The main thing when selling children's clothing. How to open a children's clothing store from scratch: a proven way to create a successful business

Do you want to start a clothing business? Learn how to open a children's clothing store, because selling clothes for babies has a greater chance of success than for adults.

♦ Capital investments – 750–800,000 rubles
♦ Payback period – from 1 year

Selling clothes can become a very profitable enterprise, or it can easily ruin an unlucky businessman who has not thought through all the nuances of launching a startup.

The situation in the children's clothing trade sector is slightly different.

It’s much easier here to find your niche and create profitable business.

Therefore, if you dream of becoming the owner of a boutique selling ready-made dresses, then you need to study the topic in detail, how to open a children's clothing store, because selling clothes for children has a greater chance of success than for adults.

Today we will talk about how to open trading enterprise, whose main focus is selling things for children, based on the experience of famous businessmen.

What is a children's clothing store and how to open one?

Both markets selling new dresses and consignment stores where you can dress your child inexpensively are successful.

It is clear that the main trade direction of your future store is clothing, but you do not need to limit your product range to it only.

You can add accessories and even toys for sale.

It all depends on the area of ​​the sales area: how much it can accommodate.

If the space allows, then you can open a wide-range children's clothing store, where the buyer can find everything: from diapers for infants to stylish teenage clothes.

If you are opening a small trading enterprise, then it makes sense to narrow the direction, for example, selling only clothes for:

• infants (0 to 3 years);
• teenagers (11–15 years old);
• boys;
• girls;
• sports;
• special occasions (ball gowns, carnival costumes);
• visiting school, etc.

How to open a children's clothing store: where to start a startup

Regardless of what kind of business you are going to open, you need to study the theoretical basis of the issue and do a little research to understand how best to develop your business.

You should think through all the nuances especially carefully when we're talking about about a business like a ready-to-wear clothing store, which tops the list of startups that go bankrupt most often.

In order for an open children's clothing store to be guaranteed to generate profit, you need to figure out which market to open is most profitable:

• a small shop or a large store, more like a supermarket;
• or selling new things;
• expensive brands or aimed at the middle class;
• selling products of domestic or foreign manufacturers, etc.

How to open a children's clothing store: preliminary stage

Interesting fact:
Before late XVIII centuries, it was not customary to think about what to dress a child in. Children's clothing copied adult clothing and was made only in a smaller form.

In addition to thorough consumer research, you also need to:

1. Understand all the details of a retail business, especially if you do not have entrepreneurial experience or have previously been involved in something completely different: production, wholesale sales.
   Businessmen must remember that opening a children's clothing store is not at all like opening a wholesale warehouse.
2. Search for an idea.
   It’s not enough to just want to open a trading company selling children’s clothing.
   You need to find your specialty, decide how to most advantageously differentiate yourself from your competitors, etc.
3. Writing a business plan with specific calculations that will correspond pricing policy your region.
4. Coming up with a name, developing a logo.
   You need to seriously think about what to name your children's clothing store.
   Studies have shown that parents trust stores with foreign names more.
5. Preliminary search for suppliers from whom you can buy high-quality clothes cheaply, but sell them expensively, layout of the sales floor, formation of an assortment of goods that you will sell, etc.

Only after you have carefully thought through all this can you begin to actually launch a startup, and it doesn’t matter too much whether it’s a commission store or one that sells new clothes.

If you have set your sights on a new business, then you will probably benefit from the experience of more experienced colleagues.

1. It is most profitable to open a store with goods in the mid-price category.
   There aren't that many parents who are willing to pay a lot of money for children's clothes, and low-income people are more likely to visit a thrift store in the hope of saving money.
2. If you have modest starting capital, it is better to open a small store than to take out a loan and launch a huge startup. A large trading enterprise opened with other people's money can ruin you.
3. Consider opening a franchise children's clothing store, such as Duckling or RIKKI-TIKKI.
4. If you decide to open a small store, then it is better to limit the range of goods.
   Buyers should be able to look at it normally, and not rummage through a pile of junk.
   Piling up things is only acceptable if you decide to open a consignment store.
5. At least once a season (winter, spring, summer and autumn), refresh the range of goods, take on new models for sale, and put up stale goods for sale.
   Carefully study the tastes of your consumers so that you sell what they like, not you personally.

How to open a children's clothing store: advertising campaign

It is very important for a future business (no matter the commission or any other store you are going to open) to advertise it.

In order to attract the attention of customers from the first days of work, you need to:

1. Print promotional products: business cards, booklets, etc.
2. Post notices around the city.
3. Order advertising materials in local media.
4. Use social networks by creating a group for your children's store.
5. Make a grand opening, inviting not only potential clients, but also journalists.

Believe me, clients will quickly come to you if you:

• sell quality products at reasonable prices;
• reward regular customers for purchases;
• regularly organize sales;
• located as conveniently as possible for customers.

