Although it involves lots of planning you find many
people doing this type of business. The stores range from open stores called bend
down boutiques, shopping malls, to small shed stores.
More advanced cloths stores are lockup stores, large
wholesalers and retailers including departmental stores. Cloths traders are
found in every locality selling both used cloths and high fashion outfits.
The cost of investment also differs according to the
business plan and size of the operation. The job is serious business and is applied
full time or part time.
Different kinds of cloths demand specialized markets such
as ready to wear outfits, second hand cloths or cut to size. Small independent store
are many you need to carve a niche to succeed in this saturated market.
Startup
Cost
You need lots of funds to start a cloths store. The funds
are used to lease a store, add equipment and register the business. Stocking
your store takes up to 50% of your total investment.
There is no set price for launching a cloths store
because the size, location, type of garments purchased dictate the initial
investment. Other things that add to the cost are number of staff and wages.
To get a workable startup cost factor all the parameters
listed above. Do a visibility study and write a good business plan to guide
you.
Costs run from$10,000 to $300,000 depending on the
country, area, stock and size of the operation.
Location
A largely populated area is your best bet when choosing a
location. The location should also have heavy vehicular traffic and easy accessibility.
Designated cloths markets are also good places to locate
your store despite lots of competition. The economic strength of your host area
also impacts on the type of cloths and profitability.
You can locate your store in a shopping center that has
lots of visitors. The downside to leasing square space in shopping centers is
the expense. This causes store owners to increase prices making it difficult for
shoppers to purchase items.
Some things to consider before getting a store are local
government regulations, adequate parking, and cost of rent. Others are amount
of space needed, growth potential and businesses in the area.
Spend a little time training your sales staff on customer
relations and inventory. The kind of reception and service the customer gets
will determine if they come back another day.
Type
of Stores
Small independent cloths stores are many so carving a
niche is important for success. You find lots of open air stores, cloths
markets, back of a vehicle sale and flee markets.
There are also lockup stores, wholesalers of used cloths
and branded stores. There are cloths stores that create their own outfit and
syndicated to shopping malls and department store.
And we have cloths stores that function via a franchise
agreement with a franchisor.
Related
Reading: All you need to know about
Franchising
Things
to Consider Before Starting a Cloths Business
You need to gain valuable knowledge of the industry and
go for some business classes. Buying and selling is interesting however you
need to attract your customers and keep them.
To successfully run a cloths business offer good service,
customer relationship and high quality cloths. Gain as much experience as
required to potion your business towards the path of success.
Difficulty
in Running an Apparel Business
The first obstacle is differentiating your store from
others. The cloths business is over saturated because of its high demand, carving
a niche might improve your chances.
Specialize in one sector or type of cloths is highly
recommended. If you want to sell jeans, specialize in only jeans outfits. Some
specialize in undergarments, gowns, dresses, shirts and even tee-shirts.
Other difficulties are getting rid of old stock, fast
changing trends and lots of competition. Although the business operates all
year round there are peak periods and low periods.
You need to have adequate stock to accommodate peak
Periods when sales increases such as holidays and celebrations. Another major
challenge is taking proper inventory and balancing your books.
Study the niche of your choice to see what competitors
are doing differently. If you can offer your customers something different and
unique you stand a chance to make huge profit.
To get ahead specialize in a niche, offer unique items,
use branding to get that competitive advantage. The demography you operate is
very important to the structure and function of your cloths store.
Target
Market
What sets you apart from the competition is your target
market. There are so many sectors in the cloths industry such as sports wear,
maternity wear, under wears and gowns. Others are shirts, shorts, suits even
tuxedos.
All theses categories are further divided into new and
used cloths including high-end or mass produced. Departmental stores offer a
wide range of cloths both high-end and mass produced outfits because of
adequate funds and huge merchandise.
A small entrepreneur does not have this luxury and needs
to focus on a narrower field. Despite the funds available to large departmental
stores small stores owners have some advantages.
The small store is more community oriented, offer better
service and is closer to the pulse of the people. Some shoppers even order
certain outfits through such stores.
You also have the choice of stocking interesting outfits
because of your carefully chosen inventory. Many shoppers know that they will
find such outfits in smaller stores than huge departmental stores.
Gender
of Cloths
So you have decided on either new or used cloths, retail
or wholesale. The next step is choosing the gender of the cloths you want to
sell. You also have to decide on the age demography to service.
You have to choose between women cloths, men cloths or
children between 1-17 years. Women’s apparel stores are in high demand and the
most competitive. Women love to shop and look good and this translates to lots
of customers for such cloths stores.
Women’s
Cloths
Women hate uniformity of cloths so they seek special
outfits that complement them. You can cater for the plus sized woman or regular
sized woman. Make sure you invest time on cloths selection too offer your
customers unique, high quality outfits and designs.
Once you can provide outfits that are not easily found
anywhere your business will succeed. Understand customer mentality and the
community you want to operate.
Men’s
Cloths
Although men are also trendy and fashion conscious they
seldom buy cloths. Some splash on designer labels or trending outfits.
Corporate cloths sell well especially if demanded by
their job prescription. Men buy a few coats because they are expensive however
spend more on packaged shirts.
Another favorite item they like is trainers, shoes and
jeans trousers. The majority of male customers fall between eighteen years of
age and forty two.
Children’s
Cloths
Children cloths are in high demand and a very lucrative
market. Children fast outgrow their cloths making the market ever changing.
They are not left out of current trends in footwear, shirts and shorts.
Children cloths retailers usually cater for both boys and
girls giving the store a wide rage of choices. Children don’t buy their own
cloths except teenagers.
Parents generally purchase cloths for children bellow 10
years and the choice is based on how much they are willing to spend. Fashionable
or financially stable parents spend more on their children’s cloths.
Teenage
Cloths
Teenagers prefer buying their own cloths by themselves.
The location of your cloths store dictates the kind of clientele you get. Make
sure your cloths store is fashioned towards the expectation of your target
customers and demography.
Baby
Cloths
Baby cloths are a billion dollar niche market of their own. A Baby store in a good locations sell lots of
cloths daily to new mothers. The major
advantage in this venture is that parents buy in bulk and are likely to
purchase dozens of outfits at once.
Marketing
You need a strong brand to attract customers to your
sore. Despite the huge competition you can effectively carve a niche for yourself
in the industry
Brand building needs lots of advertisement in both print
and electronic media. Offer attractive discounts and promotional sales.
Create special events such as beauty shows and open
house. Make your store eye catching,
trending and offer quality cloths and service.
Related Reading Starting a Swimsuit Cloths Line
Related Reading Starting a Swimsuit Cloths Line
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