It is no secret that fashion is a business worth millions of pesos and is in the top 3 favorite categories of Argentines to buy online, according to our .
If you are thinking of having your own clothing brand, opening a boutique or starting a business dedicated to the sale of second-hand clothing; Here we tell you everything you need to know about starting a clothing business and being successful.
In this content we are going to talk about all the key points so you can see how to start a clothing business:
- what does it take to open a clothing store,
- How much budget do you need?
- how to start selling clothes online
- where to buy clothes for .
We focus on the top suppliers for different categories, such as Asian clothing, Second-hand clothing, American clothing, etc. We hope you find it very useful!
What does it take to open a clothing business?
If you were wondering how to start a clothing business, let’s start at the beginning. To start a clothing store —and in general, any enterprise— you are going to need these three basic elements:
- A reliable supplier.
- A store.
- Eager to undertake
Let me explain each of them.
1. A reliable supplier
It may be in another country or it may be your closet that provides you with garments to sell clothes. In any case, you need a contact from whom you can obtain the products you are going to sell.
To choose a reliable supplier for your clothing business, we recommend you consider the following aspects:
- Product price
- Garment quality
- Location
- Whether billing or not
- Origin of the merchandise
- Shipping costs or additional fees
In addition, of course, to the treatment you are used to giving. Having a reliable seller who acts in a professional manner and respects commercial agreements is worth gold. If you already have it, you have a large part of your project aimed at success.
2. A store
We have been talking about how to start a clothing business, but have you thought about whether you want to set up a physical location or do you prefer to manage everything online?
Depending on your project and budget you can decide what is best for your business at this early stage. For example, it is much more accessible to start a clothing business online. The cost of creating a virtual store is very low compared to renting and setting up a physical store on the street.
Did you know that with Tiendanube you can? We offer you a 30-day trial to get to know the platform and then keep it for plans starting at just $599.
On the other hand, it may be that the best decision is to start online and later find a physical space. This can serve as a flagship store, or “flagship store”, and customers have the option of picking up their clothes there.
From this first decision, a next one will be derived in relation to the location. In case of advancing with a physical clothing business, you will have to select the area and the place where to set it up. If you opt for online sales, the decision will be in what to choose.
Points to consider when starting an online or offline clothing business
- your budget
- The initial investment to disburse
- The cost of support (including rent, services, salaries, etc.)
- The scope of the project in the short term
This will help you make a better decision for your business and consider the next steps to take to materialize your business idea.
💡 Expert tip: if you are looking to give it more formality and strategy, I recommend that you make a . This will become your treasure map to guide your business to success.
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3. Desire to undertake
Last but not least, you have to have the desire to undertake. It’s easy to say, but it takes effort and a lot of dedication to start your own business. Without the proper motivation, you can lose your way or forget the initial feeling of starting a new adventure.
Therefore, we invite you to reflect:
- Why do I want to start?
- What motivates me to start this business?
- What is the added value or differentiator of my project?
- Do I have a specific goal in mind that I want to accomplish?
Finding what triggers your motivation and keeping in mind how different and unique your project is, will be the compass and, sometimes, the shield to reach the goal you are dreaming of.
Let’s boost that motivation! We invite you to read:
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How much money do you have to invest to start a clothing business?
This question is one of the first to go through the minds of entrepreneurs. While it starts out as a mere curiosity, it can give us a better picture of how feasible it is to start a business the way you envisioned it.
The investment cost to set up a clothing business in Argentina is between $300,000 and $3 million.
It all depends on the location, the rental costs of the premises plus warehouse, services, employee salaries, security, infrastructure, furniture, display cases, mannequins, point of sale system and more. In addition, you have to consider the maintenance costs month by month.
On the other hand, the investment cost to set up an online clothing business in Argentina is between $599 and $13,000 per month.
It is also necessary to consider other additional expenses, if any, such as the cost of the domain, investment in social networks and the salary of the collaborators.