How to open a children's clothing store: calendar plan

When launching this startup, you will spend a lot of time on preliminary preparation, conducting research, and studying all the nuances.

Implementation of the business plan (registration, rent, retail store equipment, personnel, etc.) should not take more than 4–5 months if you prepare good theoretical ground.

The main stages of opening a children's clothing store

New business owners have a hard time when it comes to learning how to open a children's clothing store from scratch.

There are so many nuances in this issue that if you miss one, you can ruin the entire startup.

To prevent this from happening, follow a clearly outlined plan: registration, search for the ideal premises, renovation work, purchasing equipment, forming a team, working with suppliers and first purchases, an ongoing advertising campaign.

Registration

The most profitable form for opening a children's clothing store is individual entrepreneur.

The procedure itself is quite simple and does not require much paperwork.

You will also be able to pay a single tax on temporary income (UTII).

Also, since you are registering a trade enterprise, you will have to enter your store into the trade register and obtain permission from the Chamber of Commerce of your city and follow its rules, which they will familiarize you with.

The registration procedure also includes obtaining a conclusion from the Fire Service and Rospotrebnadzor, which authorize the operation of your premises.

Room

If you want to build up a customer base as quickly as possible, carefully choose the premises for your children's clothing store.

The best location is in the market, in a shopping center, near children's institutions: kindergartens, schools, parks, clinics, libraries, creativity centers, etc.

If you do not have a large starting capital, then you can limit yourself to the minimum area: 25–30 sq. m. m.

If you want the children’s clothing store to house not only a sales area with fitting rooms and a salesperson’s workplace, but also a bathroom, an office and a warehouse, then you will have to rent 50 square meters or more.

Since your clients are children, try to create a bright and interesting interior sales area to entice them to visit your store.

More sunny flowers: yellow, orange, red, green, azure, etc.

You can use images of fairy tale or cartoon characters in the interior.

Equipment

Opening a children's clothing store does not require expensive commercial equipment.

It is enough to purchase a cash register, hangers and racks, fastenings, curtains and a mirror for the fitting room, a couple of mannequins, a rack and shelves.

Expense item	Amount (in rub.)
Total:	155,000 rub.
Racks and shelves	30 000
Showcase for accessories	7 000
Racks and hangers	20 000
Fasteners and curtains for fitting rooms	10 000
Mirror in the fitting room	5 000
Mannequins	10 000
Cash machine	10 000
Computer or laptop	20 000
Printer	10 000
Other	33 000

You also need to equip:

Expense item	Amount (in rub.)
Total:	85,000 rub.
Seller's trading place (counter, chair, cash register)	20 000
Service bathroom	15 000
Service room (lockers, table, chairs, etc.)	50 000

Staff

A children's clothing store must be open seven days a week. Only in this case will you be able to get maximum profit.

You need to form two shifts (salesperson + cleaner) that would work 2/2 or 3/3 days.

If you want to open a store with a total area of ​​at least 50 square meters, then it is better to hire two salespeople per shift, otherwise it will be difficult for one to cope with a large flow of customers. Hire people who are good with children.

Your employees should be not just salespeople, but also animators, psychologists, and good fairies.

If you are ready to handle accounting and administrative issues yourself, then you don’t have to hire anyone else.

Otherwise, look for an administrator (manager) who can do accounting.

Please note that you will have to pay a lot for such a universal specialist.

Or you can outsource the accounting to an outsourcing company.

The minimum expenses for staff salaries will be as follows:

Suppliers

You can work with both domestic and foreign (for example, “Cheerful Baby”), and foreign (Chinese, Turkish, German, Polish) manufacturers.

The main thing is that the goods purchased from them are not too expensive after the markup you set and are of good quality.

Work with those suppliers who can provide you with a certificate of quality.

Since your business is selling clothes to children, any parent will want the item they buy to be safe for the child and not contain materials that could harm the health of their little treasure.

• Range
• Registration
• Room
• Design and advertising
• Supplies
• Staff
• Approximate profit

Selling clothes for children is a popular business that will always be popular and in demand. It doesn't matter where you live small town, village or metropolis - there are kids everywhere and loving parents who buy the essentials for them. So, you want to make money as an entrepreneur in this niche, but don’t know how to open a children’s clothing store from scratch? In this article, we will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to get started. this business, what difficulties there may be, main points and pitfalls.

Before opening a store selling children's clothing, you need to decide on its format. You can sell things for children from 0 to 16 years old or focus on a specific age and direction:

• things for newborns and children up to 3 years old;
• clothing for preschool and primary school age;
• school uniform;
• carnival costumes;
• sports items for children;
• things for girls only/boys only;
• teenagers clothes.

In addition, some entrepreneurs can open a good children's clothing store from scratch, where they will also sell children's shoes, food, toys, stationery and some other accessories for babies. The assortment for starting a business can be very diverse, but related to children.

