Design director of spiilka on how to create a boutique-type agency.

First steps

Any business starts with a business plan, just like a theater starts with a hanger. You need to decide what, why and for whom you are doing, set deadlines for implementation, work through the stages and take into account all the pitfalls.

Since we are talking today about opening a clothing boutique, let’s consider a business plan using this area as an example.

Selling clothes is always a relevant business, the benefits of which are obvious. If you focus on opening a cheap clothing store, then you can take the required income in quantity - there will definitely be a lot of buyers, and this will quickly recoup all investments. A more expensive boutique will also pay for itself, but here we are no longer taking quantity, but the better quality and higher price of the goods.

Decide what you will sell and to whom: for example, you will have a clothing store for children or youth, a sportswear store, business clothing, medical clothing, jeans, etc. (there are many options).

Development concept

What your store will look like depends on the development concept you choose. You need to decide on it at the first stage. All major store decisions are determined by the concept.

Table 1. Types of concept.

Defining a concept is an important part of a business plan and a vector that sets the path for the further development of your business.

Business registration

Before opening a store, it is necessary to officially register it. Without registration, you will not be able to trade legally, and you will most likely have problems with the tax authorities. You need to complete the following steps:

1. Make a certificate of registration of an individual enterprise. This is done at the Tax Inspectorate both in person and online through an electronic digital signature. An individual entrepreneur is registered at the place of permanent or temporary registration.
2. Write an application in form P21001 - with it you will be registered as an individual entrepreneur. This way you will receive a business permit.
3. Pay a state fee of 800 rubles either manually or through the Federal Tax Service.
4. Choose a taxation method. The most convenient way to pay taxes is through the simplified system (STS).
5. Take the package of documents to the individual entrepreneur registration authorities. These are all the above documents, as well as a copy of your passport. If documents are submitted by an authorized person, then a power of attorney is also required.

Foreigners and stateless persons are required to additionally bring a copy of a temporary residence permit or a document of permanent residence.

Within three working days, the entrepreneur and his business are registered. Registration is electronic, but paper documents are also available upon special request. Now you can open a boutique and start working.

Market analysis

Nowadays there are a lot of competitors in the clothing sales industry, so you need to carefully prepare when starting work in this field. You can turn to marketers for help or do it yourself.

We analyze competitors depending on the direction. For example, if we have a clothing store for children, then all stores specializing in adult clothing automatically disappear. There remain department stores, the same ones for children or for mother and child. It is necessary to add them to the list of competitors. We analyze, if possible, all suitable stores in the city.

We identify key competitors - those who are similar to us in prices, products, etc. We find out which of them are the most popular and branded, and study the assortment. We will find out about the pricing policy of these stores, about the qualifications of the staff, whether there is a website, discount cards, bonuses. We read the reviews. A lot of information can be found on the Internet, don’t forget to check out the official website. Use all channels of information.

Monitoring is needed constantly so as not to lose sight of any changes. This will allow you to respond to competitors in a timely manner and promote your product.

Compare your project with your competitors, become better than them, change and grow.

How to make a clothing boutique attractive

More Sales » Clothing Store

Lighting in a small clothing boutique in Cannes

If you are sure that you want to open a clothing boutique, then you must understand how enormous the competition is in this area, regardless of whether you sell branded women's clothing or offer tracksuits to your clients.

As a result, you need to do something that can attract the attention of potential buyers and distinguish your boutique from its many analogues.

Let's say that you already have what you want to sell (clothes) and the place where you will do it - that is, a premises. To ensure that the client does not just glance indifferently at your display cases, he needs to be interested , and this will be extremely difficult to do without special equipment. In a clothing boutique it is simply unrealistic to do without mannequins demonstrating the product “face to face”, because even an excellent item has very little chance of catching the eye of buyers when it just lies rolled up on the shelf.

Of course, the entire assortment of the boutique cannot be placed on mannequins, and some of the clothes will be placed on shelves and hangers. Here it is important to organize the space so that it becomes as convenient as possible for the buyer, because in a place where a person is uncomfortable, he usually does not linger, and the likelihood of a repeat visit will be reduced.

It’s worth adding the right lighting , but you should think carefully about the background music - if you choose what to replace the silence with, it’s better to stick to neutral, calm compositions that don’t sound loud, because loud club music will be a dubious pleasure, even if the clothes in your boutique are designed for the youth.