How to start a clothing business? Steps to follow
If you were wondering how to start an online clothing business, we will bring you a step by step with the key points.
- Identify your market niche
- Create a plan
- Get advice on the legal aspect
- Find suppliers and manage stock
- Create your sales website
- Create your brand’s social networks
- Connect with marketplaces
- Develop a marketing plan
I explain below.
1. Identify your market niche
To start selling clothes, and any other, it is important to dedicate yourself to a particular sector.
Look for statistics and trends to understand which area is most interesting, strategic and profitable for you to focus on.
2. Create a business plan
Second, we advise you to create your business plan. We already mentioned it before because it is a key to professionalizing your brand, having a clear destination and establishing the specific necessary actions that you are going to implement to obtain your objectives.
In this article we tell you how to do it:
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3. Get advice on the legal aspect
There are two: be registered in AFIP and show form 960. With these two items, you can start selling clothes online!
4. Find suppliers and manage stock
Your suppliers will be the ones that provide you with the items that you are going to put up for sale. Once you are clear about what clothing business you are going to start, for example, children’s, sports or casual, it is time to understand who you are going to work with to obtain your stock.
For this we recommend asking for references, researching possible providers and maintaining a good relationship, in case you need to go to them with questions or unforeseen events.
With regard to stock management, it is key to have a clear and up-to-date record of your products, income and expenses, the supplier of each one, their prices, everything about your inventory!
It’s laborious, but we’re here to help you: we invite you to download this for free, with which you’ll be able to automate processes and control your product catalog without problems.
Also exist software specialized in , like Zoo Logic’s Dragonfish that you can integrate into your Tiendanube by doing .
5. Create your sales website
Creating your own website with a shopping cart is very simple. There are options that allow you to do it without being an expert in programming or having advanced knowledge in web design.
, for example, allows you only with the photos and descriptions of your products. The administrator panel is very intuitive and there you will be able to customize the payment options and shipping methods.
Among those in Argentina, it is not only the one that offers you the best value for money, but it is also the only one with more than a hundred integrations available.
I did the test! and fall in love with how easy it is to sell with Tiendanube.
Do you have doubts? See how to do it in just 5 steps:
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💡 Expert tip: It is estimated that you need to have about 2 thousand followers on social networks to generate a constant monthly sales volume. Therefore, we recommend these to boost your business.
Speaking of social networks, what do you think if we get fully into that topic?
6. Create your brand’s social networks
Once you have created your website with shopping cart, the next step is to open the social networks of your brand.
This will allow you to connect your virtual store with your audience, start generating and create great advertising campaigns. In this way, more and more users will find out about your business and the incredible clothes that you have available for purchase on your site.
If this is your first time, these guides to creating your social media accounts can help you:
💡 Expert tip: when you open your online store in Tiendanube, you can connect your website with . This is one of the most important functions to sell through social networks.
7. Develop a marketing plan
This is a point that is valid for your clothing business in general as well as for specific actions, such as the launch of a new product or the liquidation of a collection.
Having a marketing plan will allow you to define clear objectives, think of strategies and implement them. For example, thinking about how to start selling clothes, you can carry out a promotional campaign through multiple media.
Obtaining greater visibility, you will deepen the diffusion and knowledge of your brand. This promotes the generation of new leads and more sales!
To help you build your own, we bring you our free e-book dedicated to the subject:
8. Connect with marketplaces
Finally, if you want to sell online, the next step is to connect your store with different marketplaces. These can be Mercado Libre, Amazon or Shopee, among others. The idea is that you increase the number of users interested in your products.
If you have a Tiendanube, this step is easy. You just need to go to our and connect your page with , for various marketplaces, or , for Mercado Libre. This way you will be able to manage your sales from one place.
How to create a clothing brand?
One of the first steps in starting a clothing business is creating your brand. In addition to the name, you have to consider elements such as colors, specific messages, logo and even the .
We already talked about how to start a clothing business, now we focus on it and its strategies to build a unique brand. The steps to follow to achieve this are:
- Design a business plan.
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