Opening Clothing Retail Shop - Page 3

Mooncake

The people who told you off make sense.


You cannot even GO DOWN and SQUATT at northpoint to monitor the traffic to justify if you can sell there.

I would then ask you :
How many clothing stores is in Northpoint?
What is their pricepoint?
How many % of the traffic is your intended customer?
How much is their spending power (see their current dressing, guess their price range)?
If you have call Northpoint management, how much is the rental?

Next,
What is your cost?
Any need to hire manpower?
What is your markup?
What is your promotion plan?
What is the minimum that per design from supplier?

No point asking others to answer your question. All this you can find out using 1-2 days at site and with phonecalls. A true retailer have to be hands-ON at her business and not HANDS-ON only on the keyboard.


Find me harsh? This is the truth of retailing, spoon-feed pet die very fast in this harsh retail world.

xoxoxo

I think hers is less of a "confusion" issue.... more like she hasn't got the courage to go on her own. Takes time and lots of guts to quit a steady income 9-5 job, get out of your comfort zone to start a business of your own.

ctcart, risk is part and parcel of what we entrepreneurs have to take. If it is sure win, everyone will be boss liao! And no one is born with the knowledge of being an entrepreneur, we all learn as we go along, we make mistakes, we learn and we improve. Sure hope the next time you start a new thread, it's not about the same old issue again.

petchow

xoxoxo

I totally agree with you...not the same old thread again.....and again...

MyLove101

you guys r giving very gd advices, very experience and also...very frank. :P

xoxoxo

As Mooncake says, this is a harsh retail world. Remember running your own business is not just about getting a good product and selling it at a good location. There are many more factors/considerations including dealing with your competitors (known and unknown), managing your manufactures/suppliers, handling your nasty customers, retaining your good customers, dealing with economy downturns, and the list goes on.

I believe those who have stepped forward to give advices and criticisms are people who have been there and done that i.e. they have taken their first baby steps perhaps fallen many times before they came to where they are today May be we are not 100% successful yet but at least we try and are still trying

Mooncake

Not really answering to the original poster, but to encourage anyone else who have the right mentality to prepare for it.

To do business and to start one from nothing, preparation is the real key.

- Proper planning in understand you and your competitor, and prepare a marketing plan to market yourself above your competitor.

- Understanding who is your client base, where could you reach to them. How much is their spending power. What will make them loyal to you.

- Try on small scale, internet is the smallest scale of investment. If capital is a concern, you can build your firstshop in blogshop which is pretty idiot-proof in using. Go for your own domain if you have more cash to spare, my website is hosted by US company and it cost me only US10-20 a year. No $$$ to get an expert to write your html? get a book and read it like you depend on it for life. I make my husband read the whole book and build www.silkmineral.com for me.

- Once you get the hang of the business online, decide if you would go for real shop. Of course if you have capital, you can get SHOP first then online. For me, I only starting my shop this month and the 1st setup is already in town at very prominent mall. I am aiming for bankers and mid level executives and thus the location and renovation become very important. Then also decide if the online store and the brick&mortar store can co-exists. Mine cannot as I have additional partner, hence I "killed" the makeup from the online store and transfer the product totally to the shop.

- Marketing marketing and marketing. This is an endless job, everyday there are new challenges to meet, this is why good marketer are paid highly in retail world.

SunflowerSG

Surely. The difference between a entrepreneur and a 9-5 job worker, is that entrepreneur takes the risk to come out from their comfort 9-5, monthly pay job, to start something NEW.....

However, sad to say, not all "entrepreneurs" come out well... learn from mistakes and continue to improve your business strategy.

superbox

HI EVERYONE, I M NEW HERE, please GUIDE ME ALONG

pinkocean

Asking other people for answers is a short cut way of doing things. Show sincerity & determination by taking action. Want to know the price of pushcart? Go ask the information counter of the mall. If you want to know whether selling clothings are profitable, then do research. If you want to worry about how to put a changing space at your cart go visit all pushcarts and understand how they tackle the problem.

Folks here are kind enough to share experiences which is hard to find in the real retail world. Be humble and learn well.

ericyfj

Ctcart,

do you wanna looking for a partner? if yes, plaese PM me kaes