Buyer's guide
Where can a UK shop or online seller buy perfume stock?
Small retailers can buy fragrance through a wholesaler rather than approaching each brand. The useful questions are what the supplier stocks, how it sources it and what the order terms mean for your business.
Who sells perfume to a small shop?
A wholesale fragrance supplier sells perfume stock to independent shops and online sellers. It gives a retailer a way to buy across brands without arranging a separate supply relationship for every house it wants to stock.
Sterling Trading Group is an independent UK wholesaler in Hayes, West London. We supply independent shops, pharmacies, salons, market traders and online sellers. We buy from UK distributors; we are not an authorised distributor of any brand. That distinction matters when you describe your own supply chain: buying genuine branded stock from an independent wholesaler does not make you, or the wholesaler, an authorised brand distributor.
Each line we supply is the brand’s own product in its retail packaging and is batch-coded. Those are useful checks when comparing suppliers, particularly if you need boxed products suitable for display or for your own product listings. Check the precise name, format and size on the product page before adding a line to an order. A familiar fragrance name may appear in more than one format, and the item you put on your shelf or list online needs to match the item you bought.
What does a wholesaler expect of a new account?
For a first order with us, you need at least £100 in goods excluding VAT. Build your selection against that goods minimum rather than treating delivery as part of it. Product prices are shown on their pages and can change, so use the current pages when deciding what to order.
Allow for delivery before committing your buying budget. UK delivery has a flat charge per 2kg box, stated on the site. For a larger order, we confirm the exact delivery cost after the order is placed and before payment. That means you can review the full amount before paying, rather than having to guess the delivery charge from the size of your basket.
Beyond those terms, the practical preparation is to know what your business can list or display accurately. Decide whether you need a particular concentration, bottle size or boxed presentation, then check the full product name. If you sell online, make sure the description and imagery you intend to use correspond to the product ordered. If you sell from a shop, consider the space you have for the packaged product as well as the bottle itself. Neither route benefits from ordering a variant you did not mean to stock.
Which brands can an independent get hold of?
An independent can source a broad choice of fragrance houses through our wholesale range. We list 6,225 lines across 470 houses, mostly designer fragrance, with professional haircare, skincare, makeup and body lines alongside it. That breadth lets a retailer compare quite different types of stock within one supplier’s catalogue.
Our widest fragrance ranges, in order of the breadth we carry, are Paco Rabanne, Lattafa, Carolina Herrera, Calvin Klein, Clarins, Giorgio Armani, Jean Paul Gaultier and Dior. Look within a house rather than stopping at its name: the particular product, format and packaging determine what you would actually be offering your customer. The range available to an independent is not limited to the houses named here, so a search for a specific line is more useful than assuming a brand list is exhaustive.
The 4711 listings show why detail matters. Alongside 4711 Floral Collection Jasmine Eau de Cologne Spray 100ml and 4711 Floral Collection Rose Eau de Cologne Spray 100ml, we list 4711 Original Eau de Cologne 25ml, 4711 Original Eau de Cologne 100ml and 4711 Original Eau de Cologne 400ml. Those are distinct products to select, describe and make room for, even when the name on the front of the box is familiar.
What should a first order look like?
A first order should be a manageable selection of specific products you can present accurately, meeting the £100 goods minimum excluding VAT. Start with the space available in your shop or the product pages you are ready to prepare, then choose the exact lines that fit those plans. There is no need to treat a long list of brands as a shopping list.
It helps to make decisions at product level. Check the full name for concentration and size, confirm that the retail packaging suits how you will display or fulfil the item, and keep a record of the line selected. For example, 4711 Original Eau de Cologne 25ml and 4711 Original Eau de Cologne 400ml call for different shelf space and different product descriptions. Choosing between them is a decision about your own customers and selling setup, not simply about adding the 4711 name.
If fragrance will sit beside other categories in your business, our range also includes professional haircare, skincare, makeup and body lines. Decide whether those belong in this order on their own merits, rather than adding them to fill out a basket. Finally, check the current product pages and the order total, then account for delivery: the site states the flat UK charge per 2kg box, and the exact delivery cost for a larger order is confirmed after you place it, before payment.
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Published 13 October 2026. This guide describes how Sterling Trading Group works and our understanding of the UK trade; it is general information, not legal or financial advice.
Other guides
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