Range

Whatever direction you choose to open a business from scratch, make sure you have a wide selection of children's clothes and the availability of sizes. As reviews show, the most a good option is the opening of a store with clothes for newborns and infants. The range of products for the little ones has remained virtually unchanged for many years. Natural fabrics, high-quality tailoring, pleasant design and reasonable price are the main requirements. Your establishment should have everything necessary for newborns, so a good option would be to sell not only clothes, but also bed linen, food, toys, diapers, etc.

As for children's clothing for preschool and primary school age, parents will give preference to durable and high-quality items that will survive more than one fall or swim in a puddle. This is especially true for boys. It is common to see girls at this age in elegant dresses, skirts and sundresses. All this must be in abundance if you want to open a children's store that will be in demand. The most difficult thing in opening is choosing an assortment of things for teenagers. At this age, parental opinion loses authority, children try to be independent and want to imitate adults. You need to follow fashion trends in order to open a successful business and not go broke.

You can also open a thrift store, second-hand store, or a stockist with things for children. Such establishments have always been in demand, especially abroad, and there is nothing strange about this. These are exactly the places where you can find very cheap but high-quality used and new clothes for children whose parents cannot afford too much. This business idea is also quite interesting, especially during a crisis.

Registration

You won't be able to open your children's clothing store from scratch without legal registration activities. Owners of small retail establishments most often choose to register as an individual entrepreneur (Individual Entrepreneurship). This is a completely justified decision for opening, as there is no unnecessary red tape with collecting documents. Entrepreneurs choose a simplified taxation system with UTII (the tax does not depend on profit and turnover). It will also be necessary to register the cash register with the tax authorities. In addition, the opening must be coordinated with the city administration, as well as obtaining permission to trade from the SES and State Fire Supervision. If you are going to open a business on the territory of a shopping center, then the landlords will deal with these legal aspects.

Room

You can open a small children's clothing store with an area of ​​about 20 sq.m., but if possible, you should rent a room of 50 sq.m. or more. Do not forget that this room should have enough space for all the goods, fitting rooms, displays, shelving and a department for the seller. As for the location, it is advisable to open the store in central region cities with good foot traffic. Considered a good option opening a business in a popular shopping center. If you want to rent a room in a residential building, make sure that it is on the ground or first floor.

A good idea for a business selling children's clothing is to open a store near institutions for children. If you decide to start a business from scratch, find a suitable premises near a kindergarten, music, art or regular school, sports section for children, etc. Before you get started, be sure to evaluate the competition. There is no point in opening a business if several similar establishments are already developing nearby.

Design and advertising

In order to open the best store selling children's clothing from scratch, you need to carry out high-quality repairs and buy equipment. You must think through the design to the smallest detail and make it bright, extraordinary and cheerful. Come up with a beautiful sign with a memorable name, purchase various accessories and set up a small corner for children with coloring books, books and colored pencils. Hang pictures or posters on the walls. Any clothing store should have mirrors, various display cases and shelves for goods, and fitting rooms. Furniture should also be bright, comfortable and soft. Remember that, after all, your establishment is designed for children and their parents, so the design of the room plays a very important role. big role. Example original design You can see the premises in the photo:

To open a successful children's clothing store and make your first customers permanent, you need to take care of advertising. Most buyers are very attracted to discount cards, various promotions and sales. This is how it has always been and will always be! Be sure to develop a system of discounts and holiday offers. In addition, do not forget about standard advertising in the media, on transport, billboards, through leaflets and word of mouth. People need to know about you and they can’t do without such events.

Supplies

In order to open a business from scratch, you need to find suppliers. On the domestic market, China and Türkiye remain the main suppliers of children's items. Good quality is justified by the low price and huge assortment. It is unlikely that anywhere in the world you will find such more choice a wide variety of products for children of all ages. In addition, you come across truly exclusive and high-quality items. Nowadays, more and more young entrepreneurs are ordering clothes from China wholesale from online stores and then resell them at a large markup. This is convenient and one of the most popular options for starting and growing a business.

You might be interested in: Biotattoo business for women

You can also cooperate with domestic suppliers, especially since all their products are made according to GOST. In addition, the advantages include quite adequate price and availability of all documentation for legal sale. And let’s be honest, parents will trust a domestically made children’s dress more than a Chinese one. In any case, here you need to experiment and after some time after opening, you will decide for yourself what is more profitable to sell and which suppliers are better to cooperate with.

You can open a branded children's clothing store through franchising. This option is especially popular among new entrepreneurs. In this case, the risks are much less, but there are also many restrictions (special design, ban on selling items from other brands). On this moment, the most popular company providing a franchise for selling things for children is Gulliver.