When talking about attracting customers, we must not forget about sellers , because much in shaping the impression of any retail outlet depends on them. Competent staff who know sales techniques not only in theory, but also are able to establish contact with any buyer, will be another reason to look at your boutique, and not at your competitors. It is also imperative that the seller looks neat and presentable, since untidiness will only repel customers. For this reason, those who want to see a lot of customers in their boutique should under no circumstances skimp on staff, because the salesperson can become both a means of attracting customers and someone who simply makes you not want to enter the boutique.

In search of the right way to attract a customer, it is useful to take his place and think not from the point of view of the boutique owner, but as a client , from the position on the other side of the counter. To do this, you can simply walk through similar boutiques and analyze what attracted you as a client, and what can spoil the impression of even the best product.

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Store opening location

Where you will be located depends on your goal and initial finances. The best place to open a store is a large shopping center, because there are a large number of people there every day and the chance that they will come to you and buy something is high. Renting will be expensive, but it will quickly pay off. However, there are nuances here - it is better to be located on the first or second floors, and there most often all the places are occupied. Renting a separate room is easier and cheaper, but traffic will be less, and in order to promote yourself, you will have to try and spend money on advertising.

Consider the location of schools, kindergartens, residential buildings and offices nearby. How far is the stop and parking, how close are competitors? Consider your consumers. For example, if you have a specialized medical clothing store, then an excellent option would be to rent premises near hospitals, clinics, and medical universities. Always focus on those you will sell to. For universal inexpensive clothing stores, the basement floors of residential buildings and hypermarkets are suitable.

The size of the room is also important. For branded items created on an informational and educational basis, they usually rent a small boutique in order to avoid paying extra rent. For goods with a wide range, large stores are needed so that all the goods are visible and there is space for customers.

You can hire a marketing specialist to help you select a suitable site.

Perhaps you are planning to open an online store, then the issue of renting premises disappears, which significantly reduces rental costs.

Don't assume that choosing a room at random will work. Spend the extra time searching for the best trading platform for you so that it will later play a good role in your business.

How to open an online boutique for free

If you like the idea of ​​starting your online boutique with Printful, but don't want to work with Shopify, then there's a great alternative for those on a budget. Square's online store is completely free when you set up your online presence.

Although you have to pay for transactions, you don't have to pay a monthly price for online store building tools, which is a nice bonus. It's important to remember that you'll also have to pay for certain Printful features too.

Similar to Shopify, Printful seamlessly integrates with Square's online store solution so you can add your products in seconds. Once again, all you have to do is visit Square's online store marketplace and choose to add Printful to your boutique.

Once Printful is installed, you can start simply copy/pasting assets into your Square Online Store, ready for your customers to explore. This is one of the easiest ways to get started online when you're running a boutique on a budget. You can continue to expand and expand your online store over time.

Moreover, one of the best benefits of creating an online store for free with Square is that if you decide to take your boutique offline from time to time, you can do so. There's nothing stopping you from pre-paying for a selection of customized items from your dropshipping partner and hosting a pop-up store in your area.

to come back to the beginning

Search for suppliers and purchase of goods

When drawing up a business plan, you need to choose a supplier. This is another required step.

Stores under the brand name with a narrow focus are supplied with clothing by the manufacturers whose brand they advertise. Working without intermediaries helps you achieve better prices, since you don’t have to spend extra money. The downside here is that the manufacturer will not be able to provide a wide range of products.

For multi-brand stores, purchasing from wholesalers is suitable. But this method is more expensive due to the markup. You can combine cooperation directly with the manufacturer and purchasing from wholesalers.

You can find suppliers in the following ways:

1. Using traditional thematic and regular magazines and catalogues. Wholesaler advertisements are often placed on the pages of popular newspapers.
2. Participate in exhibitions and fairs. There you can immediately get acquainted with intermediaries or the manufacturers themselves.
3. Find out who supplies clothing to competing companies.
4. On the Internet: through portals, databases, catalogues. You can find it by simple monitoring in search engines by asking queries: “purchase of clothing in bulk”, “clothing wholesalers”, “clothing suppliers”, etc. You can use the “Optom.ru” catalogue.
5. Look at the packaging and labels - information about the supplier is usually written there.
6. Contact local clothing manufacturers.
7. Cooperate with foreign suppliers.

Cooperation with several suppliers will always provide you with goods. And there is also less chance that you will burn out. Pay attention to the quality of the purchased goods and reviews of the supplier. Keep track of how often the product grid is updated. Do not forget that the real supplier must have a trading certificate.

