Women's clothing is always in demand. All representatives of the fair half want to look stunning, so they update their wardrobe quite often. You can make good money from this natural desire of women to be seductive if you open a store women's clothing from scratch. But in theory simple idea in practice, it leads to a dead end with the question: “Where to start?”
Stages of creating your own business
Don't assume: " I’m the only one so smart, so the boutique will immediately begin to bring in good profits" It must be remembered that if a women's clothing store is a profitable type of business, a newcomer here will have to face a high level of competition. But this is not an obstacle to starting your business from scratch and making it successful, ahead of your competitors. Why is it necessary:
- Conduct a market analysis within the city, locality, district where it is planned to open a women's clothing boutique.
- Based on the analysis, create an assortment (this must be done before opening the store).
- Create a cost estimate, including an advertising campaign.
- Find staff, premises, buy equipment.
- Prepare documents, open an individual entrepreneur.
Now we need to consider each of the stages in more detail.
Qualitative analysis – 50% success
To the question: “Where to start a business?” an adequate answer would be: “From market analysis.” This is especially true if the business area involves a high level of competition, which will be the main feature of the women's clothing sales segment.
Opening a store quickly without preparation means dooming yourself to losses.
Starting a business is a serious step requiring maximum concentration, composure, and rationality.
The analysis should begin with determining the number, at least approximately, of retail outlets that sell women's clothing. It is best to go through them yourself and familiarize yourself with the assortment and pricing policy.
It is necessary to keep control and monitor the opening of new women's clothing stores. Adopt the creative techniques of future competitors. Please note that removing price tags and display cases must be done extremely carefully, otherwise problems with staff and security may arise.
In fact, a deep analysis of the assortment will help attract women and girls and make them regular customers. Everything here is extremely simple - clothes that are not available or are scarce in other stores will be in demand.
Attention! The deeper the analysis is carried out, the higher its effectiveness. This is painstaking work, which will subsequently give good results if taken seriously.
Many women's clothing stores, especially large ones, are trying to create a universal assortment for all age categories. The result is that the clothes presented are of little interest to customers. The reason is that despite the overall impressive selection, individual segments contain very few models. The focus must be on diversity within a relatively narrow specialization, for example, opening a plus size clothing boutique.
You might also want to think about opening a second-hand store. This type of business is no less profitable with the right approach.
Formation of assortment - pitfalls
Before opening a women's clothing store, you should decide on the assortment. But what to do if all the niches are already occupied by competitors and new clothing collections are only relevant for the first week or two? Don’t despair, panic or do absurd things:
- try to order everything at once;
- try to stand out from the crowd of stores by ordering expensive, extravagant models that will narrow the female consumer audience as much as possible;
- work according to the template.
Attention! To open a women's clothing store from scratch and promote it, you need to look for your own individual style in your work. Everything is important here: knowledge of the laws of the market, psychology, ingenuity, ingenuity.
Knowing the pitfalls will be equally important. One of these is clothing aimed at youth, mainly in the following styles: sport, street, underground. The problem is that the youth audience is not so numerous, there are much more middle-aged shoppers.
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In addition, it should be remembered that online commerce is actively developing and a certain part of the youth audience prefers purchasing clothes through the Internet, which reduces the purchasing potential of the audience. Therefore, the boutique loses customers even with a theoretical calculation. That is why opening a women's clothing store requires in-depth analysis.
What to play on if not? creative ideas regarding the formation of an assortment of women's clothing? Then they go practical techniques, one of the most effective is dumping – price reduction. But how to do this in such a way as not to burn out, and to work for the future. It’s very simple, there are 2 options:
- cut costs on personnel, premises - implement austerity regime;
- include promotion costs in the budget before opening the store - allow it to operate at a loss for some time after opening in order to attract female customers.
And if not everyone can afford the second option, then the first is quite realistic.
The hackneyed, but no less important, price-quality ratio will help the entrepreneur. The buyer always chooses products over High Quality, and given the same indicators, the product that costs less wins, women's clothing is no exception.
Opening an individual entrepreneur is quite simple and cheap; you only need to pay a state fee of 800 rubles. Many people advise getting status legal entity, open LLC, OJSC, PJSC. But this is relevant if you plan to open a network, and not just one store of women’s clothing. You need to start simple, especially for those new to business.
