Development of a business plan for a lingerie store

The founder of the LOVE by VICTORY and YANCHEVSKAYA brands talks about her experience in the underwear business. How to overcome fears, what difficulties you had to face, methods of promoting your brand, expectations and reality - read Victoria Yanchevskaya's inspiring success story.

Victoria Yanchevskaya in the past - Deputy Head of the Federal Bank. In 2021 she opened her own lingerie sewing business. Having started on Instagram with a capital of 200 thousand rubles, by 2021 Yanchevskaya's company reached an annual turnover of 120 million rubles. The production currently employs 60 people.

Victoria Yanchevskaya's underwear tailoring business started with such a start-up capital

LOVE by VICTORY and YANCHEVSKAYA collections include more than 30 models of erotic lingerie for women. The assortment includes underwear sets, bodysuits, pajamas, shirts, stockings, etc.

How the idea came to be engaged in sewing underwear

I worked for a federal bank. And in 2021, on the rise of my career, when I was offered to become the head of the department in Ufa, I realized that I was not doing my job. It was hard for me to let my clients' problems go through myself. I wanted to enjoy what I do. And I decided to leave the bank and connect my life with what inspires me: the production and sale of women's underwear. This was my old dream. I founded two brands - LOVE by ViCTORY and YANCHEVSKAYA. At that time, I thought not so much about profit as about harmony with myself.

There were certainly many fears and doubts. But curiosity - "can I?" - everything overpowered. Fear is a natural reaction of the body to something new, unknown.

The only correct solution in a situation of fear is to "hug" him and jump with him into the abyss of uncertainty. This is the only way to defeat fear.

First there was a page on Instagram. Six months later, having built up a base of regular customers, I was able to open a small showroom where I sold other people's brands. And only two years later, she decided to open her own production of underwear, having no one who could prompt and teach. I have no sewing education. I never sewed. Nevertheless, I made up my mind.

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I have always loved provocative and seductive lingerie, but I almost never found models that could reveal femininity and attractiveness to the full and at the same time would be made of quality materials and would be affordable.

There was only one way out - to organize the sewing of such linen itself. After the first collections were sold out in a matter of days, I realized that not only I was faced with the problem of finding the right lingerie, but a huge number of women share my vision of beauty.

Probably everyone will agree with the fact that among all types of clothing - underwear is always in the greatest demand among buyers. Moreover, this product is almost independent of fashion trends and seasonality. Therefore, by opening a business lingerie store, a novice entrepreneur can be completely sure that he will not burn out. But, how to start a lingerie store from scratch without having any trading experience? Let's talk about this further.

What is special about business?

As already noted, the main positive aspect of the underwear business idea is that it is practically not affected by seasonality. Of course, there are some small nuances regarding the assortment (for example, swimming trunks, swimsuits can be sold better in summer, and thermal underwear in winter), but a stable monthly profit is guaranteed. After all, a person wears underwear constantly, respectively, it wears out and needs to be bought again and again.

Another plus of this business idea can be put for the fact that, once saying to myself: I want to open a lingerie store, you do not have to look for a large premises for a shopping facility. After all, the product is compact and will not take up much space on the windows. In addition, the wholesale prices for it are not as high as, for example, for the same clothes. So you can start with minimal investment. And finally, since fashion does not interfere with the "intimate" part of our clothes, it will not linger in stock.

But there are some unpleasant moments in this direction, which are mainly associated with the presence of high competition:

• It is difficult to find a good space for a store;
• It is difficult to find an assortment that can "surprise" a customer;

In addition, no one is insured against the risk of purchasing low-quality goods. Well, a very expensive product can repel buyers. Therefore, if you have just started considering the sale of lingerie as a business, pay attention to the existing market (regional or local, where you are going to work), study the range of your future competitors, paying attention to:

• Prices;
• Quality;
• Models (men, women, children);
• Demand.

