Chapter 138 - Third Meeting (1)
Business on Saturday was better than normal but not by much. A lot of customers tried clothing but few bought anything.
Zhang Huaxiu said it was cozy, but Shu Yan didn’t think so. If each customer tried 2 – 3 sets, that’s 20 – 30 sets with 10 customers. They’d need to get new ones for them to try on plus put them back afterward. Back and forth, back and forth. It was both tedious and tiring.
“Boss Lady, do we need to take care of these summer clothes? I felt that the weather is still warm and that we can sell them for a while longer.” Zhang Huaxiu, working with Shu Yan, organized all of the summer clothes and divided them up into three categories.
The first one was the ones that Shu Yan wanted to get rid of, by doing a Buy-1-Get-1 promotion. The second category was the ones that she thought would last for a while longer. They would be marked down to 40% off. The remaining ones were the ones that she thought could still be sold next year. They would only be marked down to 20% off. If they could be sold, great; otherwise, she’d just keep till next year.
“Once the temperature changes, we won’t be able to sell them at all. We should discount them now and get rid of them. Otherwise, we’d lose more money by keeping them.” They made them into sets and placed them on the rack by the door.
Everyone who came inside and noticed the red sign would take a look at it. Many people loved to shop for clothes at the end seasons as clothes would be steeply discounted then.
“Boss Lady, if I buy this, can you give me this one for free?” A woman was eyeing a dress in the 20% off area but wanted Shu Yan to give her one from the Buy-1-Get-1 section.
“I apologize. This dress that you are holding is already high in cost. You can tell by touching it the quality of the material and the workmanship on it was good too. I am already losing money on it. I really won’t be able to give you another one for free.” It was true that the one the woman was holding was quite pricey. Even Shu Yan quite liked it and was thinking that she could wear it herself next year if it didn’t get sold.
The woman mulled over the dress long and hard. Then, she tried it on and looked at it for a long time but finally left without buying it.
It was almost afternoon and people on the street thinned out slowly. Shu Yan let Zhang Huaxiu know she was leaving before she went to the fabric market. The designer who helped her with the drawing along with a master from Old Zhang’s factory were waiting for her there. They were to pick out the fabric and other materials today.
“I’d like to use something thicker for the shirt. That way it can be worn in both autumn and winter.” Shu Yan had noticed that many customers also stressed the importance of practicality when they picked out clothing. So it was important that her design be practical in addition to appealing in its appearance.
In addition to the two shirt designs, Shu Yan also looked at other fabrics that could be made into fall clothes and pants. There weren’t as many different types of fabric now than in the future. After all, it was many years in the past. Many of the technologies have not yet been developed. Wanting the same as what she had for fall clothes and pants would be impossible. But Shu Yan did see some fabric that could be made into workout pants. They were somewhat stretchy and had many colors to choose from. They should work turning into fall clothes and pants.
“Are you thinking about making workout pants?” asked the designer when he noticed the fabric that Shu Yan has been looking at. “Many wear workout pants nowadays, but the weather is getting colder. They aren’t easy to sell in the winter time.”
“No, I want to make them into autumn clothes and pants.” The current autumn clothes and pants were of the poofy type. Many straight up just wore sweaters and sweatpants. They neither keep one warm and they make one clumsy, very unappealing in their looks. If she could make more fitting autumn clothes and pants that were both appealing in appearance and warm, that ought to be popular among many girls?