Staff

In order to open a good children's clothing store from scratch, you will need to hire 2-4 salespeople who will work in shifts. These should be not only highly qualified specialists, but also people who love children and know how to communicate with them. This is a very important rule that should be taken into account when searching for employees. In addition, the seller must always be polite, neat, smiling and sociable. Make sure that he communicates correctly with clients and is not intrusive in any way. If you wish, you can hire a store manager or perform his duties yourself. You may also need an outsourced accountant.

Approximate profit

Before opening any business, you need to draw up an accurate business plan. We propose to at least approximately calculate the costs and income of a successful trading establishment. So, how much does it cost to open a store? One-time expenses include repairs, purchase of equipment, purchase of clothing from suppliers, registration and advertising. You can easily invest 800,000 - 2,000,000 rubles. Every month you will have to spend about 150,000 rubles on renting premises, advertising and staff salaries. At the same time, from time to time it will be necessary to order new goods from suppliers, this will cost 100,000 - 500,000 rubles. As reviews show, a good children's clothing store will pay for itself in an average of 1-2 years. The average monthly profit is from 100,000 rubles.

Download business plan for a children's clothing store you can from our partners! Quality guaranteed!

Finally, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with tips for opening good store children's clothing on video:

We told you about how to open a children's clothing store from scratch, what you need to create and promote it. This is a profitable business that will appeal to many women. However, everything is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. Only great desire and constant work will make your earnings significant and your activities truly successful!

• How to open a cosmetics store
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* The calculations use average data for Russia

Investments from:

Store area:

35-145 sq. m.

Profitability:

Payback period:

How to open a children's clothing store and succeed? Olga Kuznetsova, consultant on franchising, launch and development of retail business, member of the board of directors of the company RIKKI-TIKKI, shares her experience.

In 2002, together with my partners, I opened the children's clothing store RIKKI-TIKKI. This store was conceived as a new direction for the company, which was engaged in another business - the import and production of tights. Actually, the store was my idea, completely my brainchild. Partners remained to support old business, and I plunged into a stormy and incomprehensible world retail. And until the end of 2010, I was involved in the development and management of first a store, then several, and then the RIKKI-TIKKI group of companies.

Now I have started a project to organize online training for entrepreneurs planning to open their own store, for those who already have stores, as well as those who are planning to buy a franchise.

Now the RIKKI-TIKKI chain of stores is one of the largest children's clothing chains in Russia; it has several dozen stores throughout Russia. This is a group of companies that is the exclusive distributor of leading children's brands from Poland and Canada, owns and manages twelve of its own stores, and also opens stores under its own franchise.

- Was it easy for you to decide to become an entrepreneur? How did you come up with the idea of ​​starting this particular business?

It seems to me that I have always been involved in business. First, in the 90s, my husband and I started a “buy and sell” wholesale business, selling Italian tights. My husband took responsibility for finances and security, and everything else fell to my share. The rest is finding premises, organizing the process, sales, employees, suppliers, advertising.

It was then that I realized what an interesting and invigorating process it is – starting a business, developing it and bringing it to a profitable level. Then there was the manufacturing business, and in 2002 the retail business began, which is what we have been focusing on lately.

There was no stability in those days, so I didn’t suffer from any particular fear of instability. But there was no way to get the necessary information, learn anything, get advice, or find qualified personnel. And the criminal risks were very high.

- How long did it take to implement the idea?

When I decided to open a store, I, of course, first of all began to look for a direction. I had enough at that time wide circle communication - I asked friends and acquaintances what stores and goods they were missing. Thus, I identified several themes. One of them was children's clothing.

Ready ideas for your business

And then, just at the exhibition, I met a Polish company - a manufacturer of children's clothing under the Coccodrillo brand. I liked both their clothes and the company representatives themselves.

An additional argument in their favor was that we already had business and friendly contacts with Polish entrepreneurs and I had visited Poland several times. I also had an eight-year-old son, for whom I could not find clothes that would suit me. By the way, this reason is cited by most business owners in the “children’s direction.”

The first store was immediately conceived as a pilot store. I wanted to check the demand specifically for the chosen trademark. Now Coccodrillo is one of the five most famous brands of children's clothing in Russia, but then I was not sure that the style, unusual for that time, would be in demand. Therefore, the store was implemented quite quickly.

And it wasn’t a store at all, but a small pavilion of 15 sq.m. at the Moscow Sovenok market. I rented space, bought the simplest retail equipment, completed all the documents and opened a point. Everything took about a month. Testing was successful. The clothes were liked and sold well.

- How did you implement the idea from its conception to its final implementation?

Towards the opening of the first standing store I've been preparing for quite a long time. I started preparing even before I decided to open a test point. I approached this quite seriously, since from the very beginning I was going to open not just a store, but a retail business.

Having a marketing background, I naturally started with research. Conducted desk and field research on the Moscow retail clothing market in general, and children's clothing in particular. As a result, I received structured information on the state of the market, its trends and conditions. Thus, I made sure that my idea for a children’s clothing store in the mid-price range has potential for development.

