential vendors, use a professional "one-sheet," which explains the purpose of your event. For a Marketplace Vendor One-Sheet, click here. Think of yourselves as buyers for a small boutique. You can't bring in everything you see at market and must be selective. Choose the vendors with the best quality, most interesting merchandise, and a mix of price points and styles. If you can get the items anywhere, pass on them. Would you go to a party at the Four Seasons to buy Crocs? Don't focus on fine jewelry vendors. Jewelry needs to be unique, interesting and vary in price point. Fine jewelry may not sell well, so try to stay under $500. If you do have the market to justify a fine jeweler. limit it to one. Think about how much revenue the "booth" will generate. The charity makes 20% of sales from the vendor, so you want the vendor to do at least $2,000 to make it worth it. We've seen a stationary person at an event sell $500 worth of cards, which was great for her but only generated $100 for the charity. This doesn't make the table and linen rentals for the booth worth the cost. Clothing can be challenging to try on at the event. Advise vendors to pick clothing that one may try over clothes, or doesn’t require trying on. We would recommend limiting clothing to one vendor. For a list of fabulous vendors available through WW&S, click here. We update this list regularly, so check back often.
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