With the sight of shops beginning to open up again soon (in the UK) I thought it might help if you knew what to have in place when you get a meeting with a buyer, in either a boutique or main line shop. There is only so much information I can give you from my experience so I thought it would be handy to speak to a boutique owner and ask her what she expects designers to have in place when they come and show her their collections.

I spoke to Ayten Roberts owner of Ayten Gasson who not only runs her own boutique but designs and makes her own lingerie for the store as well as stocking other designers.

I met Ayten back in the mid noughties at the Harrogate Lingerie show when our stands were next to each other when I was showing Vanjo.

Ayten started out presenting her collections to buyers and now being a buyer for her store she has the familiarity of experiencing both sides so her advice is invaluable.

I asked her what would you expect a designer to have in place before coming to see you?

Ayten: There are a certain number of things you need in place when you have a meeting with a shop to stock your lingerie.
The three main things I believe a designer should have in place before approaching a boutique they are.....

A line sheet. I'm always surprised how many designers approach me without one. A line sheet should include all the information I would need when planning an order, such as wholesale price list and RRP list, the sizes available, the different colour options available, and clear imagery of the garment.
A good indication of your lead times. How quickly after placing my order would I receive the pieces? Is there a discount if the order is late or am I able to cancel my order if it's over 4 weeks late? Especially if this means I miss a busy sales period such as Christmas or Valentine's Day.
Lastly and most importantly, confidence that your production whether in-house or with a factory can fulfil orders, especially if you are approaching lots of different boutiques. Are you able to get hold of all the fabrics and components to fulfil your orders?

If you haven’t got a line sheet, and need to design one, excel is perfect for the job, keep it concise and clean looking.

I would include your business name, log and contact information at the top.

Then going across the sheet I would include: (with the newer or best selling at the top)

A picture
The style name or number
The size range
The colour/s
When it’s available
The wholesale price
Suggested Selling Price (SSP)
Order minimum if there is one

I would also include the shipping details and return policy, (a separate page if needs be) when I produced line sheets I always added a brief description - who am I kidding it more like a short story - of my brand and it’s values to build an emotional connection with the buyer.

‘Vanjo Lingerie’ Image shown to buyers circa 2008

I can’t put it better than Seth Godin “People do not buy goods & services. They buy relations, stories, and magic”.

So with that in mind if I had reviews or any press, I took along a book with them all in; I also brought with me images of the lingerie ideally on a model (although with my first season they were just images of flat-lays of the lingerie) and under each image were the benefits of the lingerie - not the features, so again you were presenting why the buyer should buy form you not just showing them lingerie.

If you would like to visit Ayten Gasson, then the shop is situated at 7 Hanningtons Lane
Brighton BN1 1GS.

Want to begin designing? Read : How to be a Lingerie Designer

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