Ready ideas for your business

Then I started looking for an idea for a store. A small study was conducted - a survey (about 150 people). The survey was conducted by MSU students, future marketers about good schools, kindergartens, in expensive indoor markets. The purpose of the study was to confirm several hypotheses and collect the opinions of potential buyers, namely:

For a store planning to operate in the mid-price niche, the name should be “foreign”.

Basic needs: security, stability, environmental friendliness. Safety was interpreted very broadly: from a child-safe store to safe clothing.

Having the results of all this research in hand, I came up with the name of the future store and was able to draw up technical specifications for the designer to develop a logo and image of the sales area. Then, having already made sure that Coccodrillo was to the taste of customers, I began looking for premises for a store.

In general, it is now clear that it was possible to open a store this way only in those times when demand exceeded supply and there was practically no competition. I had no idea about the assortment matrix, turnover, returns and conversion. I didn’t know how to correctly evaluate a place, what the room should be like, what sellers should do. Thank God that I quickly figured out to hire an experienced administrator who set me up with the processes and work with sellers. He also gave me some advice on assortment management.

Now this method of opening is a very big risk. Even in those days, I was forced to quickly close my first store due to a mistake in choosing a location. And only the second store really became successful, marking the beginning of the development of the network.

What you need to do to open a store now:

Start by learning the basics of retail business. The retail business model is radically different from wholesale sales and any other type of sales. There are many features in retail, ignorance of which is critical for the survival of a business. It is because of ignorance of the laws of retail business that so many newly opened stores close in the first year.

The next stage is the search for ideas and positioning. If, for example, you want to open a children's clothing store, this is not an idea yet. This is the direction. The idea is WHAT you are selling and to whom. Solving which problem or “fulfilling” which desires, for which specific customers. How will your store differ from others, what is its “trick”. Why will buyers come to buy from you and not from others, more well-known, cheaper, etc. What place are you going to occupy in the minds of your customers? This is not an easy process that takes time and work, but is truly essential to the success of the store.

The next stage is format development. If the general idea is created, the store format will be quite easy to determine. The format is the size, assortment, type of service, design of the sales area, principles of location, that is, choosing a location for the store.

And then search and selection of suppliers, retail space, project of a sales area, retail equipment.

After these stages, you can already make a more or less real business plan, with an updated financial part.

At the same time, all legal issues. Open a company or register an individual entrepreneur, a bank account. If the premises are separate and not in a shopping center - permitting documentation from firefighters and SES.

Repair and equipment of store premises.

Development of business processes, regulations, accounting systems, security systems. Here you can use standard documents at first. Then, in the process of work, adapting them to your needs.

Think over methods and techniques for promoting your store. Activities to attract buyers.

Hire staff, purchase and deliver goods. And good luck.

Some of these stages can be performed in parallel, some only sequentially. If you spare no time and effort, then by going through all the steps correctly, you can get a beautiful and successful business.

- What difficulties did you encounter in the initial stages of doing business?

Complete ignorance of the subject gave rise to a large number of errors. There was not enough money, there were no rules and laws.

According to your estimates, what is the minimum amount with which you can start this business today? Name the main expense items.

If we talk about opening a franchise store of our company, it depends on the format of the store and the condition of the premises - from 1 to 2.5 million rubles. If we talk about an independent concept - there is also a wide range - it depends on the size, price level, I think also from 1 million to... Here the boundaries are determined by the imagination of the owner. Here's how to count possible deadline returns and whether there will be any - not all owners know.

Ready ideas for your business

The costs of opening a store are divided into two parts - investment and working capital. Investments – expenses for repairs and equipment of retail space, organizational expenses. Working capital – funds for the purchase of goods.

The main composition of costs and their approximate value. Shop 35-45 sq.m.

But generally speaking, investing in a children's clothing store is no different from investing in an adult clothing store. The main difference is the size working capital, which depends on the size of the store and the average cost per unit of goods.

- How to approach choosing a location for a children's store?

The main buyers of children's clothing are mothers. Therefore, it is better to open a store in those places that are often visited by women of the right age for shopping purposes. Because when a woman goes to buy something, she pays attention to other stores.

Or where women are often in the role of mothers and at the same time have some free time. It is good to open specialized stores there for a certain profile. For example, next to large Palaces of Culture, where there are many clubs, large schools and kindergartens, in new areas where there are many young families with children.

Shopping centers can also be considered as a place to open. In this case, it is better to open a store next to a large department store for children, which will create a flow of customers, that is, be an anchor tenant. Or next to other children's stores of different directions.

There is no need to be afraid of competition here. If you are concerned about a clear concept, the store has its own face and its own customer - such a store will not dissolve among others. And variety and choice will attract more buyers.

