How to Open a Clothing Store — Ultimate guide

Clothing store from scratch

If you decided to open your own clothing store, you must be a fashion-savvy person who follows the latest trends. This article was created to help you understand and prioritize your own business. Also, some insights are waiting for you to help you avoid mistakes in running your business.

First, let’s take a look at the types of stores. It is important to understand all the possible options on the market in order to choose your niche, or possibly occupy a completely new one and introduce the consumer to a unique product.

• Wholesale or retail?
• Retail trade is one of the most promising types of business that allows you to quickly get high profits. This article is devoted to the most common types of retail stores and their specifics, depending on the assortment. It can be a department store, specialty store, category killers, discount stores, off-price stores, outlet stores, and boutiques.
• Is it profitable to open a clothing store?
• It is rather difficult to unequivocally answer this question, because the real circumstances may not correspond to the desired ones. The high mark-up on products sold in this segment makes the business very profitable.
• Even people who are far from entrepreneurship know that entering this market is not a cheap pleasure. On average, opening one retail outlet requires from half a million rubles in a small town and a million in a large metropolis, although the final price depends on the format being implemented.
• Payback
• Usually, the process of full return of the invested funds lasts 1–2 years, this is a good result, because after that the profit continues to grow annually. With the correct organization of the sale and the mutual correspondence of the price and quality of the goods, you can get a decent income within the first 6 months of work.

Target the buyer

Given the variety of species, you need to think carefully about what you want to do. Also, do not forget to consider your target buyer, because your sales and, accordingly, the success of your business as a whole will depend on this. Your store might be focused on teen clothing, women-careerists who pursue business casual and smart casual, or it could be a sportswear store for the whole family.

There are many variations, but it is important to think through these details at the initial stage in order to further select a resonant name and assortment for your business.

For a modern business, it is also important to create an online store or a social network where you can advertise your products additionally, as well as post interesting content about your product. In the modern world, this is very important, because if something happens, you will always have the opportunity to expand the number of your customers by sending products to other cities and countries.

Look for Location

If you have already decided on the audience and have chosen a niche for your store, you need to start looking for premises. The choices here are as varied as in all the points we discussed above.

First, of course, it is important to understand whether you want to have an online store, or a physical store. If with the online niche, everything is a little simpler, then as for the offline niche, there are a lot of variations. For example, you can choose a department in a large shopping center where your store will be alongside other brands. In this case, winning the buyer will be your main mission, since the competition is great. There is an option to choose a small space in the city center, so that every passer-by can see your assortment in the window.

Whatis important to consider when choosing a space? First of all, its size and location. The city center, or a place close to business centers, universities will be very populara mong the residents of your city.

The interior of your store also depends on the audience you are targeting. It is a good idea and a significant relief for you will be to consult with a specialist who can prepare a detailed project for the renovation and style of your brand. This, in turn, will keep you safe and help save money in the future, as the designer understands transience and eternal trends, and will help you avoid quick repairs in the future.

Planning comes first

When choosing location, you also need to remember about the budget. Accordingly, it is important to plan all expenses and predict future costs and income. To do this, you will need the help of special applications and financial models.

They greatly facilitate the process of budgeting and investment planning. This is one of those types of one-time costs that in the future will help you to significantly reduce costs and wisely invest in the development of your business.

Gather your suppliers

The next step will be the search and selection of suppliers. These must be reliable people who support and share your vision and outlook on the business as a whole.

It is important for a clothing store to develop a marketing plan to advertise and promote your clothing.

It is a good idea to issue a press release about the opening of a new store, this will attract customers to open and you in turn will be able to win your customers. In business, it is very important to analyze the market and know your competitors in person, understand their strengths and strengthen yours. Market analysis should be done routinely, not just in the initial stages, as this will help you stay ahead of the curve.

Team training

One of the important stages is also the selection and training of personnel. Before that, it is important to understand the idea of your store in order to convey it to your employees.

These people will carry your idea to clients, and it is important that they first of all understand and follow this themselves.

It is important to pay attention to the training of your employees, because in the modern world service plays a very important role. Your employees need to know your product and be able to share this knowledge with the client, get attention, and sell.