Collect documents to obtain status individual entrepreneur will not be difficult - this is a standard package, the contents of which can be found on the official website of the Tax Inspectorate.
About, how to open an individual entrepreneur on your own in 2020, we described in the corresponding article.
Costings
It consists of the following articles:
- Premises – it all depends on the area and its geographical location. On average, rent will cost 250–400 rubles per 1m2. Given that you approximately need to open a store with an area of 50 m2, rent will cost 12,500–20,000 rubles per month. Plus, you need to budget about 30,000–60,000 rubles for renovation of the premises. Lighting is important for a women's clothing store; you cannot skimp on it. You can also add payment here. utilities, on average it is 6,000–12,000 rubles;
- Equipment: tremors, mannequins, chairs, furniture (cash register counter, utility room for staff). Depending on the scope, 60,000–120,000 rubles are needed;
- Staff salaries. It should be remembered here that good specialists will not work for pennies. Salary is adjusted depending on economic indicators region. Accordingly, wages in the capital are higher than in the provinces. On average, this figure ranges from 18,000 to 32,000 rubles. The minimum staff of a women's clothing store is 5 people: 4 salespeople and an accountant. Accordingly, you need to spend 90,000–160,000 rubles monthly on salaries. Staff should be recruited before opening a store, not after;
- The purchase of goods is the most controversial expense item. Everything here is individual and depends on the entrepreneur. I can give only one piece of advice in order to promote well and not go broke - you should not buy large quantities of clothes and the prepayment should not exceed 50%. You should first work out a scheme of cooperation with suppliers, and then expand to large volumes.
Download women's clothing store business plan you can from our partners. The quality of calculations is guaranteed!
Calculation of the final cost of the goods should be carried out taking into account the costs of personnel and premises. Usually the result is a double increase in the purchase price. A novice entrepreneur should not increase the price by more than 3 times. A well-promoted women's clothing store or chain can afford to multiply the starting cost of clothing by 5 times.
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It turns out that to open a store you need not such a large amount - 100,000–200,000 rubles, including the purchase of goods, it can increase to 200,000–300,000 rubles. But subsequently, for the maintenance of the boutique you will need to shell out monthly from 110,000 to 190,000 rubles, which corresponds to half of the initial costs.
And this is just a rough calculation without taking into account advertising costs. Therefore, before opening a women's clothing store, you need to carefully calculate everything, whether it will be profitable to engage in such a business.
Attention! Opening a store has a lower cost limit, but no upper limit. You can spend several million, and they will not subsequently bring profit, they will be spent in vain.
Professional business plans
A clothing store is a promising type of business with a high markup on goods, profitability is ~20% with a payback period of 1.5 years. According to the MarketMasters agency, the turnover rate of clothing retail trade in Russia is increasing by 3% annually. Moscow accounts for ~40% of all purchased clothing! In this article we will look at how to open a clothing store from scratch step by step with an example of a business plan with calculations.
Advantages and disadvantages of opening a clothing store
Main the target audience clothing store: women of any age, men aged 18 to 40 and children. Let's look at the key advantages and disadvantages of starting a clothing store.
More than 50% of stores in Moscow are opened as franchises! For the clothes sold it is necessary
| Types of store | Peculiarities |
| Second hand | Sale of used clothes from Europe. Attracts visitors with low prices. There is the possibility of a quick start, since large initial investments are not required. It is recommended to open in small towns with low purchasing power of the population. Markup on goods ~200% |
| Stock | The store specializes in selling clothes from last season. The main factor in attracting visitors low prices. Markup on goods ~300% |
| Multi-brand | Selling clothing from many different brands. It is more difficult to organize sales and staff training than in the first two cases. Targeting the middle class population. Markup on goods ~400% |
| Mono-brand | Targeting one brand (often opened as a franchise) and a specific visitor. Markup on goods ~500%. |
| Boutique | Sale of expensive exclusive clothing for wealthy customers. Requires maximum costs to open. Markup on goods ~1000%. |
| Special shop | Sale of specialized clothing: clothing for workers, for medical workers, for the military, for firefighters, for schoolchildren, for children. (cm. " ") |
The sale of clothing refers to impulse goods, i.e. It is often purchased spontaneously, so to stimulate sales it is recommended to organize sales, promotions, savings cards with discounts, and bonuses for multiple purchases.
