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wants and their fi nancial needs. Jerry Conklin, president, admits that trends are quick to die out, but they turn a profi t. The company has made a name for itself as the source for the lowest price in name brand and trendsetting costume jewelry. And while the recession has hit hard, it has included some of Conk- lin Fashion’s best years. “I can only see us and our retailers going up from here,” adds Conklin. Conklin Fashions now resides
in a 150,000 square foot building with 12 loading docks. “We started out with a measly 100 square feet of space, and look where we are
now,” Conklin says proudly. “In the early days we sold one item, earrings, and today we offer over 10,000 different items from our six story warehouse,” he adds. Among these items remains the growing line of earrings, available in thou- sands of styles including dangle, hoops, clip-ons, and ethnic, as well as other accessory fads. Differing from St. Louis Wholesale, Conklin confesses to missing the beginning of a trend, as he must wait to ac- quire the item in order to offer it for $0.05 to $0.10 on the retail dollar, but by the time his product is up for grabs for those smaller discount stores, the fad will be peaking in the market. Take for instance the recent feather trend. “I currently offer 200 brand new styles of feather jewelry and hair clips in stock, and while big
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box retailers are offering the item for $15, I’ve given discount stores the opportunity to offer the same merchandise for $0.50,” he says. Simply stated, Conklin believes his company is doing its part to help the economic situation by selling quality merchandise for as low as $0.05 on the retail dollar, allow- ing retailers to make a substantial profi t, and giving consumers the ability to purchase goods at a price their budgets can afford. Conklin emphasizes the impor-
tance of an aggressive business strategy. Right now, the company is advertising from coast to coast in all the major trade journals in the U.S. Another way the distribu- tor makes sales is via a full house of sales reps, who are instructed continued on page 93
FAUX FUR LEG & WRIST WEAR
92 January 2012
INDEPENDENTRETAILER
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