This Little Piggy went to Market

 I have just returned from my first children's clothing market.  My daughter is opening a children's boutique this fall in the little town of Humeston, Iowa.  She is calling it Sweet Southern Sass, a play on the fact that she is from the south (and still sounds like it) and the fact that she is located now in southern Iowa and hopes to draw customers from that whole area.  It's a huge step to be opening a new store in these times of dwindling main streets in small towns and tough economy but she has done her homework, studied the area, knows her clientele and talked (and listened to) lots of business people. I'm proud of her detailed approach and the amount of work she has already put into this project.

Last week-end I rode to Chicago with her to attend her first buying market.  We spent three long days meeting with children clothing rep's and stocking up her shop.  To me, it was an awesome and slightly overwhelming process.  One whole floor of the hotel was turned over to the clothing market.  Each suite was set up like a little store, with displays, racks, goodies.  The reps would show you each piece of the line they were carrying, with my daughter quickly deciding yes, no, maybe.  They would then go back over her choices and decide which sizes she needed and how many to order.  I was amazed at her grasp of what she needed and the type of styles she wanted in her shop.  Where did she learn to be such a businesswoman?  I'm not surprised at her grasp of style, after all this is the same child that as a 3 year old would pick out her father's ties each morning. 

I was chatting with one of the reps about another young woman who was also opening a shop.  This young woman was having a difficult time deciding what she wanted and settling on the styles she needed.  I had commented on what a hard time she was having.  The rep shook her head and said, "She won't be back next season.  She'll never make it.  You know, we see a lot of shops start up and we get a really good feel for the ones that will be successful and the ones that won't.  She won't."  I guess she could see the question in my eyes because she smiled and said,  "Your daughter is one of the ones I would bet on."  I felt that was high praise. 

If you need really unique, special clothing for little ones, I know a great store opening in August in Iowa.