According to Gomkomstat, the leader in clothing turnover is the Central Federal District (~50%) and, in particular, Moscow (~40%). Retail turnover of clothing in St. Petersburg amounted to ~3%.
Basic production capacity are located in the Central region of the country (~40%), the Northwestern district accounts for ~19% and the Volga region ~18%. If clothing production is being considered, it is recommended to organize it in districts with maximum capacity.
Opening a clothing store: general concept
There are two ways to open a clothing store: purchase a franchise (ready-made solution), or open it yourself. Both methods are characterized by their disadvantages and advantages. If you decide to open a store yourself, then in order to quickly understand the basic business processes of the store, It is recommended to get a job as an administrator in one of the existing.
How to open a clothing store from scratch: registering a business
To register a clothing store with the tax authorities, an individual entrepreneur or LLC is created. The table below analyzes the main benefits as well as necessary list documents for each form of business. When registering according to OKVED, select your main activity: 52.42 “ Retail clothing”, 52.42.1 – “Retail trade of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing”, 52.42.8 – “Retail trade of clothing accessories (gloves, ties, scarves, belts, suspenders, etc.)”.
| Form of business organization | Benefits of use | Documents for registration |
| IP ( individual entrepreneur) | Used to open a small clothing store (50-80m²). Number of personnel 3-5 people |
|
| OOO ( limited liability company) | Used to open large store clothing (>80m²), attracting additional financing, scaling, capital construction |
In law authorized capital LLC cannot be less than 10,000 rubles! |
The optimal choice of taxation system for a clothing store will be UTII (single tax on imputed income), to switch to this system there must be a municipal law on the possibility of using UTII (up to 100 personnel and the cost of fixed assets up to 100 million rubles). The interest rate is 15%. The advantage of this tax is that it is tied to the physical data of the store: area, number of employees, etc. This is beneficial when opening a large store.
If, when organizing a company, the simplified tax system is chosen, then It is recommended to choose tax accrual on income with an interest rate of 6%.
Finding suppliers for a clothing store
Main clothing suppliers: Türkiye, China, Europe, Russia. Goods from China and Turkey are attractive due to their low prices, which allows for a markup of 200-300%. For example, a women’s skirt on taobao costs ~$8 (500 rubles), but on the domestic market it can be sold for 1500 rubles.
To search for suppliers in China via the Internet, use Aliexpress.com, Taobao.com
Business plan for a clothing store: searching for premises
When creating a store, the key point is to find a location and premises. Location is a key success factor in offline business. It is necessary to locate the store in close proximity to customer traffic.
For a children's clothing department and a lingerie store, a room with an area of 12-20 m² is sufficient. This is enough to accommodate a warehouse, retail displays, a fitting room and a cash register. A fur shop or wedding dress salon will require ~25-70 m². The specificity of the goods here is such that it will be necessary to increase the sales area and warehouse space.
In megacities (Moscow, St. Petersburg) rent of 1 m² starts from 1,500 rubles. Renting a small women's clothing department (about 20 m²) will cost 30,000 rubles. In the periphery, rent starts from 1,000 rubles/m²; a similar store will require about 10,000 rubles.
The most expensive rental space is in shopping centers (shopping centers), since they are the places where the maximum traffic of people accumulates. The rental price in a shopping center for 1 m² reaches 20,000 rubles.
Master class: “How to open a clothing store from scratch”
Estimation of costs for commercial equipment
Let's evaluate the type necessary equipment and financial costs. When purchasing display cases and shelving, the concept of the store, the type of clothing (fur clothing and underwear require different equipment), and traffic are taken into account.
Let's consider a set of equipment for the store:
- Cash register – 12,000-30,000 rubles. (price depends on modification). Additional costs: device registration and maintenance.
- Shelving – refers to the main furniture of the trading floor; one rack costs 1,000-20,000 rubles. A store needs 4-10 shelves.
- Showcases – will be needed for displaying accessories or expensive items. Prices start from 2000-3000 rubles. A showcase with an exclusive design and lighting can cost up to 22,000 rubles. For a boutique you need 2-6 showcases.