Mini boutique within a boutique

Author of the idea: Nelly Fedosenko

Some Western boutiques have opened a new service: renting out retail spaces (they say this fashion came from Japan).

The essence of mini-boutiques: display windows are placed in the trading floor in the form of separate cells, and separate cells are rented out to everyone who wants to earn money (trade whatever you want):

Moreover, this boutique opened in the recently closed boutique of fashionable designer men's clothing Klurk in New York (the Klurk boutique closed despite the excellent quality of the products and reasonable prices - this is how customers spoke about it):

(What I mean is that even established boutiques can fall on hard times, and mini-boutiques can be their salvation.)

The new owner of the boutique is actively inviting the first sellers:

Even before the opening, he released advertising flyers:

It reads (in the spirit of American free enterprise):

“Rent a locker starting at $1.66 per day (and up) and become your own boss. You can sell and advertise your products and make big money!”

Trading cells are located not only in the window, but also inside the sales area. Here is the layout of all cells:

Trading cells are rented for at least a month. The closer the cell is to the buyer’s eye level and the more advantageously it is located in the boutique space, the more expensive its rent.

Let's calculate how much a boutique will earn per month from renting out retail spaces, if, of course, all the spaces are occupied.

The diagram shows the location of the cells along the walls of the boutique and indicates the rental prices per month.

Rent per month for one column A (the most expensive cells) costs $1035 (189+189+269+259+129); Column B - $765; column C - $595; Column D - $484.

Then we multiply each amount by the number of columns and add up the rental cost of all columns:

$1035 x 6 + $765 x 4 + $595 x 16 + $484 x 2 = $19,758

In other words, almost $20,000 a month to sublease the airspace!

And the trading cells are not empty:

What's not there:

Cosmetics, shoes, bags, mobile phones, glasses, souvenirs. There are even expensive jewelry that costs $1000...

These are like mini boutiques inside one big boutique.

140 mini-boutiques on 20 square meters!

This is tempting for buyers. I read reviews on the Internet from people visiting the boutique: they were all captivated by the variety of products presented.

Pros and cons of mini-boutiques

In general, this business has several advantages:

- it is something new and creative that allows you to attract many people;

— a retail outlet can encourage people not only to come and buy, but also to come and participate in creating their own mini-business;

— 140 cells are 140 people interested in sales who will begin to advertise their cells (and this, in fact, is the entire boutique);

— by dividing the retail space into smaller volumes, the boutique receives more income per unit of area than it would if it rented out the entire volume (this explains such a high income from renting out retail spaces).

There is a downside - the lack of specialization in the product. The goods are motley, private, in other words - a flea market. (On the other hand, ebay is also a big flea market, but it is alive and well.)

I don’t know how possible such a business is in Russia. But you can try, I think.

How to start a mini-boutique business with minimal costs

1. The most important thing is to find a passable place. Such a point will survive only if a lot of people come into it.

2. It is not necessary to rent a whole room; you can rent a few square meters in the hall of a large supermarket. For example, put not 140 cells, but only 15.

3. Until you have tenants, you still need to place something (yours or your friends’) in the display windows of your mini-boutique so that people can see that the process has begun and actively participate in it.

4. At the very beginning of the activity, set minimum prices (we are not in America, 7 dollars a day is unlikely to work). If demand increases, prices can be raised.

5. Assign each cell its own number (I didn’t see this in the American version). It's like a personal page on ebay, like an address that can be advertised in a newspaper. (Why did vkontakte.ru overtake Odnoklassniki in popularity? - Because each user had a specific individual URL for his personal page (and group), which he could advertise extensively on the Internet; Odnoklassniki does not have this).

6. Large firms can also be attracted to trade in mini-boutiques. They can display the most popular product in their window, and along with the product, offer a free catalog for all other products - as L'Oreal does - each package of cream contains a booklet for other names of similar products). It is possible to carry out joint actions. For example, only your location will sell a specific product at a discount.

If the idea takes off and profits come in, it will be possible to expand.

And if it doesn’t work, you’ll leave the market with minimal losses.

