Behind the Scenes: What it’s Like Being a Brand Rep

I mentioned to my blog email subscribers that I recently got an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. As you all know, I’ve been running my blog full time since having Mason and so I wasn’t really looking for a job. But when the idea of me working for a local brand rep came up in conversation and was brought to my attention, I couldn’t not explore the possibility. I ended up meeting with her the following day and after the weekend had decided to give it a go. What excited me most about this opportunity is that I love the fashion industry and now, I’ll be getting an insiders look that I wasn’t even able to as a fashion blogger. The possibility to maybe one day take over the business also is very exciting and the potential to impact my family in a positive way was to hard to pass up on; even though the timing isn’t the greatest.

And here we are now, just three weeks into me starting to work for a highly respected brand rep in town and I’ve already got some things I had to share. The brand rep I’m working for has an excellent reputation in the industry and seems to receive requests almost daily to take on new lines. She currently represents four different brands that she has a territory of multiple states for each. California, Hawaii, Arizona, Oregon and Washington. Not all four brands have her in all those territories but that’s a pretty big area to cover.

As far as the summer is concerned, June and August are busy months when it comes to trade shows. I’ve already been to one small one in San Francisco called CALA and now a second one in San Mateo called Fashion Market Northern California or FMNC for short. I shared a bit about it on Instagram, that was my first mention I did about this new gig, except of course to my email subscribers as they usually tend to get an early heads up on things. And I guess this is the perfect opportunity to put in a plug for subscribing to my blog 😉 If you’re not already, add your email to my list to receive a weekly email. No spam, I promise. Anyway, I wanted to share a bit of info that I’ve learned thus far…

What it’s Like Being a Brand Rep:

1. Brand reps are considered independent contractors. They are given a specific territory to sell but it is up to them to get the business.
2. They have so much upfront cost associated with bringing in a line and keeping it. For instance, the vehicle they drive needs to be large enough to fit all their samples in it when they bring them to meetings or trade shows. So you either can lease a large SUV or van or buy one and use it as an expense for your business.
3. They have to buy their own samples. That is in most cases. Some lines, typically the higher price point supply their reps with a sample line that then needs to be returned at the end of the season. If they have to purchase the samples they are forced to purchase the entire line vs edit down to the pieces they know will sell in their market and to their existing customer base.
4. Then at the end of the season they have to decide what to do with all of it. Most, will send their samples to companies that will hold sample sales on their behalf along with many other brands.
5. The can send out samplings of their lines to boutiques to host as pop up trunk shows to try and get more orders off of a line. Typically they’re being told by their sales managers that work for the brand that they need to do so many to meet a quota that the brand has set for them. When this happens the clothes are on loan to the boutique they send it to and they take orders off of that. You cannot buy a piece during a trunk show and take it home with you.
6. Most trade show booth spaces are purchased by the brand rep, not the brands. With the exception of New York and Project/Stitch in Las Vegas. Most trade show booths cost around 1-2k per day.
7. Brand reps are constantly changing the brands they represent for one reason or another. There is a lot of turnaround in the industry.
8. If a line is selling really well in an area or if a brand rep gets a line to be picked up by a large department store like Nordstrom, Macy’s, Target or Bloomindgales for instance, a brand rep most likely will only be able to benefit off their hard work for so long before the brand will take that account in house. This is one aspect I’m not too thrilled about because in a business where you’re only as good as the last PO you wrote, that can mean significant commission no longer coming in.
9. You are on your feet a lot and information comes in quickly and changes happen often. This happens in a lot of industries and I’m not too surprised about it happening in the fashion industry but to be a brand rep and sell a line or season there is the chance that what you sold might not actually go into production or could get dropped from the line, due to low order amounts before the first shipment goes out, leaving you with an open PO that needs to be swapped for something else!
10. In many aspects it’s very much like working in retail. You receive product samples all the time that you need to hang up, price, steam, and prep for being taken on the road to a meeting, trade show, or trunk show.
11. Getting to know what your buyers like is super important so that you can show them what they most likely will buy for their store. Again, very similar to retail in the sense that when you have repeat customers who buy from you often it suits you to know their style and preferences so that you can get the biggest sale and not waste their time or yours showing them things they won’t like.
12. It’s also a lot like styling. You pull pieces from the collection that pair well together when you’re working a trade show meeting so that you are telling a story with the clothes that the buyer would be interested in. That way they can envision how they could style the collection on the floor of their boutique.
13. It’s all about building strong connections and offering great customer service. The better service you provide the more likely they will reorder from you.
14. It’s a fast pace environment when you’re meeting with buyers. The key takeaway is that you need to know the lines inside and out and take detailed notes so you don’t leave anything out.
15. You can get the opportunity to help develop product and provide feedback to the design teams to help them design a stronger product. If you’re really good at your job, that is! And you can get presented with brands that haven’t even launched yet. Case and point this button down shirt! We received samples just the other day and the brand doesn’t launch till August but they wanted my boss’s opinion of the shirt. Plus hoping to get some help getting them picked up by Stitch Fix. (Will keep you posted on that and let you know the outcome!)

This is the top I am referring to 👆.

Ok, so that’s the quick rundown of what it’s like to be a brand rep. It’s been just three weeks in but I’ve already been exposed to so many different areas of the business. Some of which I am very comfortable with and other areas that I know I will need to spend some time honing in on my skills and understanding all the lingo so that I will be able to leave a lasting positive impression and get the work done right!

As always, thank you so much for stopping by the blog today!

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