How to build a clothing store from scratch in 4 steps
The clothing segment is one of the fastest growing in Brazil.
In addition to being considered an essential sector, it is an area that is always on the rise and constantly renewing itself.
If you want to open your own business, a clothing store might be the right alternative for you, find out more:
Why a clothing store?
Although it is a very competitive market, the fashion sector is a promising bet for those who wish to open their own store.
The main advantage of setting up a clothing store is the absence of seasonality, the versatility of this type of business allows you to adapt your products to any time of the year, in addition to constant news and trends that guarantee sales all year long!
There are several strategic dates during the annual calendar that you can use to your advantage to profit each month.
Physical clothing store vs. virtual clothing store
It is a fact that trades online are increasingly popular, however, physical stores are still the biggest marketing channel and have other advantages, such as:
- The customer’s complete experience with the product, ie: checking the size, feeling the material, seeing the actual color, etc.
- The customer has the possibility to leave the store with the product in hand ready to use whenever he wants, without having to wait days to do so.
- With quality service, it is possible to retain more customers, who will be served faster and more humanely than in the virtual environment.
On the other hand, if you have a lower initial investment, opting for the virtual environment may be the solution, after all, you saves on rent, taxes and licenses, making the whole process of opening and maintaining your store much easier and faster.
To leverage your virtual sales, count on NEX! Through its Digital Catalog, your customer chooses the products and places the order online! So, just get in touch via Whatsapp to set the final conditions.
After all, what does it take to open a clothing store?
– Documentation
The bureaucratic part of opening a store can be a little complex, but that’s no reason to give up on your goal, the main documents you need to open your physical store are:
- Social contract
- Registration at the Commercial Registry
- CNPJ
- State registration
- Business license
- Licenses – Fire Department and Health Surveillance
- Social Security Registration
Depending on the nature of the store you want to open and the place where it will be located, there may be specific documentation, be aware of these particulars, consult the website of the responsible local bodies.
You can find out more details about starting a business by clicking here.
– Space (physical or online)
In the case of a physical store, it is essential to choose a strategic sales point for your store. A bad location can hinder your business’ success. Before choosing your commercial point, pay attention to some details:
- Observe the movement of the place – streets with greater pedestrian circulation are the most suitable for opening a store, as it increases the visibility of your store.
- Parking – if close to your point there is a large movement of vehicles, it is important to pay attention to this point, if your target audience wants to go to your store, is it easy to park near it? Your store needs to be accessible to everyone.
- Competition – note if near the point you want to open your store there is a large number of competitors, the greater the competition, the greater the competitiveness.
- Rent Amount – Even if you’ve found your dream spot, you need to make sure you can afford it, especially at the start.
On the other hand, virtual stores do not limit their sales to a specific opening hours as in the physical environment, to be successful, pay attention to some details:
- Develop an attractive website for your store – your page needs to be organized and pleasant to retain your customers longer.
- Place product quality images – place images with good resolution and from various angles, it allows the customer to get to know your product better, be aware of new trends in order to innovate always.
- Offer several payment methods – this increases the chances of your potential customer to complete the purchase on your website.
- Create social networks for your store – combining website and social networks to sell products is a great strategy to boost your sales. Learn how to sell on social media!
– Financial planning
This is a very important step when opening a business, even before setting up your store it is essential that you organize your finances.
Make a detailed plan, put all the expenses you will have to open your clothing store and how much it will cost to maintain it during the first months, when it is not generating a positive financial return for you, think about:
Don’t forget about other fixed expenses in your physical store, such as: water, electricity, internet, card machine rental, etc.
Learn to put together a financial plan for your store.
How to set up a clothing store in 4 steps
Step 1 – Identify your target audience
With the great competitiveness of the market, you cannot want to reach all audiences at the same time, as competition would be even greater for you.
Therefore, it is important to select the type of customer you want for your store, the more you know about your target audience, the better you will be able to serve them.
To help you, answer the following questions: Is it men’s, women’s, children’s fashion? What is the age group of your audience? What type of clothing is most sought after by him? What is the average income? what are yours Consumption habits?…
Step 2 – Analyze the market
Now that you’ve established a target audience for your store, it’s time to decide what your niche will be, to help you in this task, you need to do a market analysis.
This way you will know which are the most competitive sectors and which segments are still little explored, allowing you to identify business opportunities and help you find a competitive advantage.
For example, a research done by Sebrae, shows that the sector of plus size fashion It is a great opportunity to undertake, despite having a great demand, given that more than half of the Brazilian population is considered overweight, it is still an underexplored niche, in the country only 18% of clothing stores serve this public.
Step 3 – Choose a good spot
Remember the importance of a good location for your store. Follow the previous tips and position your store in a strategic place with good visibility to increase your store’s chances of success.
See more about what a consumer expects from a local business.
Step 4 – Promote your store
Now that you have everything ready to set up your store, it’s time to invest in marketing your business.
Create a marketing project, identify which is the best strategy to reach your target audience and which dissemination channels you can find them most frequently, in this way, you increase the visibility of your business.
Remember that promoting your store is an essential step to attract customers, especially when starting a business.
Is it possible to set up a clothing store on a shoestring?
– How much does it cost to open a clothing store?
Each store has a different need, making it difficult to estimate an exact amount for your initial investment.
We recommend that you make a list with everything you will need to set up your store: decoration items, rent, suppliers, initial stock and working capital, fixed accounts, etc.
After that, do a good search on the internet and add to your list the value of all the items that best fit your reality, in the end, add up the values and you will have the necessary value to open your store.
– What is the profit of a clothing store?
As with the previous item, it is not possible to estimate an exact profit amount for your store, remember that all your expenses are directly related to your profit.
In the first few months your business revenue tends to be lower, because you will still have to attract, win and retain customers, so your profit margin will also be smaller.
Track your business profit with the Nex Program, a complete management system for your store. With it you can apply to profit margin your products and have access to profitability reports!
When your store is already better positioned in the market, make an action plan based on your store’s performance to increase your revenue and improve the profits generated.
Conclusion
Opening a business is not a simple task, it is important to plan all the steps carefully and devise strategies to stand out in such a competitive market.
Now that you know how to set up your clothing store and all the benefits of this market, learn more tips to have a successful business in the clothing segment by clicking here.
Got questions or have any suggestions? Be sure to comment!
Discover more articles in our categories Fashion & Looks & Luxe ou encore 90s Outfits.
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