Buying Power

One of the most important aspects of opening your own retail store is learning how to buy inventory. We would like to take a few minutes of your time to explain the buying process.

First, it is important for you to know Liberty Opportunities, Inc. does not own a retail warehouse, and that is to your benefit. If we owned the merchandise that you will be buying and reordering, we might tend to push only the items we sold, thereby limiting the selection from which you have to choose. Our firm belief is that you and your new store need as many suppliers of good merchandise as possible.

Liberty Opportunities, Inc. has spent years developing contacts and suppliers around the country to provide the inventory needs of the stores we open.
If you decide to join our team, you will be put in contact with these suppliers. As a team of hundreds of stores, we can demand and get the best of service and prices from our suppliers. If a supplier doesn't live up to our high standards, we take them off our approved supplier list. It's as simple as that. There are perhaps thousands of suppliers you could take a chance and purchase from, but not all of them meet our strict qualifications.

A professional buyer accompanies you on your initial buying trip.
During your initial buying trip, a trained professional buyer will accompany you to assist with the purchase of some or all of your entire beginning inventory. Although our buyers will recommend what merchandise to purchase, you will have the final say-so on the merchandise chosen for your store.

While on your buying trip, you will be given a thorough tutorial on the buying process. You will be taught how to plan an "open-to-buy" learning when to buy, how much inventory to buy and when you need to feature seasonal and special merchandise in your store. You will also learn important purchasing details such as who to contact for special items and will be given a Buyers Guide that will give you detailed instructions on how and where to buy once it is time for you to begin purchasing on your own.

After you open your store, it will be time for you to begin re-ordering.
This is the area that concerns people the most. It shouldn't. First, the concern most people have is "how will I know what to re-order?" Believe us, there is someone out there who will tell you exactly what to re-order-YOUR CUSTOMERS.

We have a theory here at Liberty that has proven right on target. We believe your initial opening inventory should be broad but not deep. That means that you should have as broad a variety of merchandise as possible with not too much depth in any one area. This way, you can't be hurt drastically if you happen to buy a couple slow movers. With a broad opening inventory, your customers will get a lot of items and brands to choose from. By their actual purchases, you will get your answer on what areas to re-order in and what areas to cut back in.

Secondly, you may be concerned about re-ordering over the telephone. You shouldn't be.
You will be assigned a sales representative at each warehouse who will personally handle your inventory needs, specials, new items, trends in the market, etc. You will also have access to a buyer from Liberty Opportunities to help guide you on your future orders. Website and color catalog ordering will be available to identify products you are looking for. You may also visit these warehouses whenever you wish.

Thirdly, you may be concerned about where to reorder. You shouldn't be.
Every supplier we have will be introduced to you through a fact sheet on their company. This fact sheet will give you your salesperson's name, telephone number, and the pertinent data on their company. For instance, this sheet will tell you what type of merchandise the company specializes in, return policies, etc. Some of our suppliers send flyers, pictures or samples to you prior to your re-ordering. Most suppliers even provide color catalogs and have elaborate websites.

And remember, if you ever have a problem in any of these areas, please call us on at 1-800-443-8407. We can and will be of help.