Market week preparation: a checklist for data, samples and digital tools
What to have ready before buyers arrive: commercial terms, product data, samples, appointments and the digital layer.
KEY TAKEAWAYS Summary by the editors
- Market week preparation covers four areas: commercial terms, product data, physical samples and the digital tools used in appointments.
- Minimum order quantities, payment terms, return rules and wholesale pricing should be decided before appointments, not negotiated live.
- The line sheet must carry photos, wholesale and suggested retail prices, and available sizes, colours and materials, and should be tested by placing a mock order.
- Lead times, shipping costs and delivery windows need to be mapped so that sales reps can commit to dates they can keep.
- A short rehearsal of the digital flow, from appointment link to order confirmation, catches more problems than extra polish on the content.
A market week checklist has four parts: agree the commercial terms, finalise the product data, prepare samples and appointments, and test the digital tools your team will use in front of buyers. The aim is that no price, size, delivery date or login question has to be answered with a promise to follow up. The list below combines published pre-market guidance with data checks.
What commercial terms should be fixed before market week?
The Folklore's pre-market checklist for wholesale brands advises setting minimum order quantities, payment terms and return rules in advance, and confirming that wholesale pricing is both competitive and sustainable. Add the delivery windows per drop, any exclusivity or territory commitments, and the discounts a sales rep is allowed to offer without approval. Reps who must phone the office for every exception lose momentum in the appointment.
What product data and documents are needed?
The line sheet should be up to date with clear photos, product details, wholesale and suggested retail prices, and available sizes, colours and materials. Makers Row suggests testing it by placing a mock order using only the document. Beyond the document, check the underlying data: every style needs a stable style number, complete variants, a case pack and a delivery date. If a portal or digital showroom is used, the same data must load without manual correction.
| Area | Check | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial | MOQ, case packs, payment terms, return rules, price tiers approved | Sales director, finance |
| Product data | Style numbers, variants, wholesale and suggested retail prices, delivery dates complete | Product data or merchandising |
| Samples | Representative set showing fabrics and construction, labelled with style numbers | Product development, showroom |
| Appointments | Buyers contacted early, schedule flexible, account history to hand | Sales operations |
| Digital tools | Logins tested, links shared, offline fallback available | Sales operations, IT |
| Fulfilment | Lead times, shipping costs and packaging suitability mapped | Supply chain |
How should samples and appointments be prepared?
Bring a representative set that shows construction, fabrics and craftsmanship rather than every style, and label each piece with the style number used in the line sheet. Contact buyers early, keep the schedule flexible, and prepare a short pitch covering differentiators, inspiration, materials and brand story. Before each appointment, review the account: what the retailer bought last season, what sold through, and any open issues such as late payments or delivery complaints.
What should be tested in the digital tools?
- Open the appointment link on the devices buyers actually use, including phones.
- Browse the collection as a buyer with that retailer's own price list and see that only the correct assortment appears.
- Build a test order, change a quantity, and confirm the totals, minimums and case packs behave as expected.
- Export or send the order summary and check that it matches what the rep sees.
- Prepare an offline fallback, such as a PDF line sheet, in case connectivity fails.
What happens after the appointments?
Orders and notes should flow into the order management system on the same day, while details are fresh. Follow-ups need an owner and a date, and any price or delivery promise made verbally should be written into the order. A short review after market week, covering which styles drew questions, which data gaps appeared and which tools caused friction, turns one week's experience into next season's checklist.
How do you plan the team and the day?
Assign roles in advance: who leads each appointment, who takes notes, who handles samples and who enters orders. A short briefing before each appointment, with the account's history and the styles likely to interest the buyer, makes better use of limited time. Plan breaks and buffer time between appointments, because overruns are common when a buyer is ready to order.
It also helps to agree a few rules for the week: how discounts are approved, how special requests are logged and who answers questions about delivery. Agreeing these in advance avoids contradictory promises to different buyers.
- Name one person as the final decision-maker on pricing exceptions.
- Keep a shared log of special requests and promises made.
- Back up the order data at the end of each day.
- Set a date for follow-up with every buyer who did not order on the day.
Finally, record what you learn. Which questions were asked repeatedly, which styles were passed over, which documents were missing and which tools slowed things down? This record is the raw material for next season's checklist.
What data problems should be fixed beforehand?
Most market week trouble is data trouble. A style appears twice under different numbers, a colour has two names, a size run in the line sheet differs from the one in the order system, or the delivery date has not been updated after a production delay. A one-day data audit before the week, run by someone who did not build the data, usually finds these.
| Check | How to run it |
|---|---|
| Duplicate or missing style numbers | Sort the product list by style number and scan for gaps and repeats |
| Variant completeness | Check every style has all sizes and colours with a case pack |
| Price consistency | Compare wholesale and suggested retail prices between line sheet, portal and ERP for a sample of styles |
| Delivery dates | Confirm dates against the latest production plan |
| Images | Check each style has the agreed views and the lead image matches the colour name |
Where identifiers are concerned, GS1 guidance is that each size and colour variation needs its own GTIN, so confirm that barcodes and variant lists match before orders are taken.
If the audit finds many problems, prioritise: fix pricing and delivery first, because errors there have commercial consequences, then variants, then imagery.
Keep the checklist short enough to be used. A one-page version per role, with owners and deadlines, is more likely to be followed than a long document, and it can be reused each season with small changes.
Frequently asked questions
What should a brand bring to market week?
A representative sample set, an up-to-date line sheet with wholesale and suggested retail prices, defined minimums and payment terms, and the digital tools tested in advance.
How early should buyer appointments be booked?
The Folklore advises contacting buyers early and keeping the schedule flexible. The right lead time depends on the market, but earlier outreach gives buyers time to plan.
Do digital showrooms replace physical samples?
They reduce reliance on them but rarely remove them completely, because buyers often want to assess fabric and construction in person. The mix depends on the buyer and the category.
What data problems most often disrupt market week?
Inconsistent style numbers, missing size or colour variants, outdated prices and delivery dates that differ between documents are typical problems, all of which can be checked beforehand.
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