Production plan

A production plan is needed to show investors that you can organize the work process. Take into account everything you need for yourself, as well as calculate the costs and complete everything on time. To open a store you need the following minimum furniture and equipment:

• signboard
• shoe shelves
• hangers
• mirrors
• computer
• clothes racks
• showcases
• stools, ottomans for trying on shoes
• cash machine
• mannequins, torsos, forms, busts
• counter
• panels for small goods
• set of price tags
• fitting cabins
• barcode printer
• security systems, fire protection system

You also need to describe your product and how you will sell it. How to transport, where to store. You need to describe the area of ​​the premises, indicate the amount for rent and maintenance of the store, etc.

Also tell us about the target audience, traffic, and what is located nearby.

In general, all production and work processes need to be included in the production plan.

When opening a store, do not spare money on advertising.

A large-scale advertising campaign will help immediately attract attention to you. But advertising is important not only before the opening, it must be implemented constantly. This may include:

• advertising on banners and firewalls, billboards
• information advertising in the form of signs with arrows
• handing out leaflets on the street
• Internet links, videos, your YouTube channel
• discounts, opening promotions, seasonal discounts, etc.
• opening event with raffles and prizes on the street in front of the store
• posting information about promotions on the store window
• cooperation with well-known companies that will advertise your product
• TV ads

Anything can be an advertisement: a sign, the appearance of a store. You can place information about yourself in 2GIS and other city directories, submit advertisements in magazines and newspapers.

When collaborating with other companies regarding advertising, the main thing is to be careful and not run into scammers. To do this, you need to carefully study advertising companies.

A competent advertising company can quickly promote a store on the market and leave competitors behind.

Cost calculation

All costs are calculated for a certain period and subtracted from the amount of profit. This is how net profit is calculated. All costs are divided into one-time and permanent.

One-time – those for which you do not need to constantly spend money:

• payment of state duty
• order a uniform (if any)
• ordering a seal for individual entrepreneurs
• purchase of furniture and equipment
• ordering a buyer's corner
• room renovation

Fixed expenses – those that are monthly/regular:

• staff salaries
• taxi payment (if employees are taken home)
• payment for delivery of goods to the store (if there is a transport order)
• for gasoline and car maintenance (if you have your own cars)
• rent
• utility bills (if not included in rent)
• purchase of goods
• payment of taxes
• other expenses

The amount of consumption depends on prices in the region, the size of the store and many other factors. We write down all the expenses, add them up and get the desired result.

How I worked in a boutique.

Hi all!
In a post about how a girl was given a dirty, worn dress, I wrote that I once worked in a boutique of women’s clothing and accessories, and I received several offers to write a post about this wonderful time. Let me make a reservation right away that, of course, I am writing only about my experience and, moreover, about two specific stores, so please do not take my story as a collection of immutable rules that every salesperson is given on their first working day) In fairness, I note that my cousin works in a chain store, and nothing like this could ever happen to them. But in boutiques - whatever you want, the owner is the gentleman.

I worked in 2003, I was 19 years old. I had to take an academic leave from the institute due to health problems, I decided not to waste my time, but to earn extra money. I went for an interview to a decent (seemingly) store in the center of Moscow. We were met by a senior salesperson (hereinafter - SP) - a pretty blonde, 34 years old, she immediately took a liking to me and asked me to sell her something - well, that’s no problem for me, I’ll sell snow in the winter if necessary. Then she introduced it to the owner. The owner (hereinafter referred to as X in every sense, bgggg) is a handsome 35-year-old man, very smart, with an excellent flair for sales (which did not save him from a cunning joint venture), he immediately took a liking to me and I left the very next day.

So - two stores (one under the other with different entrances). The fact that at the top is an Italian brand that had just appeared in Russia, now it is represented in many places, it belongs rather to the middle segment, but then it was a curiosity, X himself went to buy goods in Italy, then added 400 percent to the cost and the deal was ready. And sometimes he simply inflated the price a thousand times. Below - only luxury, only hardcore. It’s been a long time since I remember whether there were boutiques of these brands in Moscow at that time, mostly Italian ones too, but we had everything in bulk - dresses, fur coats, bags, shoes, and so on.

Price tags were purchased at a stationery store and were added (as they were removed) easily and simply by us. In the morning and evening, all goods in the store were counted. Usually there was a complete coincidence. The sellers worked 2-2 hours, if it wasn’t me who came out the next day, then I left a piece of paper with numbers and the girls checked it in the morning before the store opened.

