How to open a children's clothing store from scratch

Article author: Victor Averin

Views: 20 913 Date: 10.1.015

Products for children are always a relevant and popular topic. Almost every parent is ready to pamper his child and buy everything he needs. Therefore, you can make good money on the sale of this product group if you organize all the processes correctly. A business plan for an online store of children's goods will allow you to correctly determine the assortment and pricing policy, organizational arrangements and project costs. In this example, a project will be considered for the creation and promotion of an online store for the sale of children's goods - clothes, shoes and accessories.

Resume

To open an online store of children's goods, the main stages will be market research, definition of the concept, registration of an individual entrepreneur or legal entity, creation of an Internet resource, its filling and promotion. The size of investments for launching the project is up to 100,000 rubles, the payback period is, on average, 3-4 months. The main tool for the development of an online store will be promotion in search engines, contextual advertising, advertising in social networks.

Company Description

If one owner is employed in organizing a business, you can first register as an individual entrepreneur. If there are two or more owners, it is better to register the company as LLC. For individual entrepreneurs, the workflow is simpler, but there are restrictions on the volume of sales and the subjects to whom the sale is carried out. For an LLC, the sales amount is much higher, but such a legal form requires the involvement of a competent accountant, which will entail additional administrative costs. Therefore, at the initial stage, it is better to start working as an individual entrepreneur.

It is very important to come up with a good name that should be associated with the main group of products, be light and memorable. For example, for an online store of children's goods, a suitable name would be "Children's world", "Everything for kids", "Baby shop", etc.

The choice of product groups will depend on the chosen concept and target audience. To select your target group, you need to segment the market (group by certain criteria) by income level, age, geographic location, etc. For example, if the income level factor is selected for segmentation, your assortment can be selected by price - the most expensive, cheapest , average level, etc. By age, product groups can be distributed as follows: for babies - from 0 to 1 year old, for babies - 1-7 years old, for teenagers, etc. You can specialize in a narrow profile - selling goods for schoolchildren, etc.

Which product categories can be sold through the children's online store:

• Clothes.
• Shoes.
• Bags, haberdashery, accessories.
• Toys.
• Stationery, etc.

There is a trend towards the transition of many types of business to the Internet. It is much more convenient to place an order without leaving your home, and at the same time save money, because prices in an online store are usually lower than in a regular one. Children's toys can be called a good product for sale through the World Wide Web. The assortment of such goods is very wide, so a large retail space is required. And for a virtual storefront, this is not a problem. In this article, we'll show you how to start an online toy store from scratch and make money from it.

How to organize

To open a children's goods store on the Internet, you need to start with a thorough marketing research, the task of which is not only to study the activities of competitors, but also to select the most successful product categories. It is important to clearly define your target audience, which will make purchases, and focus your efforts on attracting it. It is important to offer toys that are difficult to find from other vendors.

The format of the store depends on the chosen direction. For example, a store might specialize in educational toys. Modern parents want their children to develop quickly, so they choose those products for them that will contribute to this. You can also sell sports toys. These include bicycles, exercise equipment, scooters, sports equipment. And some entrepreneurs only sell board games.

But it is best to make the assortment line wide and universal, then the number of potential customers will increase.

Advantages and Disadvantages

This type of business has pros and cons that will help answer the question of whether it is profitable and worth taking on this small business. On the positive side, it can be noted that children's products are always in demand and are bought well. But it is important that toys are safe and environmentally friendly. Now parents make sure that their children play only with high-quality toys that will not harm the child.

In addition, it is not difficult to open an online store, there will be minimum costs. There are also few employees in it, and therefore the salary fund will be small.

The only drawbacks are high competition in this segment and the difficulty of running an advertising campaign.

What you need

The following step-by-step instructions will help you understand how to get started in this business and what to pay special attention to.

Depository

It would seem that you can forget about "offline" at the time of the Internet business craze, but a children's toy store can bring unexpectedly large profits - up to 300% on the invested amount per year. And this, in addition to the above-described prerequisites, has another explanation. If you weren't aware of this, you may be surprised, but the average retail markup can range from 200 to 500% of the wholesale price! It is also safe to say that in the next 5-7 years, birth rates will only grow. In addition, due to the high marginality of the business and the demand for goods, the crisis phenomena are not terrible for this business.

Risks, of course, also exist. Firstly, there are quite a lot of competitors on the market, so when opening, you need to make sure that not a single toy store is open within a radius of at least 600-700 meters from your future business. Also, when calculating the area of ​​the store, estimate at least an approximate amount of the population and its composition. A young and dynamic area with 10 thousand inhabitants? A room of 100 "squares" is more than enough. "Old" microdistrict with 30 thousand inhabitants? You can get by with 150 "squares". By the way, a toy store in a familiar format goes well with an online toy store. And part of its area can be used as a warehouse. For the maximum flow of customers, it is worth choosing shopping centers, but if you can offer a wide assortment or prices lower than those of competitors, then the first floor of a residential building on the first line of houses will also be good. The main thing is to provide a convenient staircase and parking spaces. Cellars are not our option (although the price is tempting). Speaking of prices, it is best to conclude a lease agreement for at least six months, and preferably for a year. At the same time, you can ask for a discount.

