Sunglasses are an evergreen fashion accessory that will never go out of style. This presents a lucrative opportunity for entrepreneurs or side hustlers looking to build a business around sunglasses. And one of the smartest ways to capitalize on this demand is by tapping into the wholesale designer sunglasses market. Buying bulk designer sunglasses from suppliers like Olympic Eyewear allows you to maximize margins and resell at a tidy profit, whether online or via pop-up shops.
Craft a Compelling Brand
While designer labels allow you to tap into demand, savvy resellers go beyond selling excess inventory. Creating your own sunglasses brand allows you to craft a compelling identity and retail at an even higher markup. When bringing your own line to market:
- Choose a memorable brand name and logo design.
- Develop branding guidelines for label placement, cleaning cloth designs, etc.
- Design high-quality customized packaging like cases, pouches, etc. to reinforce prestige.
- Market to a specific target demographic rather than the masses.
- Focus your label identity on one key differentiator, like vintage inspiration or hand craftsmanship.
- Register trademarks to protect your branded assets.
With professional branding and marketing, retail prices of $100+ for styles procuring at $10 become achievable. The higher perceived value far outweighs the extra branding investment.
Drive Distribution
A distribution strategy centered purely on online selling restricts sales volumes. Using multiple channels provides broader reach. When planning distribution, consider:
- Selling via your own eCommerce store for maximum margin.
- Retail partnerships with boutiques, mall kiosks or festival stalls to access foot traffic.
- Renting temporary retail spaces or market stalls during peak holiday seasons.
- Reselling through third party online marketplaces like eBay, Etsy, and Amazon.
- Wholesaling to other retailers to move excess stock that is still generating profit.
Adopting a blended distribution model encompassing direct and wholesale channels beyond just eCommerce expands your customer base for accelerated sales velocity.
Market Strategically
The online sunglasses market is hugely competitive. Standing out requires targeted and consistent brand messaging rather than sporadic campaigns. When devising marketing plans:
- Identify your ideal target audience based on price points and branding.
- Curate aspirational lifestyle imagery and influencer partnerships reflecting customer values.
- Cultivate brand advocates by providing free test products to influencers to seed organic endorsements.
- Run regular ads across Google, Instagram and Facebook focused on reach and conversions.
- Capture emails at point of sale for future direct cast and re-targeting purposes.
- Provide exceptional customer service pre and post purchase to stimulate word-of-mouth hype.
Ruthlessly focusing marketing drives a greater return on investment than broad, scattergun promotions. Define your niche and engage them relentlessly to turn happy customers into powerful brand advocates.
Managing Cash Flow
Profitable businesses can still fail without diligent cash flow management. When balancing the books:
- Seek payment upfront for large wholesale orders to improve working capital.
- Use payment plans like Klarna or ClearPay in retail stores to offer flexible customer financing.
- Reinvest early profits into additional inventory to meet demand.
- Avoid tying up capital by buying previous seasons’ excess stock.
- Keep overheads low initially by running as lean an operation as sustainably possible.
- Save early profits to help navigate external factors like shipping delays or product defects.
With margins tightening as the market matures, managing both income and expenses is crucial, even with sizable profits per sale. Plan for contingencies and plow revenue back into growth to future proof.
Conclusion
The eyewear resale market represents an ideal mix of accessible entry costs and substantial profit upside for new entrepreneurs. Following the roadmap above covering branding, distribution, marketing and cash flow allows anyone to turn bulk designer sunglasses into a thriving business. Competitive advantage comes from crafting a truly differentiated brand identity and distribution strategy compared to existing excess inventory liquidators.
