Chapter 88: Moms Are Superhumans (1)
The shops recommended by the older woman were as good as she said. Their quality was very high, and of course, their prices were higher as well. The difference in cost was within Shu Yan’s acceptable range. Her own shop would be a mid- to high-end shop, so naturally, the quality would have to be better than that of the average shops.
Their varieties were quite good as well. She picked some summer clothes, fall clothes, and even some for late fall. Many of the ones she picked overlapped with the older woman’s, but as they were not based out of the same city, that was not a problem at all. Then what remained was the matter of the cost.
“We are buying so much this time. You are going to lower the cost some more, right?” That was the main reason why the older woman was so passionate about Shu Yan going with her.
“Exactly, my shop is just opening up and I need a lot of merchandise. If you give us a better discount, I will come back here next time for my merchandise.” Shu Yan helped out from one side. She had spent a lot of money recently, anything that she could save will be helpful. She needed to be frugal.
“How much do you plan on getting?” asked the boss lady.
Shu Yan was new to this, so she wasn’t sure either. She took a few of small and medium sizes but just one large one. Most people at this day and age were skinny; there weren’t a lot of chubby people. But she needed to carry all sizes just in case someone came in and asked for a large. When push came to shove, she could always just wear it herself. Or she’d do some sort of a promotion. She grew up in the era when she was constantly bombarded with all sorts of promotional activities. She knew she’d be able to sell it one way or another.
“When is your store’s grand opening ?” asked the older woman after taking a look at the clothes that Shu Yan had picked out.
“Probably around the 20th of next month. I’ll have someone pick a good date when I go back.” Shu Yan didn’t feel that she was being superstitious. She was going to start her own business; it couldn’t hurt to be a little bit superstitious.
“Lose the summer clothes and get some fall ones. Focus on winter clothes. These knitwear are too thin; they are not practical enough,” said the older woman to Shu Yan softly.
Not practical? Shu Yan took a look at the knitted sweaters. She felt that they were quite practical. Once they got into fall, they’d need to add a coat on top. These knitwear would be perfect to go with either skirts or pants. Come winter, they would turn into the under layer and add a jacket or a coat above it.
“And don’t pick too many of these colors,” said the older woman as she pointed at some bright colored ones. “They may be popular this year, but that may not be the case the year after. If you don’t sell them all, you’d have to eat it up yourself.”
Don’t think that women in the 90s didn’t care about being fashionable. Everybody liked to look pretty and it’s women’s nature to pursue fashion. Especially for a city like City Nan, it had always been on the frontline of what was fashionable. What was popular now might not be popular next year. She’d end up losing money.
Shu Yan nodded at her advice. But, she’d still need to pick some bright colored ones. She couldn’t just be selling only black, white, and red clothes.
Shu Yan didn’t think merchandising would cost too much at first. She quickly learned that she was being too overly naïve. Each style has five different colors and each color has different sizes. Each style would make up 5-20 different pieces of clothing. Shu Yan felt that she had only picked out a handful of styles, but when it came time to pay, she already had several hundreds of items.
Shu Yan had bought so much that the boss would have them delivered to her, providing that she paid for the delivery fee herself. And, she couldn’t delay paying for the merchandise. All she could say was that wholesalers at this day and age were much more aggressive.
“Thank you so much for everything today, big sister. You must let me buy you lunch.” Shu Yan followed the older lady around to a few other shops. She didn’t buy anything, but just to learn their whereabouts so she would know where to go next time.
“Nah, I can’t. I must catch my ride back to Wen Province. If I missed it, the next one will be tomorrow. Maybe next time. We will have the opportunity,” said the older woman as she waved her hand in a friendly manner.
It was such a hassle in the pre-cellphone days. Shu Yan considered at least getting a pager. At least, they would have some means of getting hold of each other that way.