Proof to Product

355 | How Big Box Stores Buy Wholesale with Sally Diguette, Anthropologie

Aug 13, 2024

Sally Diguette, a seasoned home and lifestyle buyer for Anthropologie, shares her insights from over 14 years in retail. She discusses the intricate buying process, emphasizing the importance of relationship building and creative strategies. Sally delves into the unique challenges emerging brands face when pitching to large retailers. She provides valuable advice on presenting products effectively, including the significance of samples and timing. Additionally, she highlights how her unconventional journey has informed her approach, fostering innovation in product development.

35:21

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Episode guests

Sally Diguette

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Sally DuGette's unconventional career path exemplifies how diverse experiences can lead to impactful roles in major retail companies like Anthropologie.

The buying process at large retailers spans approximately 12 months, highlighting the importance for brands to pitch early and align with seasonal themes.

Deep dives

The Unique Path to Retail Buying

Sally DuGette's journey into the retail buying space illustrates that non-traditional career paths can lead to successful roles in renowned companies like Anthropologie. With a background in business and a keen interest in marketing, she transitioned from finance to a more creative domain while working for a small business in Atlanta. Over seven years there, she honed her skills in inventory management and product sourcing, collaborating with an impressive array of small brands. This foundational experience ignited her passion for working with emerging businesses, ultimately paving the way for her buying position at Anthropologie.

Intro

3min

From Non-Traditional Paths to Buying Success

6min

Navigating Retail Buying: A Year in Planning

17min

Effective Strategies for Presenting Products to Buyers

3min

Guiding Emerging Brands through Consulting

2min

Navigating Creativity and Collaboration in the Wholesale Industry

3min

Pitching large retailers is a completely different process and timeline than working with independent retailers. Having worked with thousands of brands, I know that it can feel like an intimidating process to pitch your work to these key accounts.

Today on the podcast, we're pulling back the curtain and explaining how it all works. My guest today is Sally Diguette, a home and lifestyle buyer with Anthropologie. Through an unpredictable path, Sally landed in the retail industry and has over 14 years of experience in buying, product development, and sourcing.

Sally is an innovative merchant and consultant. She centers her work around relationship building and creative strategy, combining unique product development and sourcing from national brands across a variety of categories. Her passion lies in working with emerging brands in an incubator capacity to build fresh product offerings, solid organizational systems, and a strong team structure.

On today's episode, Sally shares about the buying process and schedule for Anthropologie. We talk specifically about the timelines that she's working with for both exclusive products as well as ready made products. And she offers advice for how to get your products in front of key account buyers.

Today’s episode is sponsored by our Unlock Buyer Secrets Interview series. To make a strong first impression with wholesale buyers, we need to do a few things really well:

We need to make it easy for stores to purchase from us
We need to have clear pricing and terms & conditions
We need to clearly communicate and add value at each touchpoint
We need to focus on building strong relationships with our customers.

And all of this becomes infinitely easier when we actively listen to our customers. This on-demand interview series will give you a competitive edge by providing an exclusive window into what buyers want and need from you. And, the best part, it's only $27 bucks.

Get Access to the Unlock Buyer Secrets Interview Series

You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/355

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