Starting a business selling lingerie is best done by ladies. They are better versed in the range, know the real price of this or that product and are better able to anticipate the desires of customers. In the article tell how to open a lingerie store from scratch.
Choosing a niche and assortment for a lingerie store
If the competition is high, it is best to open not a universal lingerie store, but something specialized. For example, trade only in luxury lingerie. As an option - opening a lingerie boutique for full ladies.
If there are no competitors nearby, you can open a boutique with different product categories. The ideal ratio of lingerie will be as follows: 10% elite and expensive, 70% medium and low price category and 20% - with non-standard sizes. Usually in this case it is possible to quickly build up a base of regular customers, and at the same time the goods of a certain category will not be long stale.
The lingerie assortment in the store usually includes:
- Bras
- Underpants
- Lingerie sets
- Swimsuits
- Bodysuits and corsets
- Home clothes, bathrobes
- Socks, tights
- Corrective underwear
You can dilute the assortment, including there in addition to everyday models and erotic lingerie.
If you are frightened of starting a business from scratch, you can open a store under a franchise. For example, there is a brand "Parisianka", the initial investment in the purchase of a franchise is 600 thousand rubles. Boutiques of women's underwear and home clothes "Parisian" are very popular and are found in many large TU Russia. According to the owners of the franchise, the payback period of the business is about 1 year, which is considered a good indicator.
Business registration
You'll need start a sole proprietorship or an LLC. If there is only one founder and it is planned to open only one outlet, it is easier to register as an individual entrepreneur. The taxation system is simplified.
OKVED Code 47.71.2 Retail trade in underwear in specialized stores
Room
The location of the future store is influenced by its status. It is unlikely that wealthy ladies will go to the lingerie boutique, which you open on the outskirts of the city in a small room. But budget lingerie can be sold in the bedroom neighborhoods.
For a department store it is quite suitable to rent a pavilion in a shopping center. Even when selling things only low and medium price category, it is not worth choosing a place with an area of less than 10 square meters. meters. In such a store it will be difficult to place on the showcases of all the goods, and even a few visitors there will be cramped. The minimum area - 20 square meters. meters.
The premises should be equipped with at least two fitting rooms. The advantage of renting a pavilion in a shopping center is that there is no need to draw up most of the documents. You will only have to open a sole proprietorship and choose a taxation system. Everything else will be taken care of by the landlords. However, the rental rate in a shopping center is usually high.
If you can not find a pavilion in the shopping center, it is worth choosing a space in a place with good traffic, near food supermarkets and other crowded places.
In the room it is important to make repairs, beautifully decorate the shop window and walls, connect the alarm system.
Equipment
From the equipment will need open shelving, glass counters and display cases on the lock, cabinets, shelves, hanging circular hangers, mirrors and pouffes for fitting rooms, salesman's rack, mannequins.
Finding suppliers for a lingerie boutique
You can buy goods from Russian or foreign suppliers. It is most profitable to do it directly from factories, but buying from wholesalers will save time. There are wholesale stores and bases, as well as online stores selling lingerie to retail outlets.
Foreign suppliers are either inexpensive Chinese manufacturers or Europe (Poland, France, Italy). You can order lingerie in China cheaply, but you will have to wait about 2 months for delivery. European lingerie is considered to be of high quality, but it costs much more.
Personnel
You will need two salespeople who will work in shifts. Young, attractive girls are best suited to the task. They should be polite and understand the assortment and sizes. Their main task is to help not only the female customers, but also the men who will come to your store for a gift.
A cleaner and an accountant can be hired at an hourly rate. The business owner himself can perform the functions of the administrator.
Advertising for a lingerie store
It's important to come up with original title, order a brightly colored sign for the store. If the store is located in a passable place, you won't need to spend a lot of money on advertising. Additionally, you can:
- Handing out flyers to passersby.
- Order outdoor advertising
- Think through special promotions - "three sets for the price of two".
- Use ads in elevators and on transportation - if budget allows.
- Promote the store in social networks, especially Instagram. There you can also set up targeted advertising. Hold contests among subscribers, give away prizes (discount coupons), publish customer reviews.
Opening costs
Start-up costs:
- starting a sole proprietorship,
- rent,
- buying the first load of laundry,
- equipment,
- repair and decoration.
Registration of a sole proprietorship will cost about 7,000 (with a stamp and current account). You will have to spend at least 80 thousand roubles on the first batch. You will have to spend about 50 thousand roubles on equipment.
A lingerie boutique is not just a store. Customers must be comfortable. Therefore, at a minimum you need to create a colorful showcase near the entrance and two fitting rooms with false walls (it is better not to use simple curtains, it is not aesthetic and not respectable) of plasterboard or other simple material. Therefore, you can not do without repairs. The costs depend on the degree of "neglect" of the rented premises and can range from 30 to 60 thousand rubles.
Total start-up costs - at least 200,000 rubles.
In addition, you need to take into account the monthly costs of paying salaries to employees, as well as rent, purchase of goods, taxes and advertising of the lingerie store. It is possible to keep within the sum of 100-150 thousand roubles a month.
Lingerie store revenue
As for profit, everything depends on the demand for lingerie. As a rule, the markup on the goods is 100%, and if you sell luxury items, this figure can reach 300%. But here we must take into account that when selling mass-market lingerie profit is possible only with a large turnover, and when selling luxury things, even the sale of 1 set of lingerie per day can help the store to break even due to high trade margins.
At a purchase price of 1,000 rubles a set of underwear of the middle price category can really sell for 2,000 - 3,000 rubles. 3 sales per day and 90 per month will give a turnover of 180,000 - 270,000 rubles. After deducting all costs, net profit will be from 30,000 rubles to 100,000 rubles.
If your product will be in demand, it is quite realistic to pay off the business in a year.
Tips for aspiring entrepreneurs
To open a profitable women's lingerie store, we recommend using the following tips:
- It is desirable to create an individual design of the room. You can even use the services of a designer for this purpose. A successful combination of light, colors and furnishings will have an elusive and favorable effect on customers. And, of course, they will want to come here and shop.
- Do not accept returned merchandise with a frown. Many ladies often buy lingerie on impulse, but are quickly disappointed at home. By law, if the item is intact, they can return it. If you take it back with a friendly look, the girl will not be offended and will probably come back here again for a well-considered purchase.
- Be sure to introduce gift certificates, discount cards and promotions (for example, 1+1=3). Such methods of attracting customers are very effective, so it is foolish to refuse them. In addition, these offers can significantly increase the store's profits even in a crisis.
- Think carefully about the name of the boutique. The more interesting and memorable the name is, the better the chance that a potential customer will still come to you. About, how to choose a good company nameWe told you about it in the corresponding article!
We also recommend you to read the video lesson, in which the expert tells step by step how to start a business:
We hope these step-by-step instructions for opening a lingerie store were clear and interesting for you!
It will be interesting to read:
- Best franchises for women
- How to open a children's clothing store
- Business plan of a hairdressing salon with calculationsWhere to start opening a lingerie store?What costs do I need to consider when opening a lingerie store?How to choose a range for a lingerie store?
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