- Shelves or brackets – from 600 rubles. for simple models.
- Mannequins - from 1500 rubles, 10 mannequins in the sales area will be enough.
- Hung - 2500-9000 rubles. (depending on size). Some stores use hangers almost as the only thing retail store equipment. The need for them is up to 15 pieces. Occasionally, hangers are supplied with hangers, but usually hangers are ordered separately. 100-150 pieces will be enough.
- Mirrors are necessary in fitting rooms and the sales area. The cost of a floor mirror is about 3,000 rubles. You also need to purchase wall mirror panels (several pieces).
The cost of purchasing equipment will be ~100,000-500,000 rubles.
In some types retail stores additionally required: a counter for a cashier, banquettes in fitting booths, etiquette pistols. In wedding salons, a sewing machine is needed to fit a dress.
The most famous equipment suppliers: Tritix, Play, Uno, Style, Market, Joker, Primo. Most of them, in addition to selling ready-made solutions, offer the creation of individual trading systems to order.
Personnel costs
For an average store, the total number of staff will be 4-6 people. The team will have 2-3 sales consultants working in shifts. Hall employees simultaneously perform the duties of an administrator and/or cashier and room cleaner. To reduce costs for wages accountant, accounting is transferred to outsourcing companies. This allows you to reduce costs by ~25,000 rubles. per month!
The best criterion for employee salaries is the average wage level in the industry. The average salary level for workers can be viewed on the website rabota.yandex.ru. Typically, staff earnings are piecework-bonus (fixed salary + percentage of sales). The average salary of a salesperson/consultant is 14,000-25,000 rubles. It is necessary to instruct sellers in communicating with buyers. A smile and an attentive attitude increases sales.
The entrepreneur creates a wage fund (payroll), which takes into account the amount issued to the staff.
Approximate payroll calculation for the year:
4 sellers x 12,000 rub. = 48,000 rub./month.
48,000 rub. x 12 months = 576,000 rub. (payroll per year).
Additional expenses of the entrepreneur: payments to the Pension Fund (PFR), Social Insurance Fund (FSS) and the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund (MHIF). The interest rate of the Pension Fund is 22%, the Social Insurance Fund is 2.9%, the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund is 5.1%. As a result, the costs for social Security is 30%.
Revenue and net profit of the business
To calculate revenue for the year, the average revenue from 1 client (average bill) is calculated. The average bill of 800 rubles is a good indicator. It is planned that 10 customers will visit the store; the daily revenue will be ~8,000 rubles.
Annual revenue will be ~2,700,000 rubles. If the opening costs were about 1,400,000 rubles, then payback is achieved within 1.5 years. It may take 1-2 years to achieve stable profits, which is a good indicator.
Assessment of the attractiveness of a business by the magazine website
| Business profitability |    (3.5 out of 5) |
Business attractiveness
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| Project payback | (3.0 out of 5) |
|
| Ease of starting a business | (3.5 out of 5)
|
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| The clothing store is promising business in large cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Yekaterinburg. The payback period for initial costs is ~1.5-2 years. The business has seasonal sales (August-October, April-June), which will require additional staff and inventory. The key factors for business success are: location close to visitor traffic, and the possibility of mark-ups on goods of more than 300%. | ||
One of the most popular areas in small business is the clothing trade. But many aspiring entrepreneurs cannot imagine how they can open and develop their own business in this area. The format of the outlet is not so important, be it a boutique, a women's, children's or workwear store, or a showroom. The problems and production nuances will be the same.
Business has undergone significant changes since the nineties. Previously, clothes were brought to Russia by shuttles and sold in special markets. Today, people buy clothes in specialized stores or shopping centers. Individual entrepreneurs no longer transport products, but purchase them from factories or suppliers.
Choosing a point format is an integral part of starting a business. Today there are more than enough of them. The most popular store options:
- Second hand.
- Stock.
- Multi-brand.
- Mono-brand.
- Franchise trader.
- Boutique.
Second hand
This establishment sells clothes that have previously been used by someone. In Europe and other countries there are companies that buy clothes from the population for little money. Then employees sort the items and send them to the chain stores.
The main criterion for clothes that end up in second-hand stores is the degree of wear and tear. The price for which the product will be sold will depend on this.
