Manufacturer-buyer event: Among the retailer comments

Kim Cunniffe, Kingsmead Shoes
Our buyers found some suppliers they were unaware of, and a few possibilities in terms of product. We haven’t yet taken this forward, but we will do so.

Hassen Ismail, Fashion World
It was more-or-less what you expect of local manufacturing in terms of styling, quality, and price.
We have asked for samples. We haven’t placed any orders as yet.
The event was of value and definitely would like to see more.
On another note, we would have liked to see more manufacturers of ladies’ footwear. Men’s footwear and safety boots were much more than what I thought would be there.

Robert Robinson, Mr Price
The event was better laid out than what we had anticipated. The product on offer was not as relevant to our business as we had hoped. As a value retailer there were not many suppliers / businesses that had product at a price point that looked workable.
I was hoping to be able to see suppliers like Labora / Smileys that can engineer a product to our price point.
No samples were requested, but business cards were exchanged for follow up discussions. No orders have been placed nor opening of accounts have been discussed.
From an exposure perspective , it was well worth Mr Price attending this event as there are still some discussions taking place with 2 suppliers for potential business in the future. However from initial conversations the price points will be a challenge.
No definite suppliers were identified but there were 3 suppliers whose product aligned to the needs of our assortment, namely Angel Footwear, Little Slipper and Webby Agencies.
We were surprised at the interest shown by the protective shoe suppliers as it has never been on our radar to source such product, but it seems that other value retailers have seen success with stocking such product, even if it’s at a high price point (possible lay bye transaction).
No future orders have been placed but as soon as our strategy has been concluded we will reach out to these suppliers.
There should definitely be more such events as there is such a gap within our supply base for local manufactures.