Start a T-shirt Store in Orchard Rd for Free?

[ultimateworker]

Hi all,

As some of you know,
besides conducting workshops,
i run a retail business... to be exact,
a t-shirt store over in far east plaza.

we want to try out a very unique idea...
need all of your opinions...

when we started our t-shirt store
our vision is to become a platform
for young designers and entrepreneurs
to showcase their designs
and help them make a living out of their artforms.

the past few months have been busy for us,
as we were trying to get our operations right,
now we want to explore our vision wholeheartedly.

here's what we intend to offer:
1. Free rack space in a shop in Far East Plaza to display your t-shirts
and for your customers to try out your t-shirts
2. Free online store with your own brand name (tommysdesign.com) to sell your t-shirts
3. Free training on how to maintain your online store eg. add new designs

some of you may be asking,
this sounds too good to be true...
let me continue...

the reason why we are able to do all these
is because we are in a very unique position,
we actually own the means of production.

let me explain...
we have acquired the latest t-shirt printing technology
that allows us to print unlimited colors at the highest resolution
with the minimum quantity of ONE t-shirt.

This means technically, you do not need to keep a lot of stock.
Simply print some samples for display in our shop,
or simply display your designs in your online store,
and if your customer wants to buy,
we will print the t-shirt according to his/her size and selected design.
then, your customer can collect at our store
or we will ship the t-shirt out to them.

ok, i know some of you are still in disbelief...
so what's the catch, right?

The only thing we are asking of you is
to commit upfront to sell 40 t-shirts in 6 months,
that's only about 6 t-shirts a month.

it's a unique way of buying stocks
without actually keeping any of them.
you simply draw stocks as and when you need them.
and you can even use them for your own personal use!

i want to see if there is enough interest
to start this very unique win-win retail model...
so, who are interested?

thanks!
wee

[KittyMi]

So how much is the cost of 1 plain t-shirt + printing? I think it all boils down to cost and quality as these factors directly dictate the retail price of the T-shirt. I had wanted to print some tees in low qty and the cost is too high, it makes the thin profit margin not worth the time and effort.

Do you have children sizes from 2 - 5yrs old and also plain rompers?

[petchow]

Wat is the cost per T-shirt and printing? 6 pcs a month? Wat kind of profit can that generate? please give more details.

[teelee]

I'm keen! please advise on the cost per T-shirt with printing, n whether it is possible for us to provide our own plain T-shirts when you have the details worked out. Thanks!

[Tecly_Rtsk]

I'm keen! please pm me with more detail can?

[Vernilla]

Very keen
Do pm me more details about Your charges and all.

[Corinne]

PM you, hope to get a good reply (:

[ultimateworker]

hi all,
ok, i will try to answer all the questions...

1. KittiMi: So how much is the cost of 1 plain t-shirt + printing?
Currently, we are using American Apparel (Aa) t-shirts.
We import directly from Los Angeles.
Some of you will know that a plain Aa t-shirt retails about $30.
Hence, the retail price of each t-shirt should be around $49 onwards.

We chose American Apparel because the t-shirts are of a high quality.
They shrink very little after washing.
Also the cuts are not your standard boxy class t-shirt cuts.
We actually stock 3 different cuts for ladies.

2. KittiMi: Do you have children sizes from 2 - 5yrs old and also plain rompers?
For this market, we are still exploring because of technical issues
as well as whether it will dilute our current brand which is targeted at youths.

3. Petchow: Wat is the cost per T-shirt and printing?
The cost per t-shirt will be around $35, we are thinking of a minimum markup of $14, so that the minimum price is $49.

4. Petchow: 6 pcs a month?
That's just a min. quantity. You can sell beyond that. Actually, it is 40 pcs in 6 months.

5. Petchow: Wat kind of profit can that generate? please give more details.
The profit is really based on how good the designs are.
One current designer from Norway actually sold about 20 shirts within 2 months with a retail price of $59.

6. Teelee: whether it is possible for us to provide our own plain T-shirts
On the whole, we prefer not.
The reason is that we have done extensive testing on American Apparel t-shirts to achieve the current quality.
Our Digital Direct technology has many variables and we have sort of reached an optimum with the materials involved.

Keep the questions coming!

Thanks!
Wee

[XavieraLin]

Got so good ma? How about accessories?

[KittyMi]

I think what gets printed depends large part on who is the shop's targeted group of customers. If they only want to target the arty types, than I would say by all means be selective on what you sell. But if the target is mass market consumers then the shop has to sell designs that caters to the group.

And what is consider good design? One man's meat is another man's poison, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Whatever that sells is good design, there is a difference between art and commercial design and in this case 'Beauty is in the eyes of money holder'.