Most women are very crazy with shopping, specially with clothing items. How you can run a good clothing store is a hard task. Everywhere around us are clothing stores, some shops always have people inside browsing their products, also stores that end their business after just a few months. What is the secret to some success and how can you avoid the pitfalls that can lead to failure?
If you are tempted to open a clothing store, here are a few suggestions to help you turn it into a success:
1.Be passionate about opening your clothing store
You might be a true fashionista in love with everything that has to do with fashion and glam. It might seem that this is enough to open your clothing store, but the experts don’t really see it this way. If you are opening a shop just to test the market and see how you like it, you might end up a few months later with lots of bills to pay and little success to write home about. There was a time when you could have just opened a shop and see later what to do with it, where to find the best suppliers and everything else. But now, with the rent prices going through the roof and with some many businesses being opened in the same niche every day, it is hard to make a profit without a good business plan and back up.
We could easily say that the clothing store owner of the new millennium needs to be a true professional with a strong motivation behind him. And by motivation we don’t necessarily mean a financial one, it can be as simple and easy as a passion for beautiful clothes. Before starting an online clothing store, you will need to question your dedication, courage and ambition to succeed and even your personal abilities. Are you an excellent manager? Or maybe you are good with numbers? Do you have a strong creative sense? Any of these could help you in the opening and running a clothing business. Of course, aside from your personal qualifications and depending what those may be, you will also need to surround yourself with people knowledgeable in other areas related to this business.
Usually, a good motivation would be turning a passion into a career. For example, you love drawing sketches of dresses or other clothing items and the people who saw them deem them as interesting. Ask them if they would buy that particular clothing item and if the answer is yes than you might be just steps away from becoming a fashion designer with your own clothing store.
The experts say that the most successful owners will open a shop starting with their own desire to make something beautiful or a vast experience in the clothing business. Maybe you have worked for a lifetime for women’s magazines, and now you feel confident enough to start a clothing business to cater to them. You know your audience and how to address them, you know how and where to advertise and most importantly you are also aware of the costs involved. This means you can start a clothing business even if you come from an adjacent field and have no real experience with commerce.
2. Ask for advice but always listen to your heart
Especially if you don’t have a lot of experience in your hands, it is recommended you listen to people suggestions and recommendations, but don’t take everything you hear literally. There are rules of thumb that work for every business, and there are others that are very specific. What worked for your friend or neighbor is not bound to work for you too. The reasons behind this can vary from something as simple as a difference in the budget to something more complicated as having a network of clients already established even before opening the shop. Every situation and clothing store is different, and you need to put all suggestions to a filter. In many cases, your heart might be able to help you make the best decisions, in other cases it will be your head (probably on money related issues). What you need to remember is that even if you are not particularly knowledgeable in this field, you can still have opinions of your own. Of course, if you hire a specialist to do this for you, it would be probably better to listen to him!
3. Consider the location before deciding on a niche or the other way around
If you would like to cater to high end and luxury budgets with your clothing brand, you will need a suitable location like in a mall or a premium pedestrian area. Setting up a clothing store with high prices at the outskirts of a big city is not the best option. While you can definitely advertise and bring clients to your location, it would be just easier to be located where your audience already is. All this is a valid recommendation in case you already have space for the shop. If it is the exact another way around and you have a clothing stores idea in mind, then consider it before selecting a place for the store. Think where your clients spend time and try to be in their focus.
If you want to invest in a clothing store that will offer fashion clothes at affordable prices, you can even consider going to a neighborhood where the rent prices might be cheaper. This way you will be able to lower your expenses while still offering quality clothing. We strongly believe that quality clothes at affordable prices are achievable if you work with the right supplier. Starting a working relationship with a clothing supplier from China can lower the costs of production so you could offer clothing for a fraction of the price your competitors are having. And this leads us to the next tip:
4. Choose your clothing supplier wisely
The clothing supplier might be the most important partner you will have when opening a clothing store. Here, at Imilyclothing, for example, we take care of everything for you. We can simplify the process of production to as little as receiving the drawings or photos from you and delivering the end products to your door. We source the fabrics; we do the cutting and the sewing and all else required for you to get a high-quality clothing line. What’s more, you don’t have to burden yourself with thinking about all the production stages as we will only get you involved in the steps that absolutely require your advice. And to work with us in complete confidence, you can also have a third party check the quality of our products and services before we deliver.
