Starting an online clothing store

Sarah pink fizz

Hi I am seriously considering starting an online clothing store but genuinely don't know where to start, I have a background in retail management but have no idea about where to buy stock and how to set up the website etc. I am determined to give this my best shot so any tips or advice people have would be much appreciated

jimmii

For stock you can try Fashion City otherwise just google clothing wholesale and trawl through site after site there's no getting round it you need to put in the hours to find the good stuff. Website you can hire someone to do it or if you have a bit of time its not too tricky using shopify or wix etc. Online fashion is hugely competitive so you're going to have to get creative to attract customers to your site unless you spend a fortune on SEO & AdWords its going to be tricky to get them via google so a good social media presence is going to be very important.

Going from being in retail to being a retailer is a huge jump don't underestimate it. Do a lot of research and see if you can find where you can make it work. I was working as a manager in the flag ship store for one of the chains and that was a walk in the park compared to running my tiny retail business! It is hard work but it is very enjoyable and when people are liking what you are doing its a great feeling. It would be a good idea to go to your local enterprise office they run start your own business courses and they also offer courses on SEO, online marketing, social media etc all of which would be worth doing.

Good luck!

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

I'd strongly suggest getting a business mentor and spending a few months on your business plan before committing to an idea like this. Clothing is extremely expensive game to compete in online (I've three apparel companies in that sector) and you need serious investment (minimum 6 figures) behind you. Even with this sort of investment there is a 1% survival rate, its cut throat and any successful products you create will be counterfeited, so expect this and build a legal team in advance.

You'll need to build a team and a fairly sophisticated warehouse (or outsource that). Remember online retail is nothing like running a bricks an mortar shop. Ireland is a relatively small market place so you need to decide what markets to target and if export is on the cards which languages are you going to take on.

People often assume online is cheaper to run than a physical shop, this isn't the case. People suggesting cheap sites like wix, wordpress etc... while there are a few examples of this working, they are exceptions rather than the rule. You can't build a go-cart yourself and expect to compete in a formula one race, in my opinion there are no short-cuts and buying cheap means buying twice.

If you look at the Irish Clothing retailers you currently shop with you'll be surprised how many aren't actually making profit.

Sorry to sound discouraging but there's no point going into a business without knowing the facts.

On a positive note if you do have a strong USP and online acumen, then the internet will be able to leverage up those assets and if you can stay ahead of the curve with your designs while differentiating your audience then its a fun place to be.

delahuntv

Don't.

Online takes years of hard work to get to a profitable stage. In the fashion business your stock would be out of stock too quickly.

The big boys have plowed millions into advertising and would be impossible to compete with.

The only real option is to open a store and gradually build an online presence in tandem.

wmpdd3

I think there is hope in the niches such as Rockabilly, steamboat punk etc.

Especially when the only other option is from outside the EU. Even then you are dealing outside the EU with all the issues that that brings.

Bay43

How exciting for you!

There are plenty of places where you can start in your spare time with relatively little risk.

My advice would be to start small, one product line, first to do some research on the type of product you want to sell, I suggest you pick something that makes you happy, I know this sounds silly but no point in selling mens shoes or car parts if what make you really happy is handbags and shoes You then need to decide what end of the market you want to go in at (high end or bargain) this will dictate the quality and type of your product and your buying and selling price.

Research wholesalers, clearance stockist and discount houses for those products, these companies run and ship worldwide. Get some samples of product so that you know that you're not dealing with shoddy goods and so that you can pick product you are happy with. Start with just a few lines.

Get yourself and Amazon Market place account and maybe even an ebay account. Probably start with Amazon and then try ebay. Just google amazon market place and then just sign up for an account, this doesn't take long and it will take you step by step through how to get your products on line with them, the same goes for ebay.

Have a practice on these sites for a few months, see what sells what doesn't, try different lines or different prices. It will help you to develop your ideas on how you want you business to look and feel and give you a much better grounding for the next phase of your business.

Of course you probably won't make much to start with but here you will get the hang of what works and what doesn't and dealing with customers, setting up accounts and generally dealing with the day to day of running a micro business.

Once you get more confident you can try setting up a Shopify account, this is much more like your own storefront but probably best left until you're a bit more confident in your product range and how you want your actual business to look.

Don't be put off the world of internet selling, it is hard to make your big bucks quickly but it can been fabulous fun and immensely liberating!

Hope this helps in some way. Happy to chat about it more if you have more questions!