A huge supplier, specializing in toys, has a lot of product to move. J. Lloyd International, a company with about 30 name brands, is reaching out to vendors in an effort to open up room for other products. “We need to make some space in our warehouse. We have $50 million of inventory, and we’re trying to close it out,” says Tim Hurt, a rep for J. Lloyd. “As big as we are, I think our prices will be more competitive than the next guy, who is probably buying from us. Vendors can come straight to the source for the better deal.”
J. Lloyd is the manufacturer of the famous Big Wheel line, in addition to many American-made items, from kids’s sunglasses to gumball machines to make-up play kits to plastic army vehicles. The company also has closeout jewelry and watches at what the company says are “really really cheap” prices. “Closeouts are what we are pushing, not our other products,” says Hurt. “We sell by the case, which varies from three to 100 units, depending on the item.”
As part of its vendor outreach, J. Lloyd has created an 80-page digital catalog of the closeout items it has to sell and is e-mailing that to interested vendors. The company is also offering good shipping terms, especially to buyers in the Midwest, where the company is based. “We’re in the central United States, so we can keep the shipping down,” says Hurt. He also cited variety and shipment bundling as two other advantages. For more information, e-mail sales@j-lloyd.com or call (319) 365-5842 and ask for the digital closeout catalog.