But what was missing was oversight. X could arrive in the morning or evening, or not arrive at all. Plus he completely trusted the joint venture. I worked there for only a short time, but I know how to win people over, so already in the second week the joint venture began to think that with me they could turn around normally and make money. I watched her with my mouth open - the girl had an inexhaustible imagination. But in the end I left there, it was just morally too difficult to watch, even though I understood that the joint venture was not defrauding buyers of their last pennies.

So, what shoppers need to know:

Checks! Virgos, don’t be naive, don’t trust anyone or anything. Please look at the receipt CAREFULLY and read the final amount. Even I, the “experienced” one, have had situations in my life when the amount on the check did not correspond to the price tag. But it’s better to discover this in a store rather than at home. And this can be in any store! IN ANY! Grocery-floral-household chemicals-clothing. If you notice this, the seller will say something a la: “Oh, they just changed the price today, there was a discount, but they didn’t have time to change the price tag, KATYA!” Katya will come running in response to the scream, who, sadly shaking her head, “admits” that she did not have time to change the price tag. The more things you take, the more likely it is that you won't notice that you overpaid for something, check EVERYTHING on the spot, thoughtfully.

The seller receives a percentage. He NEEDS you to buy it. And he doesn’t care at all what you really look like in it. If in reality you are 48-50, then the joint venture will squeeze you into the only remaining thing that you like, even if it is size 44 (“girl, what are you doing, this is Italy, they have a completely different size chart”) - and say that you - divine goddess. If your breasts in your top have slipped under your armpits or have come out onto your collarbones, well, or have become squashed, you will still take them because “they look very appetizing” or “when your breasts become a little smaller, then you look so skinny!” If the fur coat is obviously too big for you, then “It’s okay, you’ll wear it over a sweater” or “I took less, but in the winter I started eating it, so now I’ll have to change the buttons, it’s a shame, you know how???” The sides hanging over the jeans are great, “an incentive to lose a little weight.” And so on. Many celebrities have dressed with us, so I’ll tell you one thing - it doesn’t bother me at all that they are all dressed haphazardly) They are so accustomed to constant flattery that they are not able to adequately evaluate themselves at all. One singer liked to put a mesh top on her size 5 boobs directly onto her bra. Singer: “A little provocative?” SP: “With your figure, this is the only thing to wear! But it’s erotic!”

Advice: go to the store only with trusted people, do not listen to any of the sellers and “random buyers”. With us, X could come in and, seeing an indecisive fat woman in trousers that were just about to burst, widen his eyes and stare at her in shock. Then give a bunch of compliments and come up to find out what size it is, say that he has a wife with exactly the same figure, and he wants to buy these trousers right now in this size. Naturally, JV and I lower our gaze and admit that this masterpiece is the “last pair.” The lady runs out right in these trousers, she barely manages to remove the price tag in time so that “the man doesn’t have time to take it away.” The saleswomen from our second store who came to us behaved in the same way - they constantly played the role of “random customers”, to whom take out and put this particular thing.

Discounts. Never look at the amount that supposedly was BEFORE. All this is absolutely the same price made up from your head as the one that appeared after the discount. With us, X often didn’t even know that something was bought at a “discount”. The sellers simply sold at the real price and pocketed the difference. How was this done? It's no secret that many sellers buy things in their stores almost at cost, there is such a nice detail. We made the purchase as if it were our own business, that’s all. X repeatedly hinted that that bag was the ultimate dream, but, naturally, after the “purchase” he never saw it from the joint venture again, because “why would you carry such a chic thing to work?” As soon as someone laid eyes on the bag, it was sold, a second check was made (yes, it was sooooo easy to do, I don’t know what kind of machines they have now, and even then I didn’t work with the cash register, only a joint venture, and she was a genius in everything , as for equipment), and X was informed that the joint venture had saved up for it) In general, due to the fact that this is not a chain store, where prices for everything are regulated by the main office, everything was decided on the fly). If the client asked for a discount, then the joint venture simply had to call X, explain that the client had bought half a lemon worth of clothes and was asking to give 50% for the handbag. Usually he agreed. Then he stopped responding to such requests altogether - “decide for yourself.”

There was only one problem - the customer decided to return the bag))) The joint venture did not work that day, the customer’s receipt was not at all the same amount for which the bag was “broken” in the report for X. I think the joint venture turned a little gray while it was rushing to the store with money to cover the difference. But this happened once, and the joint venture worked with “discounts” constantly.

