Are sales low in your fashion business start-up because your customers actually want the MOST expensive??

Most fashion designers, when pricing their garments and products, will follow a percentage mark-up method which should ideally leave them with a workable profit margin.

However it’s never that simple because some customers don’t care what your make price is,  the pricing method used or even how much profit you made.  They just want the BEST!   ….  

Some want the cheapest but some customers want the BEST;   the most durable; lowest cost per wear; the most timeless or some want the best fit.

Of course it’s understandable that you use the percentage mark up method because it’s what you’ve been taught to do and it is the simplest way to approach pricing…..

But I don’t need to tell you that when your garments are priced like this you STILL get people telling you the price is too high! … and thousands of designers all over the planet use this method and STILL can’t sell enough to make a profit.

The popcorn you buy at the movies has a mark-up of around 1,000%.     You happily pay $5 at the cinema knowing that in the local supermarket it’s only about 50 cents.  Would you pay $5 for that same popcorn in the supermarket?  Probably not!

If you keep using the percentage mark-up method then you could be losing customers to your competitors.

What you and most other designers don’t consider is the CUSTOMER and how they perceive your garment or product.

So how can cinemas add a 1,000% mark-up when the supermarket might only have a 100% mark-up.    

Well, they know their value in the marketplace.  It’s about product positioning and communication.   So, lets talk about how this relates to your brand.

Your $50 make price with even just a 100% markup would give you a selling price of  $100 but if your customer can find the same cheaper somewhere else or just don’t see the value in your product they won’t buy it.

Whereas a $50 make price for a product with unique materials, design, cut, trimmings, environment or how it was communicated with a 500% mark up would give you a selling price of $300 but this time due to the unique materials, design, environment and the way in which it was communicated your customer perceived it as higher value and they couldn’t find the same for less anywhere else so they are willing to pay 500% or even much more for that product because some customers want the BEST…. And some even perceive the MOST EXPENSIVE as the best!!