Today we’ll speak about the advantages of an outlet. And although the term ‘outlet’ sounds quite trendy, it has been amongst us for a long time now! The first outlet was born in the cradle of capitalism -aka the USA- back in the 60’s.
The goal of this innovative business strategy was to sell items with slight factory flaws, surplus stocks, excess production and discontinued items, among others. Luckily the American Harold Alfond came up with this great idea! Think of the countless items that have found a new home instead of being discarded due to (almost) unnoticeable factory defects or simply a lack of demand.
The advantages of an outlet ➡ A win-win-win-win-win… ¡and all happy!
- The first win goes to the retailers who will be able to recover, at least the production or acquisition cost, and maybe even make a small profit. Obviously, ideally, it would be better to make a higher profit, but the reality is that stocks often accumulate in the warehouse and in these cases it is preferable to clean up so as not to slow down the production chain and product rotation.
- The second win is for society as a whole. Outlets present themselves as a socially responsible business model. Instead of throwing away a large quantity of products, they are given a new life through this format, thus contributing to reducing the environmental impact of the production and distribution processes.
- The third win is for wholesale distributors and manufacturers who can also benefit from the outlet strategy. They have two options: (1) They can expand their service portfolio by creating online (or offline) outlet shops for goods they want to clear. Or, they can (2) sell entire lots of such items at hyper-reduced prices to other companies that specialise in clearances.
- The fourth and last win goes to end customers. Through these outlets, where discounts can reach the stratospheric figure of -90%, they are able to purchase top-quality, top-brand or essential items that they might not otherwise be able to afford due to high prices.
Additionally, with the arrival and rise of online commerce, the incorporation of an outlet strategy into a business can be as simple as:
- Creating your own online shop or expanding your existing shop with an outlet section.
- Selling on marketplaces such as Ebay, Amazon, ManoMano and even Wallapop (to name a few).
- Distributing goods by lots or references so that other companies can sell these products on their e-commerce or other sales channels.
In the first two cases, it saves a lot of costs compared to selling in a physical space. In the third case, the problem is taken out of your hands and you simply offload the management to a third party.
iBlevel’s business model
You may have guessed it already. Yes, iBlevel is indeed an outlet e-commerce. But not only do we offer top quality products to end customers and professional clients, we also help manufacturers and wholesalers to clear out stock and sell those items that are simply getting in the way.
This way they’ll be able to:
- Sell large quantities of products that remain immobilised in the warehouse and devalue more and more with each passing day.
- Exploit iBlevel’s e-commerce as a distribution tool for on-sale products.
- Resume the chain of production or purchase of other items that do have the expected market demand.
Can you think of more benefits related to outlets? We’d love to read your comment!
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And if you have batches of products that you want to clear📲 contact us.
Reference: Image from Freepik.