I am looking to open an accessory retail shop in WA state. I would like to
carry brand name handbags, watches, sunglasses, frangrances, etc. Some
examples of names would be: Chanel, Donna Karen, Gucci, Dooney &
Burke, Guess, Prada, etc. I am trying to find out how I go about
getting these products. If I have to go through each company separatly
or if there is a distributor where I could get more than one brand. I
do know that Coach does not sell wholesale to most, but would like to
know if it is possible for other brands.
Any information would be helpful. 
Thank you, 
Kelly

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Clarification of Question by kashby-ga on 08 Oct 2006 11:54 PDT

I would like to note that these products, especially the handbags,
need to be authentic. I have found a lot of sites that have replicas,
but that is not what I am looking for. I would most like to find out
information on handbags, if nothing else.
Thank you again

Dear Kelly, 

This really depends on the firm. Recently I've done some Research here
for a customer about Lacoste, and found out that not only that they
only sale to retailers directly through their local representative in
each country, but that they also do not allow any Internet sales of
their products. So, for some direct contact is the only way.

Donna Karan, too, will not sell through the Internet (which tells you
that anyone claiming to sell you DK stuff online may be lying and
using cheap counterfeit instead). They state on their site:
"How do I contact Donna Karan International regarding business opportunities?

Suppliers/Manufacturer?s/Fabric, etc...
Please submit a one-page overview of your company?s products and services with
your contact information. The Donna Karan Company will contact you if interested.

Please send to the following address:

Donna Karan International
240 W. 40th St.
New York, NY 10018
Attn: Production Dept." 

Chanel write:
"How can I find out how to sell CHANEL Fragrance and Beauté products in my store?

To receive information concerning the sale of CHANEL Fragrance and
Beauté products, we recommend that you contact the Sales Department at
(212) 688-5055."
(SOURCE: Chanel FAQ,
<http://www.chanel.com/info/faq/html/framesethtml_faq.php?zone_lang=USAEN>).

However, I also found several places which distribute and resell to retailers: 

Glamour Shades 
<http://www.glamourshades.com/wholesale.htm> 

Luxury Brands LLC
<http://www.luxurybrandsllc.com/faq.asp> 

Raffaelo:
<http://www.raffaello-network.com/> 
"Please contact our B2B department
(customerservice@raffaello-network.com) for special wholesale prices."

Wholesale Designer Handbag Directory
<http://www.deangifts.com/wholesalehandbags.htm> - please note, that
some of these wholesellers flagrantly state that they sell
"immitations" (nice word for couterfeit, which is illegal). If you
want to sell this trash, be my guest (although - again - check for
legal aspects with your attorney), but be wary of anything "too good
to be true".

Now, if you'll go to B2B sites such as Alibaba
(http://www.alibaba.com), you might find many "offers" for wholesale
designer stuff. Always remember that there are no free lunches. Most
of the stuff is counterfeit, or worse - some sort of scam. Therefore,
always double-check any distributor - unless it is someone you've
worked with before; be suspicious of any unsecured payment methods
(for example: Western Union); and always prefer to be on the safe
side.

I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it.

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Request for Answer Clarification by kashby-ga on 08 Oct 2006 20:54 PDT

Thank you, 

Just curious if you know of any maufacturers of the name brands that I
could contact. I understand about the ones I will need to contact
directly, but I thought that maybe going straight to the manufacturer
for other would be good, instead of a wholesaler.

Thank you

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Clarification of Answer by politicalguru-ga on 09 Oct 2006 00:46 PDT

I gave you on the beginning some of them and I understand you - I
believe this is generally a good idea. Regarding many others - YSL,
for example, they are part of Gucci Group. You can contact the Gucci
Group sales department at:

Gucci Group N.V.
Rembrandt Tower,
1 Amstelplein,
1096 HA Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
tel  00 31.20.462.1700, fax 00 31.20.465.3569

and

Gucci Group N.V.
4 Grafton Street,
W1S 4EF, London
UK
tel: +44(0)20.7898.3000, fax: +44(0)20.7898.3001

(These are "general" details, as I couldn't find any trace of their
sales dept. However, also try:)

GUCCI
685 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Telephone: 212-826-2600
Fax: 212-977-9833

Sales/Service Center:
GUCCI - GTSC
50 Hartz Way
Secaucus, NJ 07094
Telephone: 201-867-8800
Fax: 201-348-5491

This site, which will be good database for watches and distributors in
any case, has a dierctory of watch manufacturers and their centres:
http://www.watchparadise.com/ServiceCenters.php3