The implementation of the business idea of a clothing store encounters many imperceptible, at first glance, difficulties along the way. This includes the wrong choice of the direction of sales, errors in the choice of assortment, the organization of the store’s working hours, and many other parameters that are often forgotten by novice entrepreneurs.
In order to avoid major mistakes and the financial losses associated with them from the very beginning, it is necessary to conduct a marketing research and make a preliminary calculation of the profitability of the future business.
The clothing business is experiencing very high competition from numerous points of sale of a wide variety of clothing.
Therefore, before starting to implement a clothing store business idea , it is necessary to clearly define the segment in which the future store will operate. To do this, you need to carefully and carefully study the range of clothing offered by competitors in the immediate environment.
It is necessary to slowly go around all the points of sale of clothing, study the range and price level, try to identify niches that are not filled or poorly filled by competitors in order to determine your target customer.
Choosing a target customer is critical to the store’s future success.
You should not open a high-end clothing store aimed at wealthy people in a mid-range residential area. In such a place, children’s clothing or clothing of the middle price category may be more in demand.
The range of clothing offered by the store, the price level and even the interior of the store will depend on the choice of the target buyer.
It is desirable to locate the premises of a clothing store in places close to traffic flows. At the same time, it makes sense to open expensive branded clothing stores in the central part of the city, near entertainment and shopping centers, while taking into account the need for good parking.
Children’s clothing stores are more popular in newly built neighborhoods where young families are buying apartments.
In the old residential districts, built up with Khrushchevs, in which pensioners usually live, shops of medium and low price levels, as well as second-hand shops, will be more appropriate.
Depending on the choice of the direction of the store, it is necessary to design the premises of the store accordingly.
An elite clothing store should sparkle, provide all the conditions of comfort, justifying the high prices for the goods offered by its very appearance. A children’s clothing store should be appropriately decorated with bright colors, and, in addition to clothing, it must also have a toy department to attract children and parents.
To create the interior of a clothing store, it is better to invite an experienced designer and not rely on your own tastes. When designing the interior, it is important to pay attention to the correct lighting of the room, as well as to free access to the displayed goods and the availability of fitting rooms.
The initial costs of implementing a business idea for a clothing store will consist of the costs of acquiring, repairing and equipping the premises of the future store, the costs of acquiring commercial equipment and the initial batch of goods.
Advertising costs must also be included in the initial costs, since a new clothing store needs to attract customers.
A significant part of the current costs of the clothing store will be staff salaries.
The volume of sales and, consequently, the revenue of the store directly depend on how polite, friendly and qualified staff works in the store.
It will also be necessary to pay for utilities, rent of premises (if the premises are rented), constant advertising, especially at first.
In addition, it is necessary to plan sufficient free funds for the timely purchase of new clothing collections, without counting on one hundred percent sale of goods purchased earlier.
When planning sales, it is imperative to take into account the need for timely disposal of slow-moving goods.
To do this, it is necessary to hold sales, reducing the price of goods depending on the season, and also provide for the transfer of illiquid goods to stock stores. In any case, this forces the store owners to significantly reduce the prices of previously purchased goods, and often the sale prices are even lower than the level of purchase prices.
This feature of the clothing business must be taken into account when planning revenue so as not to lose working capital as a result of brewing.
Often, the way out of the situation of accumulation of illiquid assets is to open several stores of different price categories. This option for implementing a clothing store business idea from the very beginning makes the business more efficient, but it also requires an increase in investment.
On our website, you can use the calculator to preliminarily evaluate the profitability of a clothing store business idea in the form in which you imagine it.
However, for more accurate calculations and preparation of a ready-made business plan , we suggest you place an order on our website and get the help of qualified specialists.