Journal Entry: Module 8

Goals:

Just wanted to collect some resources I found on the mobile fashion truck trend:

http://www.tuftsdaily.com/mobile/mobile-fashion-truck-trend-brings-innovation-to-retail-1.2647532

http://fabulousonabudget.com/inspiration/fabulous-women-le-fashion-truck/

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/12/image/la-ig-fashiontruck-20100912

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2010/08/cynthia-rowley-shop-on-wheels-hits-fashion-island-august-6-through-august-8-2010.html

http://inyourbackpocket.blogspot.com/2012/03/fashion-trucks.html

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217413

And a good resources to purchase a truck:

http://www.vendingtrucks.com/

http://www.californiacartbuilder.com/catering-truck-food-trucks.html

http://icecreamtrucks.com/new_delivery.shtml

http://www.usedstepvan.com/listings.htm

Issues Covered:

Module Content from Financial Planning about vendor agreements and financial planning:

You should thoroughly understand what vendor agreements you will need to make as a wholesaler, retailer, or service provider. When a retailer issues a purchase order to a vendor or brand, this becomes a legally binding document. It is up to the vendor to execute this purchase order, on time and according to the constraints that are listed -- often in very small print.

If you are a vendor doing business with Wal-Mart, and your shipment arrives less than 90% complete, Wal-Mart will automatically deduct 1% off of your invoiced prices. Wal-Mart announced this policy in late 2009, but really, the announcement was institutionalizing a practice that had begun many years before: back-charging vendors who do not ship on time. And they actually could have been more stringent.

A buyer is trained to never take in late merchandise unless he or she is receiving a discount from the vendor. This is not new, but is becoming much more a part of the retail landscape. The fact is that items arriving late are less saleable. Pottery Barn, for one, added into its fine print that vendors may have to pay for "lost sales" if catalog-item merchandise is not on time. Even if the store doesn't practice this regularly, it is an option the store could exercise, if it knows that customers might cancel when merchandise is not available right away.

Your vendor agreements are also necessary because, as you build relationships with your vendors -- paying your bills on time, supporting the brands they carry, etc. -- they will and should be offering better terms in how bills are paid. This can be a really important element for a retailer who will always be cash-strapped. If, for example, you as a retailer work up to Net 90 days, that means that you will ideally have sold the merchandise before you have to pay for it -- and that is a huge break to a retailer.

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You can also negotiate with vendors for exclusive items. If you look at the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog, you will see that there are many items and colors that are exclusive to Neiman Marcus, but they are not private label items. Exclusive items enable merchandisers to get ahead of the competition by offering merchandise that is not found elsewhere.