When you walk into a clothing boutique, you find yourself surrounded by bright, crisp new garments that are the latest fashions.

Sunday, March 10, 2002

When you walk into a clothing boutique, you find yourself surrounded by bright, crisp new garments that are the latest fashions.

Of course, the clothes you find in Austin aren’t likely to be very similar to the ensembles by Gucci and Versace that are flaunted on the fashion runways. The garments chosen by the buyers for boutiques in Austin have to come from somewhere, though, and there has to be a reason the buyers purchase what they do.

So what is the method behind their madness?

Gretchen Ramlo, the owner of Gretchen’s in Austin explains the garment buyers go to markets held all over the country throughout the year where representatives of different brands have displays of their clothing lines and buyers choose what they want for their stores.

Ramlo says she visits New York twice a year for the spring/summer and fall/winter clothing lines, Las Vegas for summer lines and she goes to Minneapolis four times a year. It may be a surprise to some people, but "the Minneapolis market is really good," Ramlo says.

She also says "the neat thing about the New York markets is that you’re dealing right with the manufacturer which helps us keep costs down. We pay less so we can offer the clothes for less (than the clothes purchased at other markets)."

Suzanne Bross, the owner of Ego in Austin, says she visits markets in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and adds "some of the best ideas come in the mail. I’m constantly searching for new and different things."

"There are a lot of things that I get because other store owners will give a sales representative my name and they’ll ask me if I want to purchase something from their line," she says. Recently, a sales representative from Omaha came to Bross after getting her name from another boutique owner and showed her the company’s clothing line. Bross liked what she saw, and says the clothes will be available in May.

There is more to her strategy than picking clothes she likes. "The number one thing is that you had better know your customers," she says emphatically. "You’d better have a good grasp of what your current customer base is like and what new customers might like. Because I have customers who range in age from 16 to 90, I have to make sure I have a variety of clothes to appeal to different age groups."

Ramlo agrees. "The most important thing and the hardest thing is no to pick what you like. You have to know your customers and have to talk to them," she says.

"It’s nice for them because it’s not like a big department store. You actually get to know the customer. Sometimes, I’ll buy things for specific customers. It’s a lot of fun for me to pick out things I know they’ll like," she says. "It also makes them feel good."

Catering to the customers’ needs can be challenging because "sometimes that means going against a salesman who is really pushing something he says is really going to be hot because you know your customers won’t like it," Ramlo says.

When she first began going to markets, Bross says she only looked at certain booths, thinking she had to be loyal to certain brands. She quickly realized that wasn’t true and now looks at every booth at every show she goes to "because you never know what hidden treasures you’ll find," that the customers will love.

Another key aspect of finding clothes to sell is the price. Ramlo says she must be aware of the price when purchasing clothes for her store, but says she’s "found sometimes I underestimate the customers. I have some things I consider to be very expensive fashions," but they sell very well at the store.

Bross says she also pays attention to price because "people are very price conscious. The don’t want to waste money."

"I try to offer quality clothing that you can wash 40 times and it still looks good. It may be that you pay a little more, but you’ll be able to wear it over and over and wash it over and over," she says.

"I don’t think a lot of consumers do much impulse buying anymore. I think when they shop for clothes, they are looking for something they need or want in their closet, (and because of this) I always look at the style and then the price," Bross says.

Call Amanda L. Rohde at 434-2214 or e-mail her at amanda.rohde@austindailyherald.com