The markup in such stores may be around at 200-250 percent. You don't need a lot of start-up capital to open it. Organizing such a business is relatively simple, and the demand for such establishments among the population is quite high.
Stock
Stock stores specialize in items that were not sold out in previous seasons. You can also find branded clothing that is in surplus.
The markup at such points is usually does not exceed 90-100 percent, so this is where you can buy quality items at low prices.
Multi-brand
Multi-brand establishments are aimed at middle and high-class buyers. They feature products from leading designers. This store sells clothing from several brands, thereby providing customers with a wide choice.
When opening, you need to take into account that there will be many competitors. When organizing the trading process, you need to hire qualified sellers, and also pay attention to Special attention merchandising.
Mono-brand
As a rule, only one brand is represented here. Such establishments are aimed at middle and high class buyers. Buyers are usually included in a narrow circle of clients of a retail outlet. The store places high demands on its staff, as it is necessary to maintain long-term relationships with customers.
By franchise
A store opened in this way can be either a profitable project or a failure. On the one hand, trading through a franchise has the advantages of a popular advertised brand, help and support from the franchisor. On the other hand, it can become a disadvantageous business, since purchases and monthly deductions can be expensive.
To open such a business, you must have start-up capital. In addition, you need to carefully follow the instructions from your superiors. The essence is quite simple: you have capital, you are offered to run a business using a well-promoted brand. Your task is to divide the profits between the franchisor and yourself.
Usually you need to make some kind of down payment, the amount of which varies greatly from company to company. Next, you must pay monthly payments based on your total sales. Also, some franchises may charge advertising fees.
Boutique
A boutique is a small store, within 15-20 square meters. They mainly sell clothes from expensive brands.
The target audience is clients with average and high income levels. Opening such an establishment will be quite expensive, so it is necessary to look for an individual approach to almost every client. However, only qualified salespeople should be hired.
Directions of the establishment
Stores can also be divided into several areas:
- Men's clothing.
- Female.
- Children's.
Based on market analysis, we can confidently say that the most profitable way to open a women's clothing store, since women pay increased attention to their wardrobe.
Step-by-step instructions for organizing such a business are presented in the following video:
Company registration
To sell clothes, you need (IP) or (LLC). To open a small store in a small or medium-sized city, registering as an individual entrepreneur is better suited. This will allow the businessman to save on taxes and other obligations.
You also need to purchase cash machine and register it. It is best to do this after you have rented the retail space.
Selecting a point location
The location of your store will determine the flow of customers and, accordingly, income. To choose the best place, you can ask your friends where they prefer to buy things. You can also conduct a survey on social networks and determine where people like to go shopping the most.
There are several location options:
- Shopping and entertainment centers.
- Separately standing store.
If the store is located in a shopping center, then it has some advantages:
- There is a large flow of customers in the shopping center.
- The rent for retail space is not that high.
The disadvantage may be that the best places in the shopping center are already occupied. Renting other places can be an unprofitable solution, since the profit received depends on the location of the point. You should not rent a place that is located on the top floors, as there may be very few buyers there.
It is advisable to open a separate establishment only in a place where it will intersect with a large flow of customers. For example, you should not open a clothing store for young people in a residential area of the city.
The advantage of a free-standing point is that it is owned by the owner, and he is responsible for it.
Let's consider each option separately:
- It is best to open a second-hand store as a free-standing store with a small area.
- The stock version will also work great as a separate room.
- It is advisable to place a multi-brand in a shopping center, preferably on the 1st or 2nd floors.
- Mono-brand, as well as multi-brand, can be opened in a shopping center on the 1st or 2nd floor. It can also be located as a separate establishment.
- The decision on the location of the outlet selling clothing under a franchise will be decided by the franchisor, who will analyze the market and potential competitors.
- The boutique should be opened as a separate store. At the same time, you need to take care of its presentable appearance.
Necessary equipment
Before opening an establishment, you should take care of purchasing the necessary equipment.
For a clothing store you need to buy:
- mannequins on which the presented products will be hung;
- showcases and racks;
- fitting booths, hangers;
- cash machine;
- special scanners for credit cards.