Have you decided on the area? Now, in fact, let's start "creating" the store

Let's make a reservation right away that although the design can be ripped off from competitors, it is better to come up with your own, since you can create something much more interesting and beautiful. The main thing is that the color scheme is made in bright colors, but be careful with tones. The acid green is best left to club DJs. As for furniture, you will need a minimum of shelving and equipment for the "little ones" corner. It is better to buy furniture from local manufacturers, you can even not dyed, you still will not find the color of the store, and buying a colored film or paint will not cost you dearly. The showcase will not be superfluous - can you imagine how children will stare at the "cool" toys? Yes, with the right showcase you won't need promoters, the children will do all the work for them.

It is better to look for staff through local sites, newspapers are not suitable for this, you do not need forty-year-old lonely aunts angry with the whole world, do you? The best selling will be hungry and talented students, as well as insolent high school students.

“REMEMBER - SELLERS SHOULD RECEIVE PERCENTAGE ON SALES (MORE IS BETTER), NOT SALARY”

Then they will sell really well. A store with an area of ​​just over 200 square meters requires 2-3 salespeople and 1-2 cashiers per shift; sellers can also act as cashiers.

Buying toys should turn out to be an interesting process for your customers! Hand out sweets to the kids, show their parents the wonders of modern technology - the burning headlights of miniature cars and dive helicopters will not leave indifferent especially the fathers of families.

Now let's move on to the most important and expensive one - toys. Yes, the purchase of toys is up to 70% of all your costs at the initial stage and more than 80% later. If you have already worked with foreign suppliers (China, India, etc.), as well as with our customs, then this is the most desirable option for you. But it's better to contact the manufacturers directly. Sample forms of proposals for cooperation in English and Russian can be found here. If you have not worked with foreign suppliers, then it is best to work with local wholesalers and manufacturers (yes, there are some that are of sufficient quality). Local wholesalers wind up on average between 50 and 150% of the original price of the item. But on the other hand, they eliminate the need to tinker with Russian customs and Chinese suppliers and manufacturers, who have recently quite often "thrown" their northern partners.

As for the legal organization, you won't feel much difference between an individual entrepreneur and an LLC, and in the second case you can even save a little. In addition, if you plan to receive subsidies from the state, then you should read these documents.

You can also familiarize yourself with the stable operating franchises on the toy store market.

How much does it cost to open a toy store

Children's online stores are a very promising business. In the regions, more and more people prefer to make purchases via the Internet, and in developed megalopolises the Internet has long become widespread. Online stores provide their customers with incomparable comfort.

Opening a stationary store for newborns, according to experts, will cost today from one to two thousand dollars per square meter. The costs of starting an online store "float" in the range from 2,000 to 250,000 dollars. The size of investments directly depends on the format of the store (universal or specialized), the method of organizing trade (whether its own warehouse is supported or not), staff (own couriers or from outside) and many other factors.

Creation of a turnkey Internet supermarket costs about 30-40 thousand dollars, half of which goes to the purchase of goods.

The average monthly profit of a promoted department store can be about 120 thousand rubles, and turnover - 700-900 thousand. The profitability of this business is 20-30%, and in some cases even 40%. The profitability indicator directly depends on the type of goods and suppliers, on the methods of promotion and the "quality" of the base on which the store was created, on the availability of warehouses, etc. Different children's products may have different profitability. There is a product for children that can be sold with a mark-up of 70-100%.

What business is worth starting in a crisis?

Minimum investment. Fast payback. High demand. Does not require premises and staff. 2 days to launch. Choosing an openbusiness portal. u.

The biggest demand in virtual stores is for baby food and hygiene products. Therefore, diapers, mixtures and jars should always be in the store. If you give up these products, you will lose two-thirds of your potential buyers.

There is a lot of competition in the segment of strollers, car seats, children's furniture and electric vehicles. There is less competition in the segment of educational games and small toys. But in the clothing trade, not everything is smooth, there is a high percentage of returns, because buyers cannot try on a purchase or choose the right size. Bulky goods (houses, slides, sandboxes, electric cars) are also in low demand due to the high cost of their delivery.

Popularity rating

Over the past month, Yandex asked:

Selling clothes for children is a demanded business, because children's clothes are always in demand. Business is suitable not only for megacities, but also for small towns.

In the article, we will give step-by-step instructions on how to start this business, what difficulties and pitfalls there may be.

Children's clothing store format

First of all, you need to decide on the format - an online store or a regular store. In this article, we will analyze the plan for opening an offline store.

You can sell things for children from 0 to 16 years old or stay at a certain age and direction:

• clothes for newborns and children under 3 years old;
• clothes for preschool and primary school age;
• school uniforms;
• fancy clothes, carnival costumes;
• sports clothes for children;
• clothes only for girls / only for boys;
• clothes for teenagers.

You can also sell baby shoes, food, toys, stationery and some other accessories for toddlers. The assortment can be very different.

Assortment of children's clothing store

Whichever direction you choose to start a business from scratch, it is important to ensure that all sizes in this category are available. One of the most promising options is a store with clothes for newborns and children under one year old. The assortment of goods for the little ones has remained practically unchanged for many years.

As for children's clothing for preschool and primary school age, here the parent will give preference to durable and high-quality things that will survive more than one fall or swimming in a puddle.