Regular customers. We had such “stars” who appeared on the same day of the month or warned in advance that they would arrive at such and such a time. By this day, on the things that we were preparing for their arrival (and we already knew their tastes very well), the joint venture simply hung new price tags with an extra zero. X, of course, did not know about this, and if he suddenly glanced and noticed that the price had already completely flown into the sky, then the joint venture would goggle and pointedly scold the person responsible for the price tags, she would repent that she had made a mistake and that was all. So don’t think that if you are a regular customer, then by default they will sell you everything cheaper, because you will benefit the sellers with your visit next time. Quite the contrary. Knowing about your financial capabilities, they will rip you off even more. And when someone already knows what you will definitely pay attention to and, moreover, has clearly spent their time choosing a handbag for your shoes and so on, it will be psychologically more difficult to refuse the set.

Accessories. Many people don’t know how to choose a belt to match their trousers. But the manufacturers know and specially come up with little things that are ideal for the outfit. That’s why many trousers-skirts already come with a belt from the start, chains dangle on dresses to “create a waist”, they come with, for example, beaded or simply fabric collars, removable to diversify the outfit, have you noticed? Well, what can I say... Somewhere they, of course, go immediately. But not in that boutique) JV immediately took off everything that was not nailed down and attached decent price tags to these small things. When the trousers were tried on, she picked up the perfectly fitting strap and rushed to the fitting room: “oh, but with this strap it would look much better!” In 99 cases out of a hundred, the accessory was purchased immediately, because it was “just like it was specially made for these trousers!”

Give me this dress. The situation is from the post below. You put the dress aside and didn’t look to see if it was the same dress when you picked it up? Too sad((Well, or in our opinion, sad... The girl put it off there for several days! That is, imagine the temptation! I can imagine the reasoning of our joint venture: They will buy the dress anyway (90 percent), but I can go out anywhere in it - for no reason. Can I get it dirty? Well, it’s ugly, yes, but it’s a single copy of this size, it costs a lot, so they have the money - they’ll use a dry cleaner, no big deal.

But this is rather an exception to the rule. No one will keep a dress in a single size for five days; if they want to buy it on one of those days, it will go away. They can keep it under the counter for a couple of hours. Is it dirty under the counter? Maybe very much. And how many people, when trying them on, leave dirty traces of makeup on things? A lot of! And so, let’s say we have a size 44 item weighed out, and we know that the same thing, but size 42, is in a state that is no longer fit for purpose. Why not replace one with the other, the joint venture thinks and performs such a maneuver. The girl returns and takes away the dirty 42 without trying it on. Will she return to us from home, realizing that the dress does not suit her? May be. What will the SP tell her? “You yourself don’t remember which one you measured, Italy generally has a different sizing chart, don’t fool me” - that’s what’s most likely. If you want to change it, they will change it, they will give you the money if anything happens, but few people come back, in fact. They wash it themselves, or they really think that they tried it on and got it dirty themselves.

Do sellers carry things? Yes. And SP wore it, and my cousin wore it. I personally just don’t like clothes, I’m absolutely indifferent, because when I was young I worked part-time as a model and I’m sick of rags. But if a person doesn’t have much money, but has a lot of dresses from Dolce-Gabbana before his eyes, then why shouldn’t he “take it to wear”? Washing such things is more expensive for yourself. The smell of the powder will not disappear immediately. If you wash delicate fabric in the wrong mode, you will ruin your dress or cashmere sweater. It’s easier to say: “someone tried it on and got it dirty.”

You can't take it back. SP's favorite phrase. Especially after returning the bag))) If the product is offered at a discount, the buyer cannot return it. If it is the last size, the buyer cannot return it. And in general, this is practically underwear, a T-shirt - you cannot return it, period. And it doesn’t matter that these words cannot be confirmed by any laws. Everyone was warned in such a tone that in reality returns were once a month maximum. Virgos, everything can be returned within 14 days that is not on the limited list (medicines, underwear, cosmetics, there is a lot of things there, but much more that is NOT there), know your rights.

You tore/damaged the item. If, when counting things, it turned out that something was torn or broken (accessories on a bag, a strap on shoes), then it never occurred to the joint venture to try to fix or sew up something. The very first buyer who picked up the item under the hawkish gaze of the joint venture was accused of having broken and torn such an expensive item. By referring to non-existent laws, the joint venture forced people to buy the item. There were, of course, particularly difficult cases when the buyer began to “download his rights.” Here the joint venture could naturally burst into tears and complain that she was now being paid a lot of money for this, and her salary was a pittance. By washing or rolling, the buyer prevailed. And, by the way, it was especially easy for a beautiful girl to do this with whom? With men! Hence the advice!