Supplier search
After you have chosen the direction of the establishment, registered a company, rented premises, purchased equipment, you need to find suppliers. The supplier must first of all supply timely quality goods that can satisfy the tastes of visitors.
Finding suppliers will not be very difficult. Factories can become suppliers from Europe, America, China, and Russia. The main problem may be finding an original product that will set you apart from competing stores.
Note! To find interesting product for your establishment, you can attend special clothing exhibitions and fashion shows.
If you want to work with a specific brand, then you need to contact the supplier for delivery. You can find contacts of such companies on the Internet or ask friends who are engaged in the same business and work with this brand.
Staff
Naturally, you will need to hire professional sales consultants. These employees will determine how often customers purchase products from your store. Revenue, in turn, will depend on this.
A qualified specialist must have a presentable appearance, confidently understand the product, and be able to find an individual approach to each client.
The point's revenue depends approximately 70 percent on the actions of salespeople, so it is important to select good specialists who already have experience in sales.
You can place recruitment advertisements in newspapers, television and radio. You can also provide information on the Internet or use the services of recruitment agencies.
In addition to salespeople, you need to hire accountant, cleaners, administrator, security guards.
Don't forget that employees need to be constantly motivated. This will improve the quality of their work and productivity. It is necessary to carry out certification activities once a year.
Also remember that salespeople will have to be trained if someone does not have the required work experience.
Costs, sources of financing
The costs will roughly look like this:
- Registration of an individual entrepreneur – 2,000 rubles.
- Obtaining permits – 10,000 rubles.
- Rent – 30,000 rubles.
- Design and decoration – 100,000 rubles.
- Purchase of goods – from 200,000 rubles.
- Advertising – from 20,000 rubles.
- Payment to employees – 180,000 rubles.
- Equipment – from 70,000 rubles.
Possible sources of funding:
- Loan for small business development.
- Private investor.
- Own or borrowed capital.
Advertising
You can advertise your location using television, radio, social networks. On the first day of sales you can give special cards regular customers, which will give a discount on goods.
On the first day you can also organize a competition with a drawing of various prizes. Don't forget about gifts for visitors during the holidays.
Possible profit
On average, a clothing store can pay for itself in 1-2 years. If the business organization has been properly structured, the products are of high quality, and an acceptable pricing policy has been developed, then the projected revenue can be reached within six months.
Remember that when opening such an establishment, it is necessary to constantly update the product range to maintain constant demand for your product.
Today, more than 70% of the market is engaged in sales in various fields activities. Sales is the simplest and effective method start your own business from scratch, because there is constant demand for a certain category of goods, there is no need to carry out serious planning and analysis.
Thinking about opening own business, be sure to pay attention to the sales area, for example, sales of clothing, children's clothing, costume jewelry, haberdashery, or all the same only in a complex.
We will talk about opening a clothing store in a shopping center.
For example, the markup on outerwear is 20-110% (this includes jackets, down jackets, coats, etc.), the markup on casual clothing is 50-270% (this includes sweaters, blouses, shirts, etc.) and the markup on underwear is 150-400%.
Of course, we should not forget about the markup for the brand, for the quality of the material, for the initial purchase cost, and accessibility for buyers.
When starting your sales activities, you should decide what category of people your products will be for, since not everyone will be able to buy a shirt for everyday wear for 7,000 rubles.
So, opening a small business begins with registering an individual entrepreneur or a legal entity, and the latter is a rarity for this field of activity.
First steps to starting a business
Let’s assume that you decide to start selling casual clothing, the assortment of which consists of women’s blouses, T-shirts, jackets, men’s shirts, t-shirts, jumpers, and included wallets, bags, purses in the assortment, and also supplemented it with underwear.
Of course, the assortment can be anything, depending on your desire, but we are only looking at an example.
Stage 1: registration with the tax office.
Registration with the tax authority occurs within 5 days from the next day after submitting documents for registration of an individual entrepreneur. Moreover, before visiting government agency, you should pay the state duty at one of the banks and attach a receipt for its payment to the documentation.
Stage 2: registration with the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.
With the pension fund you do not have to pay for registration; all that is required of you is to write an application for registration. If this is not done on time, you can easily receive a fine of 5 thousand rubles.
Stage 3: opening a current account (if necessary).