Working with the right clothing supplier means that:
– You will have the clothing items you ordered delivered at the door on a schedule;
– Your shop will always have stock so you will attract more clients;
– You don’t have to send us anything more than the drawings of the products;
– You know exactly when we will deliver and when you have to pay;
– You can order small batches of products if you want to test the market before ordering a large quantity;
– You get your clothing design done at very affordable prices this allowing you to make more profit.
5. Choose your team wisely
After making sure you get the best clothing supplier you can find out there (that would be us, of course), your next concern will be to find the perfect team to put your clothing store out there on the market. By team, we are talking about everyone will help with the shop, from your web developer to the shop assistant, marketing specialist included. They all play crucial roles in the success of your business, and we can easily say they are all just as important as having a good supplier. This is another factor that can ensure your success so not a place to cut corners. All team members should be very knowledgeable in their line of work, equipped with a positive attitude and a proactive demeanor.
This is not only about your shop assistant but about all the people involved in the selling process. If you are also selling the clothes online, then it is about the people you hire to develop the site too. All the staff members that represent your business in front of the clients are crucial elements for your success.
6. Dress up your front window
To attract customers to your shop, you will need to pay special attention to your front window. There are shops that have such an impressive window that you just can’t stand away; you need to go inside to see if the merchandise inside can live up to the glorious image of the display. There are people who specialize in this, but it is also a task that can be taken care of by someone with a bit of imagination and fashion sense. Make sure your display will present your core products as there is highly possible for them to sell best.
Before deciding on the best products to display in the window have a look at your clothing line and check what are the items most likely to attract attention. These are usually the clothing items that represent the latest trends or those ones that are unique or simply stunning.
7. Provide easy access for client to reach the products
Selling clothes from behind a counter is not an option these days. People will want to touch them and have easy access to them. Having the clothing items displayed on hanger wherever possible is always a better choice than having them on shelves. But again, it all depends on the volume of merchandise you have in the shop and the type of clothing you are going to sell.
While some shop managers have a policy never to allow clients to touch the products, the successful ones not only will invite clients to touch them but also to try them on.
8. Understand that only some of the visitors that come into the store will turn into customers
This will help you not to get disappointed when you see people coming to your shop and leaving without buying anything. You don’t want everybody to be your client. You want the people you are targeting to be your customers so don’t worry if people come in and never shop. For some of them your clothing line can be out of the budget, but if they like it, they will recommend it to others. Other people might not like the style of your clothes, and this is all fine, people have different tastes, and you are not here to please them all. Just make sure that you please the clients you are targeting, though.
If no sales are made after quite some time after opening the clothing store, you should check what can go wrong. Send a mysterious client to the shop (maybe a friend of yours) and see how the shop assistants are dealing with him.
9. Promote your shop aggressively
Even before you actually open the doors, you should start promoting the shop and the clothing line. Make people curious about your products and have them talking about you in advance. This could only help with making more sales once you are opened for public. They say that promotion is the heart of the business, and we tend to agree. A successful businessman was once asked what he would do if he would have 20 dollars and he said he would buy a pen for 5 dollars and the rest of the money he would put towards advertising. This is a good idea, and you should consider a hefty budget for advertising too. You can promote your shop in google advertising.
The End
Running a successful clothing store business is not an easy job, keep your customers in mind, sell what they are looking for, new fashion designs. If you have any fashion designs want to custom, please feel free to contact with us.