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Carl Davis
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Philip Bracken
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Nigel Poad
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Below are the latest questions put to our experts. Click the headlines for full answers and more information.
Property: Negotiating Price
Eighteen months ago I was looking for a unit in London's Kings Road. Back then the cost of the lease with the rent was far too prohibitive. A similar property has now become available and the same agent has contacted me. I haven't yet expressed an interest because I need some advise on how hard I should negotiate. Can you offer me some pointers?
E-Commerce: Web delivery options
I'm the owner of a small accessories boutique and have a transactional website. How flexible do I need to be with delivery options?
Logistics: Renting Email Lists
Is there any way of renting lists of email addresses for my target customer group which is 18-35 year-old men with high disposable income?
E-Commerce: Niche business
I have a lingerie boutique and most of my customers are plus-size. As a result they demand a lot of in-store service. Is there any point in pursuing an e-commerce strategy when my business is so niche and so service-driven?
Logistics: Japanese Buyers
As an emerging fashion designer I hope to take orders whilst meeting with key Japanese buyers later this years. I wonder if you are able to advise me of when Japanese buyers will expect delivery of Spring/Summer 2009 collections?
E-Commerce/Logistics: Delivery costs
I'm in the process of launching a transactional website for a value clothing high street retailer. We have in excess of 200 stores in UK.
Property: Monthly rent
I am an indie. What's the chances of me getting monthly rents? Anyone out there managed to negotiate this successfully with their landlord. Got to be honest, trade is a mess at the moment and this would be one less burden. Any advice appreciated.
E-Commerce: Setting up a website
I am currently bringing handcrafted jewellery from Africa in the UK and selling to shops. It has proved very popular and I have an almost 90% success rate. I myself have recently began selling at craft fayres, gift shows and music festivals and have done very well.
E-Commerce: Web affiliations
I run my own young fashion brand website and have been approached by a couple of affiliate web operators such as Oh So You asking me join up to their sites. Is this something I should consider? How can I measure whether I am getting value out of these affiliations? Is there anything else that I could be doing to drive traffic to the site before going down these avenues?
E-Commerce: Transactional website
I am currently in the first stages of setting up a new menswear label. I am working on the website and would like to include e-commerce in order to try and capture some full margin retail sales on-line.
E-Commerce: How do I get more sales out of my website?
Coming from IT, but with no experience of the retail industry, I bought an existing online only business 18 months ago. I have tried to make the site more user friendly and appealing on the eye and the natural rankings are very good for the type of product I sell.
E-Commerce: Online sales up or down?
At the moment I'm hearing mixed reports about online fashion sales, on one side i'm reading that the high street is suffering but online fashion sales are doing well, along with David Lewis and his 2.1% rise in sales this month, on the other hand i'm reading that there is a general downturn in sales due to petrol and food price increases which is causing certain medium/big fashion companies with a decent online presence to struggle to maintain or boost their sales.
Property: Opening a new womenswear shop
I am currently a buyer for a successful independent boutique but would really like to look into opening my own womenswear shop. I don't really know where to start but I know I would only want a small shop ideally in an affluent area. Can you suggest how I progress?
Property: Will rent go down?
I have heard that rents are going to coming down because of the tough economy and because of all the new centres opening. I want to open a couple more stores but I wonder if I should hold out and see if I can get a good deal on rent. Also, what sort of incentives should I expect from landlords at the moment?
E-Commerce: Freebies with products - Updated
I have an online store selling bags, luggage and rucksacks by Caribee, Australia's market leader and just recently arrived in the UK. Online sales are good but could be better. Do you think offering gifts with purchase for virtually all the products will make much difference to sales?
E-Commerce: Online pictures
Pictures are crucial for selling online but how much should I pay for online photography for my ecommerce site?
E-Commerce: Facebook and MySpace applications
We have developed an online application for fashion retailers which is launching on Facebook and MySpace. There are opportunities for advertising on the application which will be seen by a specific, targeted and highly viral market of fashion lovers. How do we go about "selling" ad space to complement the fashion content for example, beauty products and lifestyle ads?
E-commerce: Shoe sales online
Do you think there is potential for a blossoming footwear business online? Shoes demand to be fitted properly before the style is approved to have a customer commit to a final purchase.
Logistics: Distribution
Should I have separate distribution system for my etail sector or should I just have one joint distribution system? What are the pros and cons of each option?
E-Commerce: Attracting customers - UPDATED
I am an independent retailer and I pride myself on the fact my store looks different to the high street shops because of its design and because of the labels I stock. I feel it is important that my site reflects my shop but how can I achieve this?
E-commerce: Getting better search engine rankings - UPDATED
Google rankings – I am now on page 2-3 of Google as a result of changing my site around – how can I get myself back up the page?
Logistics: Fuel prices
With fuel prices rising am I likely to be billed more heavily by my logistics-provider for all transport? If so, is there anything I can do to mitigate this?