As a rule, a current account is needed to pay goods to suppliers. In order to find out whether you need it, check with your suppliers what payment system they are used to working with clients. Within 5 business days after opening an account, notify tax office And Pension Fund, otherwise you will be required to pay a fine.
5 working days after submitting the documents, you receive a certificate of registration and become a full-fledged individual entrepreneur.
Supplier search
Currently, suppliers of goods are ordinary retailers and wholesalers rolled into one. As a rule, a discount on a product is achieved through volume purchasing. The average volume discount is 15-25%. Agree, not much to add to the amount of your own markup.
The search for suppliers is based on the choice between purchase price and quality. It is recommended to review up to ten options before choosing your supplier to purchase an item.
How to choose a place to sell clothes
No matter what anyone says, the most profitable place to sell clothes is a shopping center. The only condition when choosing a location is that the shopping center is well visited by people and it does not matter where it is located, on the outskirts or in the center.
Another question that arises when choosing a site for sale is the price. As a rule, landlords set their prices based on the cost per square meter. In addition, the price for electricity, heating and even a certain percentage for the corridor area is added to this cost.
The cost of 200-500 rubles per square meter characterizes outlet, located not in the city center, with low and medium traffic. The price per square, equal to 500-1500 rubles, refers to trading platforms in favorable locations for sale, the attendance of these centers is sufficient to implement your business.
All sites whose cost is over 1,500 rubles are considered luxury. These shopping centers are significant not only in the city, but also in the surrounding area. As a rule, in such expensive shopping centers there are no cheap things and they are created for the “rich” segments of the population.
Staff
To carry out activities in a shopping center, you will not need either a cleaner or a security guard. It is recommended that you work in the clothing department yourself for the first time (at least 2-5 months). This way you can reduce the costs associated with wages and payment of contributions to the pension fund.
It will also be easier for you to grow your own business since you will be more motivated to succeed than a hired salesman.
If your retail area exceeds 50 square meters, then you are unlikely to be able to cope on your own. In such a situation, hiring an employee is mandatory, provided that one employee will work for every 50 meters of area. If your department is very busy, the number of salespeople should increase.
Financial side of the issue
According to our calculations, the minimum price for opening a clothing department is 72 thousand rubles. Next, we will justify it.
- Costs for opening an individual entrepreneur – 800 rubles;
- Costs for purchasing goods – from 40,000 rubles at a time;
- Equipment costs – from 15,000 rubles;
- Rent retail space– from 15,000 rubles/month.
- Other expenses – from 1,200 rubles.
These calculations were carried out for a city with a population of 30,000 people. To calculate the estimated costs for a city with a different population size, use a proportion and divide the result by two. For example, for a city with a population of 300,000 people, opening costs will be 360,000 rubles.
Of course, the formula is approximate and has no significance, however, it is excellent for approximately calculating costs.
In this article we will look at the question of how to open a clothing store, what is needed for this, an example of a business plan for opening it.
The profit of a clothing store - boutique - will directly depend on the type of product sold - “luxury” brand clothing, exclusive, economy class, etc. For example, the markup on luxury clothing will be up to 100%, and on items for the middle class of consumers – up to 200%. In any case, this type of business is quite profitable.
Boutique business is perhaps the most profitable both in Russia and in Europe and the USA. According to experts, the annual turnover of funds in this industry is incredibly high. All over the world, new shopping centers and stores are being built, selling everything from cheap Chinese consumer goods to expensive glamorous exclusives.
Business plan
We present to you for free ready-made example a business plan for opening a clothing store that will help you start your own business in the trade sector. With this example, you can estimate your future expenses and income when running a business.
Plan implementation scheme:
- registering an individual entrepreneur;
- choosing a supplier;
- rent (buy) premises;
- we hire staff;
- we sell the goods.
How to open a clothing store
So, let's look at information on how to open a clothing store from scratch, point by point.
Choosing a format
It is necessary to decide what format the boutique will have - mono-brand (sells products of only one brand) or multi-brand (respectively, several companies and brands).
The first case is preferable if you plan to work under a franchise or under an agreement directly with the manufacturer. Although such a clothing store is losing a certain segment of customers, nevertheless, by selling an already promoted brand, it has a chance to earn the favor of the buyer.