Don't send a man to a women's store!

Conning a man into buying unnecessary junk is the simplest thing that can happen. This is done not only with clothes! The best items are perfume, cosmetics and all sorts of hygiene items. The man is confused, he is in a panic - WHAT IS THIS UNKNOWN WORLD??? Pink lipstick – which of these three hundred is it??? Batwing sleeves - what's that like??? Is size 44 American or Russian??? Easy prey, to be sure.

Finally, a couple of tips for sellers.

Don't look down on "poor" customers. Despite all the smiling faces of the joint venture, she couldn’t stand it when the “poor” came to the store. That is, people who are not burdened with branded clothes and without a LV bag. One day, in the cold winter... A woman came to us with a huge bag, the kind that shuttle traders carry. SP took a stance, looked angrily for a long time at the lady who was completely calmly sorting through expensive dresses, then barked in my direction, “Keep an eye on her, she probably doesn’t have a ruble in her wallet, she’s stealing something,” she left to drink tea. I’m not an evil person, I liked the lady for her calmness, and anyway, what’s the point of being rude if I still have to stand here? The lady walked around the boutique for an hour! All this time I watched her, when we met eyes she nodded at me, I smiled at her, she did not ask me about prices or sizes. When the joint venture returned, she looked at her in horror, sat down at the counter (this was prohibited in front of customers) and began ranting about how tired she was of homeless people looking for something to steal. And at that moment X ran into the store, rushed to the lady and spun her in his arms - it turned out to be his beloved aunt, whom they missed at the station, as he had been in an accident. And she did not fail (very softening the picture) to tell X about the behavior of the joint venture. The SP's career hung in the balance after this incident, and she was eventually fired a few weeks after I left.

Don’t look with displeasure at fat people or people who are not “your” age category. Even if the last size in your store is L, and even those things are small. Many elderly plump housewives come and buy a whole bunch of things for their busy daughters and granddaughters. One day, a housekeeper of an actress came to us, weighing over 120 kilograms. While she was rummaging through dresses that would only fit on a Barbie doll, SP was furiously staring at her, trying to tear her hands off with her eyes (it stains dresses) or simply throw her out. But in the end, we earned a lot of money on interest that day) And not a single dress was returned, that’s how well the lady knew her mistress =)

Don't follow customers step by step. If they want to steal, they will steal, rest assured. There are such virtuosos that professional gamblers could not even dream of their sleight of hand. People need space when making choices. Attack in the fitting rooms - they are defenseless there, bgggg)))

Thank you for your attention!

Risks

Despite the fact that a clothing boutique is a very profitable business, it also has its own risks. We'll tell you about the main risks and how to deal with them.

Table 2. Risks in business.

There are many risks, but there is also an opportunity to combat them. A competent business plan and strategic planning will help to foresee everything.

Starting your own business is difficult, but interesting, and worth investing your money and working to achieve results. You can start very small, gradually promoting the store and bringing it to a high level.

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How to create a consignment boutique and make it profitable

Anti-crisis idea

They knew right away that this would be a boutique of consignment branded clothing: the clothing resale market is a promising direction, especially in times of crisis.
But the main thing is that the business was well known to the wife, since she had experience working in such a store: she planned to advance in this particular niche. To start a business, we sold the apartment: we invested part of it in the project, and also took out a loan.

The bet was made on exclusive clothing. The idea turned out to be in demand: regular customers began to appear in the store - both those who handed over clothes on consignment and those who wanted to purchase them.

Two years later, the store moved to a more advantageous location, and not so long ago we opened another location and were thinking about developing this business in other cities, especially since people who wanted to buy a franchise were already applying.

Elite consignment shop: what are the benefits?

In the minds of many people, the phrase “thrift store” evokes an association with worn and not always neat clothes. But that's how it was in Soviet times. And although the field was not developed back in the mid-2000s, now the situation has changed, largely due to growing competition. People sensed the possibilities of a niche, because such a project could exist, regardless of the economic situation in the country, and the business itself could be passed on by inheritance. It also has other advantages, for example, relatively small investments and the ability to choose the direction.

Minimal investment - this is why it is attractive for those who want to start their own business: to start, you need premises and advertising. You won’t have to purchase goods, since they will be provided by people who sell things on consignment.

