The future of sales people in the fashion industry

B2B marketplaces, digital showrooms, mobile apps and the digitization of trade fairs not only accelerate the fashion industry, but also optimize the exchange between brands and retailers. This digital development affects the entire value chain and changes jobs, especially those of sales employees.

Whether self-employed or in-house, salespeople are responsible for the relationships between the brand and retailers, but also for the presentation of the collections in their territory and the correct placement of the brand in the inner cities. They are the eyes and ears of brands on the ground, analyzing the competition and the dynamics of a sector.

We sat down with fashion market players, from B2B marketplaces to fashion retailers, to understand the impact of this digital evolution on the sales force profession and see if we can speak of an ‘uberization’ of the market or not Not when the trips of field workers turn into video conferences.

More and more brands are working with both sales representatives and B2B marketplaces

“I don’t necessarily agree that digitization will replace people and tools like showrooms or trade fairs,” explained Pierre-Louis Lacoste, co-founder of B2B marketplace Ankorstore. “We found that small independent stores didn’t have much interaction with agents or the sales team and that the big customers were mostly preferred. Even if only in a brand’s sales calendar. You will prioritize your large customers first to organize your production capacities, that is the 20/80 rule: the remaining 20 percent will serve to supply the smaller customers.”

Pierre-Louis Lacoste then explains his intention to simplify and dynamize the relationship with these small customers: “For this, the Ankorstore system is quite valuable, we propose to the sales team to advertise with Ankorstore and with every account opening we give free to the retailer :inside 100 euros on the first order. This allows the sales team to make a suggestion. We advance the shipping costs, take care of the delivery and there is a 100 euro discount; we are still the best digital tool to open accounts.”

For their part, retailers are noticing the increasing absence of sales staff in their area. Inès Aubrun, manager of men’s concept store Aubrun Homme in Bourges, noted that the brands are no longer local and that although sell-through rates are very satisfactory, the lack of personal connections is becoming more noticeable from season to season.

“The brands that work best for us don’t move.”

“My leading brands, my top ten, Lacoste, Tommy, Ralph, there isn’t a single one that moves,” remarked Inès Aubrun. “I don’t think they can afford it. They develop their boutiques, their websites and are unaware that we are doing the work. We’ve had Lacoste since time immemorial, and we’ve been working with Ralph Lauren for over thirty years. The brands forget that it is the traders and sellers who do the work on site. To convey the DNA and the values ​​of a brand, to explain the products to the customers, that is the job of retail.”

The same picture can be seen in southern France. Elisabeth Dreyfus runs a women’s ready-to-wear store in Angoulême called Elisa By Elisa and has just opened an American Vintage franchise in the neighboring store. She expressed disappointment that on-site visits in her area are scarce, although this can be important for visibility in a city centre.

“A brand that notices me and shows me a little attention is a brand that I will develop more than others, that’s clear.”

“I can’t say that the brands I manage are really coming to our region, it’s practically non-existent anymore. I regret that. It’s a pity. There are existing relationships and above all it is very important to get acquainted with our environment for the brand and to find out about our location in the city because there is not only Paris or the big cities. Ba&sh doesn’t move anymore, Isabel Marant doesn’t move anymore. However, I notice that Zadig &Voltaire are really trying, they are very close to us. You come to us. And that makes all the difference, if you have to cut your budget a little bit, there’s still the relationship that matters.”

For retailers, the development is clear and can even be perceived as neglect. But is this really bad for the health of your business? Interestingly, it seems that it’s not just brand behavior that’s changing. There is also a change on the part of the buyers. Romain Blanco, General Director of the B2B marketplace Le New Black, analyzed these changes in wholesale in a whitebook published in March 2022.

Changes in brand and buyer behavior

According to Romain Blanco, the changes in the behavior of brands and buyers form a virtuous circle that leads to the digitization of the B2B sales process. This raises the question of whether the number of sales staff within brands should be reduced.

The director notes three major changes in the relationship between buyers and brands:

Fashion retail is therefore moving towards autonomous purchasing profiles and a year-round purchasing rhythm that is based on demand. We’re a long way from a single seasonal order date. In this context, it might seem logical for brands to invest in their digital showroom rather than in sales force.

This phenomenon, picked up by trade fairs, reinforces the global mentality around autonomous and digital order taking. Indeed, both the French trade fair WSN and Tranoï have developed their own platforms for digital outreach between brands and buyers, CXMP and Tranoï Link. From now on, exhibition, research, making contact and taking orders can happen all year round.

In his testimonial, Jean-Pascal Teti from the Trinity Boutiques in Saint-Tropez explained to us that for him the relationship between the brand and the buyer remains the most important thing and that this also plays a role when the process is digital. Trust plays a major role in purchasing.

“As long as there are trusted sales people behind the camera, it’s the years and trust that determine the direction of the order.”

“We are very receptive to relationship with a person. This is part of our purchasing criteria and we get along very well with all of our suppliers. We do the showrooms via video conference when we have no other choice, there are small failures but we haven’t done too badly even if it’s very difficult in terms of materials. And the people in the showrooms are also there to show us around and give advice.”

Indeed, as long as sellers are able to guide their customers to the best choices and recommend the best locations to brands, their role will remain paramount.

In addition to these two qualities, one can imagine that new criteria will quickly be added to previous profiles: such as a good understanding of social networks, the ability to implement an app or to attract new customers to a digital showroom onboardbut also the ability to remotely showcase capsule collections created in partnership with influencers.

Although this type of job description is now taken for granted at large fast fashion chains, it is still science fiction at some labels and retailers.

This article was similarly published on FashionUnited.fr. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