Opening a mens clothes store, any help appreciated !

Awfull Lawfull

Hi everyone,

I am planning on opening the above , in my local town in the next two months.I am finding it difficult to source suppliers wholesalers etc , does anyone know of any ? The age bracket I wish to sell to is approx 18-40. This is all new to me , so id appreciate any help or advice you can give

kkelliher

Awfull Lawfull wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I am planning on opening the above , in my local town in the next two months.I am finding it difficult to source suppliers wholesalers etc , does anyone know of any ? The age bracket I wish to sell to is approx 18-40. This is all new to me , so id appreciate any help or advice you can give

I wish you well in your venture but the above ia frightening. How can you be opening in two months if you dont have suppliers? Did you research the market in the area? Have you a business plan?

Call into a similar store in any town and chat to the owner, most small business owners are generally happy to assist.

Awfull Lawfull

I hope to open in two months, this is approximate ...Yes I have completed research in the area, thanks for the reply.

Peterdalkey

Just because there may be a market opportunity for such a men's shop in the town, it is highly unlikely that someone who does not know the ropes as a men's fashions buyer or even have contacts on the supply side will make a success of it. The first prerequisite in today's brutal business environment is to know the business and the market inside out.
You should proceed with a great care or you are going to get badly burned, I fear.

Sulla Felix

At the risk of giving you enough rope to hang yourself, go into Dublin, find a mens shop selling at the price level and age bracket you're aiming at, and see what brand they're selling. Then: Google.

Bargain basement: Storm on Liffey St, Unique in the Ilac Centre
Mid price: Penthouse in Jervis St SC, Suits You on Liffey St

Kevin Barry

Firstly good luck with your venture and ignore any negatives!
For the age bracket you specified there are two successful shops that I am aware of, one in Kerry and one in Limerick.
The key ingredient along with the brand & stock choices is the knowledge of the store owner in men's fashion and the buying choices in sizes. Trade purchases can be made in Ireland but for the full stock orders you are looking at 8 to 16 weeks lead time as you are probably aware. PM me if you wish and I will give you the location of these shops one of which would be well worth a mystery shopping visit.

Peterdalkey

Kevin Barry wrote: »

Firstly good luck with your venture and ignore any negatives!
For the age bracket you specified there are two successful shops that I am aware of, one in Kerry and one in Limerick.
The key ingredient along with the brand & stock choices is the knowledge of the store owner in men's fashion and the buying choices in sizes. Trade purchases can be made in Ireland but for the full stock orders you are looking at 8 to 16 weeks lead time as you are probably aware. PM me if you wish and I will give you the location of these shops one of which would be well worth a mystery shopping visit.

Urging caution, especially when it is clear that the promoter is not at all well versed in the sector, is not a negative, just sound advice.

Atomico

Peter is right, there's a difference between negativity and realism / urging caution. OP, it sounds like you haven't done your homework here, how could you be opening a store without knowing who your suppliers are going to be?

If I was opening a fruit shop, the first thing I would think of is 'who will supply me with the fruit?'

It doesn't make sense to me, and nobody on here would want to see you getting a shock here, when you open the shop and the costs are rising - without a corresponding return.

Awfull Lawfull

Thanks everyone, obviously I would not be opening until I m fully prepared to do so . Maybe I should have phrased my initial question better !

3sixty

Awfull Lawfull wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I am planning on opening the above , in my local town in the next two months.I am finding it difficult to source suppliers wholesalers etc , does anyone know of any ? The age bracket I wish to sell to is approx 18-40. This is all new to me , so id appreciate any help or advice you can give

Wholesalers - What kind of clothes shop - mens, womens, unisex, kids ?

Now I have no experience of either opening or running a clothes shop but i do know :

1. Its very tough as everyone is buying off the internet.
2. Most local towns are near a big city - so they like to go into the city shopping. Its a day out for teenagers or adults.This is not good for you.
3. You have to stay well ahead of the fashion curve - as you will be buying in advance in most cases. spring/ summer/ winter etc
4. anything out of fashion in your shop needs to be discounted and sold off straight away. It gives your shop a bad name. Word spreads.
5. Research is great. But you need to tak to your target market. What do they like ? What do they shop for on a regular basis ? What are they looking for ?
6. Try linking up with another clothes shop in a different area as most wholesalers operate on quantity, which sometimes is too much for any one shop. Buy together, buy in bulk.
7 Try working in a shop for a while just to get the knowledge.

Good luck

highlandseoghan

Be very careful, Research Research Research and go over all your figures and calculations over and over again. Then get family to look over all your figures.

Mens clothes shops are not very busy. Rents, Stock and expenses are high.

Have you found a location yet? What is the competition like? Are you going to stock non branded clothing or go for clothing in the mid price range or go with big brands like tommy hillfigre, sonnetti, g star etc....

If there was nobody doing the brands you might have a good market. Will you be doing casual clothing or stocking a range of formal wear? If you had the formal wear section you then can also do communion confirmation range which can be a nice earner at this time of the year.

A lot depends on what your looking to sell.

Fashion city in Dublin would be a starting place for you but you need to do all your research and just remember it wont be cheap to get a mans shop up and running.

Atomico

3sixty wrote: »

Wholesalers - What kind of clothes shop - mens, womens, unisex, kids ?

Now I have no experience of either opening or running a clothes shop but i do know :

1. Its very tough as everyone is buying off the internet.
2. Most local towns are near a big city - so they like to go into the city shopping. Its a day out for teenagers or adults.This is not good for you.
3. You have to stay well ahead of the fashion curve - as you will be buying in advance in most cases. spring/ summer/ winter etc
4. anything out of fashion in your shop needs to be discounted and sold off straight away. It gives your shop a bad name. Word spreads.
5. Research is great. But you need to tak to your target market. What do they like ? What do they shop for on a regular basis ? What are they looking for ?
6. Try linking up with another clothes shop in a different area as most wholesalers operate on quantity, which sometimes is too much for any one shop. Buy together, buy in bulk.
7 Try working in a shop for a while just to get the knowledge.

Good luck

All very valid points.

OP, why are you opening a men's clothes shop? Very tough business I would say, I know of someone with a clothes shop in the west of Ireland - making no money. And that's a ladies clothes shop!

It seems to be the very established men's clothes stores that are doing ok / fairly well. In my town I know that of at least two newcomers that have shut down over the past couple of years, whilst the old hands in the much more established stores are still there and even doing well.

I'd say you'd really want to know what you're at going into that kind of business.

I buy new clothes only every so often, and I'd tend to gravitate towards the brand names like Jack and Jones, etc - it'd take a very attractive selection of of clothes to entice me into the regular Joe Bloggs type ones.