How to Open a Women's Clothing Retail Store
The fashion industry is one that sees hundreds of billions of dollars in sales annually, according to the Norman Lear Center website, and a large segment of that profit comes from the sale of women's apparel. Opening a women's clothing retail store can be challenging, but equally rewarding. To ensure that the business you open is successful, there are several items to consider.
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Things You'll Need
- Business permits and licenses
- Physical location or website
- Funding
- Suppliers
- Insurance
Instructions
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Pick a niche for your women's clothing store. This will enable you to advertise and promote to your target market effectively. For instance, you may specialize in plus-size women, teen or tween girls, lingerie, bridal gowns or businesswomen attire.
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Obtain the necessary permits needed in your city and state to open a store. Contact your city's small business development center or Small Business Administration office for help find this information. You may need a business license, fictitious name certificate (DBA), and resale permit. Apply for an employer identification number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service.
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Decide where you will retail your women's clothing. Options include a brick and mortar store, mall booth or kiosk, local flea market or an online storefront. E-commerce stores require the least amount of start-up money, but you will need to secure a domain name and develop a website to sell online.
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Apply for a small business loan or find investors, if you don't have the funding to open your store. The U.S. Small Business Administration will help you apply for a loan or you can ask your local bank if they offer programs for companies like yours.
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Obtain the proper level of commercial insurance. You don't want to risk your business with a damage or liability claim. Contact your current insurance company and, if they don't cover commercial losses, ask for a referral.
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Open wholesale accounts with women's clothing suppliers. Find the vendors with the best reputation by joining the local chamber of commerce and networking with other clothing store owners in the area. Ask them who they use to supply their fashions, and then call the vendor and discuss costs of their supplies, order minimums and other details that you will need in order to get the best clothes as the lowest prices.
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Purchase retail supplies for your store, including shipping boxes, if you are selling online, or shopping bags, shelving, pricing guns, a cash register and signage, if you're opening a storefront.
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Promote your women's clothing store by placing ads on blogs, forums and websites that women frequent. Launching a promotional blog and joining a group such as the National Retail Federation to network with peers and suppliers is the best way to become established as a women's clothing retail store.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit women mannequin image by Leonid Nyshko from Fotolia.com