A wide selection of areas of specialization - clothing, shoes, furniture, household or computer equipment, etc.

Rent - it depends on the level of the store, its status, location, service: if a commission store sells branded items, it should be located in the city center, which means it will cost more than those commission stores that are located in the “kopeck piece” of a residential area.

What is earnings based on?

The principle is this: the markup on goods put up for sale is from 30% to 50%: it all depends on the condition they are in and what category they belong to. The amount of the commission is determined by the commission agreement, which also indicates the price of the product and the period for its sale. The principal determines the desired price (not more than 50% of the real market value of the same new product). If the commission agent buys the item outright, he can evaluate it at his own discretion.

By what criteria are goods selected?

The main requirements are “so that you won’t be ashamed to sell.” If a consignment store specializes in selling branded clothing, the item must be original, of high quality, without problem areas: not deformed, without arrows, holes, stains in vulnerable areas, with intact accessories.

Sometimes the commission agent himself undertakes to hand over the item for dry cleaning or repair (it is negotiated with the principal), then the amount of expenses is included in the cost of the goods. Thus, the client is freed from having to do this on his own.

A special device (brought by us from the USA) allows you to distinguish an original from a fake, with which you can verify the item: the quality of the material, fittings, seams is scanned, the data is processed, based on this an assessment is made with an accuracy of up to 99% and a document is generated.

Clients

Consignment boutiques specializing in branded clothing are aimed at those who follow fashion and want to be stylish and wear items from famous brands at an affordable price. Contrary to popular belief about visitors to thrift stores, the income of such clients is above average. The majority are accomplished women who know how to count money. Many of our clients become regulars.

Team

The ideal candidate for the role of salesperson in such a store is someone who understands fashion trends and shares the company’s ideology. In our case, this is the desire to make a positive contribution to the quality of life, conscious consumption and the desire to save the planet. If a person is active, shows initiative, but has no experience in this field, this is not a problem: a lot can be learned in the process of work.

We do not try to retain an employee who has decided to leave, for example, to develop further independently, thanks to which we have maintained friendly relations with many for many years.

What to consider at the start

We had no experience in running a business, so we made some mistakes in the first years.

Mistake No. 1. Choosing a location for a store

You shouldn’t open a commission store in a shopping center, but our first store was located there. Practice has shown that such boutiques should be located in a separate room next to beauty salons, antique shops, and restaurants that our potential clients visit. When launching our second store, we took this into account.

Error No. 2. Estimate for repairs

When compiling it, we did not take into account the fact that we need to budget + 20% for additional expenses, which is why we had to take out money on credit.

Mistake No. 3. Recruiting and working with a team

Excessive trust led to theft. After the incident, we strengthened security, applied additional measures to protect goods, and carried out an inventory.

In addition, we began to hold meetings with the participation of senior management and all team members, and we constantly update instructions that clearly outline the procedure. If employees do not understand the idea of ​​the project, they cannot convey it to the client, and this negatively affects the business as a whole. The owner must constantly remind you of this. The idea of ​​our project is: “Be conscious of your life - buy branded items and save money, always staying stylish and saving the planet.”

Mistake No. 4. Business automation

We did not do this right away, although it provides significant advantages.

Mistake No. 5. Quality

It happened that inexperienced workers accepted low-quality goods. After instructions were written down and the level of control was increased, the situation changed.

Association of Thrift Stores (AKM) to support and develop the industry

During our work, we more than once needed competent legal support or advice, but there was no one to turn to. Outdated legislation that does not protect the interests of business owners is one of the main problems of entrepreneurs in this industry. For example, we were once accused of selling counterfeits: a representative of one of the well-known brands wrote a statement to the appropriate authority, and our goods were confiscated. It took a lot of time and effort to return it and prove that we resell branded items and do not sew counterfeit clothes.

Such cases, unfortunately, are not uncommon, which prompted the creation of the ACM: now every entrepreneur - a member of the association - has the opportunity to receive help and legal support on various business-related issues. I am the Chairman of the Association.

Another area of ​​activity of AKM is holding conferences, exhibitions, and festivals. For example, in October in St. Petersburg we held the First City Festival of Conscious Consumption in the Fashion Industry, Big Resale Weekend, which was attended by 310 people and about 9 thousand visitors. This indicates interest in the branded clothing resale market and that over time it has a chance to bypass the mass market.