Here I would like to note that in the underwear trade, it is very important to take into account the demand of buyers. The fact is that in our country consumers are somehow not very receptive to global trends in this part of clothing. Therefore, when starting a business in lingerie, you should not risk buying exclusive models, guided by the fact that they are not represented elsewhere. Maybe they just don't buy them?

How to determine the direction of your business?

The fact is that there are several directions in this type of business. In particular - sale:

The article presents a detailed business plan with calculations and templates for a small lingerie store with a traffic of 100 people per day.

In order to build an effective business, we act on the following points of the plan:

Market Analysis

Market analysis allows you to answer the question of which store to open. Whether it will be a multi-brand or mono-brand underwear department in a shopping and entertainment center, or a small free-standing store in a residential area. What target audience to target, how to make calculations taking into account seasonality, etc.

The lingerie market in 2021 seems oversaturated: the number of well-known brands is in the hundreds. Meanwhile, not all market opportunities have been exhausted. There are consumer needs that modern lingerie cannot yet fully satisfy.

So, the segment of inexpensive underwear is not well developed. On the Russian market, it is represented mainly by noun-names of Chinese and Korean manufacturers (95%). The remaining 5% are Russian and Belarusian brands.

Thus, in the current conditions, it seems appropriate to either develop your own brand of lingerie, or work on a franchise.

From the point of view of customer needs, two relatively empty niches can be noted: family lingerie stores (however, hypermarkets satisfy this need, but they are usually located far from residential buildings) and stores of beautiful, modern women's underwear large sizes of an affordable price category. There are few well-known brands that produce lingerie with 90D + bras.

Recently, the bra-fitting service has become popular - an individual selection of a bra in size and style, taking into account the characteristics of the figure and shape of the breast. But stores that provide such a service work, as a rule, in a high price segment (the cost of choosing lingerie by a stylist - excluding the price of the product itself - is about 3,000 rubles), and for the overwhelming majority of women, bra-fitting is not available.

Target audience

Determining the target audience. The choice falls on middle-aged women. Popular and standard models of underwear, high-waisted panties and slips, tangas, seamless shorts, push-up bras with tight or soft cups or correction underwear are relevant for them. Models of seamless underwear are also relevant. Create avatars of the clients you will target. Women may have different motives for buying lingerie, and this must be taken into account when forming a marketing strategy.

Determine market size and predict turnover

To determine the market capacity of your city or region, to plan the assortment (see the next section) and forecast sales and profits, calculate the payback (see the Financial planning section), you can use the data on women's lingerie needs: <

The prospective underwear store is expected to have a daily flow of 30-80 customers. Each of them spends an average of 1000-4000 rubles on a purchase. To ensure the specified money turnover, a stock of goods from 200 to 1000 items is required, located on an area of ​​40-50 sq. meters.

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Project cost

Initial costs for opening a retail outlet will amount to about 200,000-650,000 rubles. This is the amount for the rental of premises and its renovation, as well as the purchase of the first batch of goods.

Additionally, study this article about opening your own clothing store.

The final investment amount depends on the area of ​​the rented or acquired premises, because the size of the sales area will also depend on such items of expenses as:

• Rent and utility bills - from 5 to 40 thousand rubles for every 10 sq. m. sales area.
• The cost of repairing the premises is 10-30 thousand rubles per 10 sq. m.
• Commercial equipment (hangers, mannequins, showcases, racks, showcase lighting) - 20-35 thousand rubles. for 10 sq. m. of space.
• Number of sellers - 1 person per 20-40 sq. m.
• The number of goods - from 200 to 1000 commodity items presented in a full size range (the total cost of such a stock can reach 70-400 thousand rubles).

It should be understood that the business plan of a lingerie store should include not only the footage of the trading floor itself, but also the area of ​​fitting rooms, utility and storage facilities.

The optimal solution may be an area of ​​40-50 sq. m.