In general, it is always worth looking for the target stream. What is “target”? What characteristics determine whether he is a target or not? There are many such characteristics, they differ for each specific store. But there are also common ones, for example:

Buyer price expectations. If you place your store with an average-priced product in a very popular but cheap place (market), this is a mistake. And the question is not even that people with low incomes come there. People with average incomes come there, but they come to buy something inexpensive, and your prices will look higher than they really are.

Indirect competition. For example, a circus or a large children's entertainment complex. It would seem that this is the target flow; they are visited by families with children who have enough money for entertainment. But, firstly, they are in the mood for a carefree holiday, and buying something, especially clothes, is in some way a job. Secondly, visiting such places is a guaranteed waste of a certain, rather large amount of money. Parents will subconsciously think that they have spent enough today.

- Are there any additional administrative requirements for the premises?

If we talk about a children's clothing store, then no. There are restrictions on clothing for newborns and toddlers, but these do not have an impact on stores. Rather, it is for open market outlets.

Medical records are required for all employees. Of course, certification is required for children's clothing, but this is more a question of suppliers. If you open a store with only clothes, the optimal area to start with is 40-60 meters. If you add other categories - shoes, toys - then you need to carefully look at the assortment. But starting from a store more than 150 meters is in any case very dangerous. It is impossible to create a balanced assortment for such an area without experience. The essential characteristics of a retail space are the shape of the sales area, the size of the display windows, how well the entrance to the store is visible and convenient.

- What can you save on and what should you not save on?

This is a very complex issue. In the retail business there are such concepts as format, format business model, concept. These must be developed before the store opens. When they exist, the necessary and enough level expenses in all elements that make up the store itself as a system.

In some places you can save on staff but invest in repairs, in others on rent and choose a less traveled location, in others it’s the other way around. All stores are different, or better yet, they should be different. There are no general “magic pills” here. That is, they do not cure.

- How long did it take you to recoup your initial investment?

Well, we closed the first store altogether after six months. The second paid off in one and a half years, the third in a year. Now the average payback period is 1.8 years.

- What can you say about the profitability of this business?

The normal profitability for a children's clothing store, and not only children's clothing, can be considered:

15% of store turnover

50% of total costs including working capital

100% for working capital.

- Is there seasonality in your business? How do you solve the problem of low seasons?

Yes, and significant. This is one of the biggest shortcomings of our market. At RIKKI-TIKKI we have tried many different options smooth out the decline in sales in the spring-summer season. At first, of course, we tried to find a solution to this problem through sales of non-core assortment - all sorts of summer toys and entertainment. But the fact is that the summer recession is present not only in clothing, but also in other categories of children's products. Only products for newborns do not have this feature.

Now the RIKKI-TIKKI company manages its assortment so competently throughout the year that we simply collect revenue in other months. After all, seasonality has two ends: if there is a time of decline, then there is also a time of peak sales growth. The main thing is not to miss it.

- How do you purchase goods, the process of forming an assortment and markings?

The world standard markup for clothing stores is a markup of 110-130%. This is subject to purchases based on a placed seasonal pre-order from the supplier's warehouse. If cooperation is successful, the supplier may give a short deferment of payment. For example, RIKKI-TIKKI has developed a special sales policy for its franchisees, which includes deferred payment, deliveries according to a specific payment schedule, and even commission conditions. Naturally, all these preferences are conditioned by compliance with certain standards, rules, payment and other discipline.

- What specialists does the company’s staff consist of? What payment scheme do you use?

The key employee in the store is the administrator. Without his high-quality work, the store is unviable. The position of an administrator requires certain competencies, especially in the field of personnel management (sales), experience and serious leadership qualities. The reason many entrepreneurs fail is that they decide to take on administrative responsibilities without having the necessary qualities and experience.

For a store to operate successfully, a clear system for assigning duties and responsibilities to employees and monitoring their work is necessary. This system is formalized in a set of regulations, instructions, reporting forms, and described business processes.

Sellers most often work in shifts, two working days, two days off, since stores are open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, and holidays. Of course, financial motivation of store personnel should be based on the results of personal sales, and also include a component of general store sales. Do not forget about the system of punishments and rewards for compliance with all rules and regulations.

But one should not think that a system of material incentives alone can produce a well-functioning workforce. No less, and often a more significant contribution to the store’s revenue is made by the emotional mood of people. Non-material motivation - corporate culture, salespersons' trust in management, loyalty to the company, perception of it as part of one's life - are extremely important factors for business success.

- How did you select key employees?

First by trial and error. Now there is already a system of selection, hiring and training. As I already wrote, the key employees for a retail business are store administrators. The problem is that a good salesperson rarely makes a good administrator. This is actually different people, and the seller does not always want, and even can, take on the functions and responsibilities of a manager.

