Go Back to
www.FleaMarketZone.com COMPANY PROFILE Conklin Fashions
CONKLIN FASHIONS offers 10,000 different
products,
such as earrings, necklaces, bracelets, pins, novelty items, body jewelry, sunglasses, and reading accessories available at heavily discounted wholesale prices. Offering both generic and name brand department store jewelry, as well as closeouts, Conklin has an enormous line of merchandise, highlighted by thousands of different styles of earrings. Most items are available by the dozen, usually with free shipping and a free display. According to owner Jerry
Conklin, Conklin Fashions stands out from the competition because the wholesaler sells its products at such low prices. “Would you fi ll your car or truck with gas at 36 cents a gallon?” he asks. “This is what we do at Conklin Fashions, sell jewelry wholesale for ten cents on the dollar. A lot of the items that we sell, you would normally see in a department store for $15. I sell them everyday for 62 cents. We’re talking less than fi ve cents on the dollar there.” Currently, Conklin Fashions has a liquidation sale on a very popular line of children’s jewelry that is marked between four and six dollars retail. “We’re selling it for 28 cents apiece. If you take some of our department store goods, in eyewear, sunglasses, and reading glasses, we’ve got some huge margins that our retailers can’t make
78 April 2012
anywhere else on other items,” notes Conklin. The wholesaler’s 150,000
square foot main warehouse is completely fi lled to the brim, which Conklin notes is especially remarkable due to the size of the merchandise, as jewelry takes up far less space than furniture or other big ticket items. With a warehouse that is six stories high and features fourteen loading docks, Conklin Fashions has quickly grown over the past 26 years from an initial investment of $50 to four major buildings in Bainbridge, NY. “We’ve grown because our customers’ needs have grown, and we have successfully fulfi lled those needs,” Conklin adds. “They’ve asked us to branch into different areas. If you’re selling earrings to a customer, and know they could use sunglasses, or reading glasses, or bracelets, why not supply them?” Conklin always has new ready to hit the
products
market. However, the problem with having such an extensive line of merchandise is keeping the company website up- to-date. Conklin noted that in December, more than 1,000 new styles of earrings arrived in one day. Although the company has a full-time photo department and a web programming department to set up the product pages for every item, it still took time to put all the photos online. “Each one of those styles can require up
to six pictures, and every one of those pictures needs to be fi xed and put in a group shot,” Conklin adds. While a shopping cart
is available online for easy
purchasing, Conklin
recommends that customers call and speak to a sales representative directly, rather than simply adding the items to their cart. “I do not always advertise my lowest pricing online,” he adds. “I encourage customers to call and get a sales rep that they will work with on a regular basis. The sales rep can then work with the customer to make sure they get the right kind of merchandise for their store, based on their store type, location, and needs.” Different locations around the country require different types of merchandise. Conklin’s philosophy is to make sure that each sale is a perfect fi t for each business, because if a sales rep sells something just to make a sale, it is likely that the wholesaler will eventually lose them as a customer. Not only will the sales representative sell what they believe is the perfect merchandise for every buyer, but also whenever new merchandise comes in that they feel is a good match that rep will call the company directly. “When the customer gets your merchandise and they sell out of it, the next time they see your name on the caller ID, continued on page 80
For The Best Service Say You Saw It In The East Coast Merchandiser
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112