Amount of working capital

Items of regular running costs after store opening:

• Rent and utility payments - from 40,000 to 160,000 rubles.
• Payroll - two sellers, an accountant, a cleaner - 90,000 - 125,000 rubles.
• Purchase of goods from suppliers - from 400,000 to 2,100,000 rubles.
• Purchase of consumables and packaging - 10,000 - 40,000 rubles.
• Advertising - 5,000 - 40,000 rubles.
• Taxes and organizational expenses (bank commission, acquiring fee) - 16,000 - 40,000 rubles.

Total amount: 561,000 - 2,505,000 rubles per month.

Before starting a business, the main thing is to decide on its direction, to weigh your capabilities and abilities. An interesting option that does not require highly specialized knowledge (such as spare parts or high technology) may be an intimate accessories store. And we are not talking about a sex shop at all, but about everyday things that are always in demand, regardless of the time of year or day.

Panties, bras, bodysuits, sets have now become more than just a must. The most daring even allow themselves to post photos on the Internet, showing off elegant lingerie. It would seem that there cannot be much variety in this segment, but this opinion is erroneous. There is even some fashion trend here. And the range of tastes and claims is simply unlimited. Therefore, the decision to open a lingerie store will be relevant at all times and provides a wide field of activity.

The good thing about this business is that it does not require an initial huge investment, even for the same equipment, which can be portable at first. It is not only the fair sex that can become an entrepreneur. Modern men also began to pay attention to what they wear under their trousers, and simple "families" no longer suit them. This significantly expands the range of products. And some men understand lingerie better than any lady.

Opening a lingerie store what you need to know at the initial stage

The relative stability of this direction of trade is dictated by constant (relatively) demand. Although, not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. When starting work, you need to understand the specifics of the business and think over everything to the smallest detail, which are just very important for a successful start:

• At the initial stage, you should not be attached to a specific point. It may happen that the chosen location is not entirely successful (low traffic of buyers, proximity of competitors, etc.). To quickly change your location, it is better to immediately purchase mobile commercial equipment.
• The seller must have a clear understanding of the product (composition, quality, manufacturer, etc.) in order to provide assistance and advice if necessary.
• The price / quality ratio should correspond to the markups. The higher the product class, the higher the margin can be.
• You should not allow the product to lie on the counter. It is better to put outdated models on sale by arranging a promotion. Then it will be possible to quickly update the assortment.
• No need to place bets on running sizes. The presence of a non-standard will help attract additional buyers.
• Given the growing interest of men in underwear, it is advisable to take care of the presence of this segment as well. Children should not be forgotten either. Socks and tights can serve as passing goods.
• Having a competent sales assistant will help avoid misunderstandings with returns. Despite the fact that the law in this case is on the seller's side, unnecessary conflicts can ruin the reputation of the outlet.

A man can also open a lingerie store from scratch, because the peculiarity of this business is the right organization. And such questions are more easily solved by the stronger sex. Another point: limited funds is not a reason to abandon an idea. An online store does not require large initial investments, the main thing is to correctly develop a website. We'll tell you how to do this a little later in this article.

Market and Competitor Analysis

Underwear, unlike other products, is always in demand. Another thing is to understand what exactly is lacking for the consumer, because this market is simply replete with variety. It is important to study well the demand of the population in the specific area where the opening is planned.

An analysis based on visits to competitive points will help in this question. It is worth asking what is best bought up and what is "not very". Not all competitors are hostile. It is possible that even the proximity of two similar departments may simply complement each other if they represent different brands or target different audiences.

There is no doubt that lingerie is still in the greatest demand. However, there is also a choice. When opening a lingerie store, you can:

• Introduce a specific brand.
• Select a pricing policy (calculation for the middle, budget or luxury class).
• "Dilute" the assortment with men's / children's underwear (the most acceptable ratio is 70 w / 30 m).

But the variety of the assortment should not be confused with the combination of the target audience. If the course is taken for the luxury class, then the department should not have cheap products. And vice versa. This mixing policy only scares customers away.