Therefore, most often our administrators are recruited from outside. Then they work as interns under the supervision of experienced employees, while simultaneously undergoing serious training at the company. Sometimes it happens that the seller grows good manager. This is the best option for the company.

RIKKI-TIKKI has developed a proprietary competency model for all positions (positions) of the company; on its basis, the development and training of personnel is planned, and it is also the basis for determining criteria for hiring and selecting employees.

Obviously, during your work you tried various ways advertising. Which advertising media have proven to be effective, and which ones did you ultimately abandon?

I would use the term promotion. Advertising is only part of a set of activities aimed at attracting and retaining customers. Our company is a federal network. We have two levels of promotion - the brand and the network itself and the stores themselves.

Our stores have a small area - 70-130 sq.m. Therefore, we use ATL advertising very limitedly. But the choice of advertising media also depends on the location of the store. Oddly enough, the effectiveness of advertising media varies widely depending on the city.

To be honest, as a director of marketing and development, I never understood why this was happening. In some cities, advertising on transport works great, in some cities there is local or cable TV, in some cities there are very effective local magazines, or federal magazines are very popular, but published for this region.

And there are dozens of low-budget promotion methods. Only they must be understood, tested and done correctly. Often advertising fails not because of poor choice of medium, but because of poor execution.

- What can you say about competition in your business?

Quite high, like everywhere else now. But there is still room. You just need to differentiate.

- Has the economic crisis affected your business?

Yes, sure. At the end of 2008, RIKKI-TIKKI, like many others, faced a sharp drop in sales, especially in the regions. Although not many stores closed, due to the large amount of unsold goods, we found ourselves in a difficult financial situation.

What made matters worse was that this was not just a temporary drop in sales. Over time, it became clear that the behavior of our customers, their values ​​and priorities had changed dramatically. I had to learn again how to do an effective business in new reality, learn to work for “new” customers. It took a lot of time and effort, but now we can already say that there is a result. The stores we are opening now are successful.

- What other pitfalls does this business have?

The retail business, especially the clothing business, has high demand risks. And children's clothing is no exception. The vagaries of the weather, changes in the solvency of the population - all this can greatly affect the profitability of the store.

Also a big risk, however, common to all stores, is changing the path of customer flow. For example, a great place was found, the store operated for six months and everything was fine, but just before the entrance, work began on relaying some pipes. And the stream went on the other side.

- Based on your experience, what advice would you give to those who are just planning to start this business?

There are hundreds of mistakes that can lead to failure in a retail business. But there are not many reasons why these mistakes are made. Still, based on my considerable experience, not only my own, but the experience of the franchisee partners of the RIKKI-TIKKI company, I realized that the owner of a small and medium-sized business is, in a sense, a profession that requires a certain level of knowledge and competencies.

Therefore, my advice is that before opening a store, and not just a store, before starting any business, not just collect general information, but find a way to understand its essence, understand how it works in reality. Understand what knowledge and skills the business owner will need, what people he will need and why. This can be done by going through various training programs, of which there are now plenty. You shouldn’t save 15-20 thousand rubles and then lose hundreds, or even millions.

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Practical advice on organizing a business selling children's clothing: demand, assortment, searching for suppliers, store design and marketing.

Demand for children's clothing stores

Even without turning to statistical data, we see how much the situation with the birth of children in our country has improved. But the numbers help assess the reliability of our subjective assessments. Rosstat data shows that in 1999 the birth rate was 1.2 million children, and the number of births in 2011 was already 1.79 million, and no decline is predicted yet.

Therefore, it is clear that a business selling children's things is one of the most profitable ideas at present.

Choosing a store location

In order to open a children's clothing store from scratch you do not need a huge area, 50-100 is quite enough square meters. Of course, larger areas can accommodate more goods, but this will not guarantee high profits. Risks and difficulties increase in proportion to the increase in area, because the species diversity of the assortment increases.

Choosing a location begins with assessing the target buyer of the product. In this case, these are mothers, so you need to choose a place where you can most often meet them. The perfect solution- a small store in the Shopping Center of a residential area, but any large Mall will do. In a shopping center it is better to open close to similar departments or on the path of a large consumer flow.

This practical material correlates with the topic of opening a store for children's shoes and goods for children.

The location for a free-standing store should be chosen based on “ points of attraction" - the most visited places in the area. These could be grocery stores, kindergartens, schools, child development centers. If the location is well chosen, you can be sure that your potential buyer will not pass by.

Range

When opening a children's clothing store, you need to understand that in order to present an assortment for all age groups, you need a rather large area and confidence in your taste. It is better to start with small volumes, that is, with several age groups and expand gradually, based on real customer demands.

The simplest product is clothing for newborns and nursery group. The main thing here is to focus on natural materials, cute design and not hold very well. high prices.

Clothes for children attending kindergartens, should be beautiful in design and comfortable in cut. Here you can already look for suppliers with average prices.