The multi-brand format is more dynamic and flexible. The owner himself chooses the range of goods and its price category. As a rule, such boutiques offer clothes for different budgets, which attracts visitors.
Franchise store
Franchise agreement
Buying a franchise is a common way to start your own business. Sales specialists believe that build own store Only an entrepreneur who already has experience in the fashion industry can create clothes from scratch. So, the franchise agreement - a good option, if you have not had the opportunity to try yourself in this field before.
When purchasing the rights to sell a well-promoted brand, an entrepreneur is 80% sure that his business will do well. Why 80% and not 100? Because a lot depends on the location of the clothing store and the specifics of the market (city, country). The system into which the new boutique is included has been working for a long time and brings profit to its owners, and these are certain guarantees.
In addition, along with the product, the entrepreneur receives recommendations on its implementation, personnel selection, and marketing policy.
How to choose a franchisor?
To do this you need to answer a number of questions:
- what is the price segment of the clothing boutique;
- profitability of the franchisor's store (sample finances);
- what are the advertising costs for this brand;
- who makes up the competitive environment of your clothing store;
- how unsold goods will be returned to the supplier;
- what is the franchisor's strategy and the degree of its penetration into our market.
The downside of a franchise is its cost. The price for a brand of a domestic manufacturer will cost about 50 thousand dollars. Brands from foreign manufacturers are two to three times more expensive.
Choosing a retail space
There are a number of recommendations on where it is more profitable to open your own clothing store from scratch. For example, experts advise not to save on the space of a boutique, because the number of sales directly depends on the square footage of the sales floor. IN small store the buyer feels as if there is too little choice of clothing.
One of optimal options clothing store locations are shopping centers focused on the sale of clothing. It is believed that, despite competition, sales levels in trading floors higher than in stand-alone stores.
When choosing a location for a clothing store, the following are taken into account:
- image of the outlet;
- competition in your market segment;
- intensity of pedestrian flows near the store;
- the level of financial and economic development of the region;
- availability of other outlets, cafes, bio-toilets, parking in the neighborhood.
Trade inventory
To organize a clothing store, you will need the following equipment: racks, shelves, a counter, several mannequins, a cash register, hangers, a fitting room, mirrors. Furniture elements and their price will depend on the style of the boutique's interior.
Store design
Image influences the flow of visitors. In branded clothing stores concept appearance processed by design and marketing specialists. But even if you do not claim a unique design for your store, you will still have to do repairs and prepare the premises for work.
Product suppliers
As a rule, owners of multi-brand boutiques purchase from distributors of certain brands or travel to buy goods abroad (Turkey, Bulgaria, China, Europe, America). Having decided on the assortment, you need to choose the best supplier, taking into account the ratio of quality and price.
Working staff
Personnel play a significant role in trade. Shop fashionable clothes- not an exception. Selecting good sales consultants is another component successful work. In addition to external data and the ability to communicate with a client, an employee must understand fashion, have a sense of style, and be able to choose what suits the client.
The number of sellers depends on the size of the clothing store and the assortment sold. Most often, a salesperson's salary is piecework: a fixed rate plus a percentage of sales. The staff of a large store also includes a director, manager and accountant.
Advertising and Marketing
Business risks
Main risks when trading clothes:
- Unpredictability fashion trends . The dynamics and variability of fashion can ruin a clothing store: today the product is popular and quoted, but tomorrow it is no longer there.
- Insufficient demand. To prevent this problem, it is important to work on creating the image of the outlet.
- Shortage or overstocking of goods. Newbies in business often face this problem. The fear of “half-empty shelves” results in excessive purchases, and as a result, the ruin of a clothing store.
Approximate costs
So, how much does it cost to open a business like this:
- Franchise – from 45-47 thousand dollars.
- Rent commercial premises– from 1.5 thousand dollars/month.
- Equipment for a clothing store – from 3.5 thousand dollars.
- Repair – from 5 thousand dollars.
- Advertising – $500-1000
- Purchase of the first batch of clothing – from 10 thousand dollars.
- Salary – from 3 thousand dollars/month.
- The total initial cost of opening a clothing store from scratch is from 70 thousand dollars.
Business income
Trade margins can range from 50% to 200% or more.
In this situation, the payback will be from one and a half to two years.
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