The difficulties begin with school group, because the child himself begins to participate in the choice of clothes, whose tastes can be completely unpredictable. But prices for this group of goods can vary from low to expensive.

If the store will sell clothes for different ages, then they should be in related groups: for example, for newborns and a nursery range.

How to find suppliers

It is better to consider the following manufacturers as suppliers of children's clothing:

• Russia
• China
• Türkiye
• Poland

The advantages of children's assortment of Russian production undeniable before foreign suppliers.

1. These are lower prices, since the path from the manufacturer to the store is shorter and there is neither a long road nor customs duties
2. It's more best quality, since Russian factories develop their specifications, focusing on the strict standards of the USSR
3. This is a simplified system for ordering and selecting sizes, as well as the ability to coordinate the release of individual size grids
4. Russian-made goods are certified in factories and delivered to stores with a full set of documents.

All you need to get started is to choose a manufacturer, evaluate catalogs and conclude an agreement for the supply of goods. Delivery is most often carried out by the buyer’s own forces. or using a transport company. Shipment is made upon prepayment.

Russian stamps, which have already earned the trust of customers:

• "Artel"
• "Cheerful baby"
• "Leo",
• "Dioli."

It’s more difficult with foreign manufacturers. To minimize problems with customs clearance and delivery, it is better to cooperate with online platforms or with representatives of factories.

The minimum order amount in such cases is agreed upon in advance and is usually low. The goods, which are accompanied by a minimum package of documents, are delivered by the seller before specified address. You will have to obtain certificates giving permission to sell children's clothing yourself.

Own business trips are rational when the store has already achieved good turnover or when selling a luxury assortment, where there is a need to inspect each item of goods.

When a shipment of defective goods arrives, Russian factories are willing to help and replace it, but foreign suppliers are not. In this case, you have to resolve the issue with defective clothing yourself, often selling it below cost.

The average markup percentage for children's assortment is 130%.

Approvals

A store can be opened only after meeting a number of requirements of Rosptrebnadzor, Gospozhnadzor and the Trade Department. All requirements are specified in regulations, rules or laws.

The trading department monitors the implementation of the “Rules for trading certain types of goods,” especially with regard to store equipment.

Rospotrebnadzor requires compliance with the Sanitary Rules reflected in the PLC - a laboratory control program, which is created on the basis of SanPiN and GOSTs. Any retail trade entity must have this Program.

The fire inspection is guided by the Federal Law of December 21, 1994 No. 69-FZ “On Fire Safety” when issuing permission to open a store.

Decoration of the sales area

The design of the sales area of ​​a children's clothing store has a number of features. There should be a lot of equipment. It is worth considering that Many purchases in stores of this kind are spontaneous: having come to buy one skirt, mom willingly buys a blouse, a couple of T-shirts and jeans to boot.

Based on this specificity, the product must be presented in full and it is best if it is located at the level of the buyers’ eyes and hands. The ideal solution is island equipment, when you can calmly sort through things on neighboring hangings in the middle of the hall.

It is advisable to equip a children's area where the child can spend time while the parents are busy making choices. A installation of TV in fitting rooms, which broadcasts cartoons, will allow even the most capricious children to try on a lot of clothes. Lots of fittings - more purchase.

Take care of the elegant design of the store, bright shop windows and beautiful mannequins. These details will help attract as many buyers with children as possible.

And of course, you shouldn’t forget about the main attributes of the store: computer, cash register, fitting rooms, mirrors, etc.

Staff

A medium-sized store will need a manager and salespeople to operate efficiently. The ideal working hours for a salesperson are two to two, so the optimal number of staff is four consultants (two people per shift).

Marketing

On the day the store opens, it would be a good idea to give it to all customers. discount cards. The discount percentage on the card must be at least 5%. Shoppers will be more interested if they can get deeper discounts on baby items. Therefore, it is worth thinking about 8% or even 10%.

Works well storage system, when the discount percentage increases in proportion to the amount spent in the store.

In any case, input discount system allows you to launch customer surveys. Based on the questionnaires, a client database with phone numbers and email addresses is compiled. This makes it possible to carry out SMS newsletters with notifications about promotions, sales, new arrivals. Each SMS is a way to remind the customer about the store.

It would be polite to the client to set a good percentage discounts on his birthday. In a children's clothing store, by customer we mean a child. Just don’t limit yourself to one day, give at least a week before and after the specified date. The beauty of this decision is realized at the moment when parents buy new clothes before the holiday for the future birthday boy.

During holidays that are significant for children (June 1, September 1, New Year), you can think about discounts and gifts for customers.

Any clothing has a warranty period. It is set by the manufacturer, but the seller can increase it. In the buyer's understanding, a guarantee is the quality of a product, and if a store takes on such obligations for a period of 1 month, then this perfectly characterizes its assortment.