Preparing a Business Plan for Garment Manufacturing Setup
- First, get customers (buyers) and then make apparel products according to the customers' needs and sell them to them.
- Second, make your product first and then get customers to sell your product. Whatever way you choose to do business, you need to work on the following things to make your project successful.
1. Select the product category
2. estimate production requirement , 3. number of sewing machines needed, 4. type of sewing machines needed for making the design, 5. raw materials requirement, 6. factory space requirement , 7. manpower requirement, 8. project cost , 9. internal process flow, 10. supplier listing , 11. reach your customers , about prasanta sarkar, you might like, 0/post a comment/comments, post a comment, contact form.
Don't bother with copy and paste.
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Clothing Manufacturer Business Plan
Start your own clothing manufacturer business plan
New Look, Inc.
Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">, opportunity.
New Look intends to lever up its position as an established retail men’s clothing business now to become a manufacturer of an upscale clothing line targeted at males between the ages of 20 and 40. New Look not only develops the clothing line, but supports it with advertising and promotion campaigns. The company plans to strengthen its partnership with retailers by developing brand awareness. New Look intends to market its line as an alternative to existing clothing lines, and differentiate itself by marketing strategies, exclusiveness, and high brand awareness.
The key message associated with the New Look line is classy, upscale, versatile, and expensive clothing. The company’s promotional plan is diverse and includes a range of marketing communications. In the future, the company hopes to develop lines of accessories for men, women, and children. These accessories will include cologne/perfume, jewelry, eyewear, watches, etc.
New Look not only develops the clothing line, but supports it with advertising and promotion campaigns. The company plans to strengthen its partnership with retailers by developing brand awareness
Our customers are males between the ages of 20 and 40 with a disposable household income. Within this group, there are no color barriers, and customers have diverse backgrounds. The New Look customer is a versatile man who can fit into any environment and is willing to pay a high price for quality clothing.
Competition
Companies are restructuring to create leaner organizations and adopt new technologies. Consolidation has been prevalent in this industry in the past few years, as larger companies gain leverage in market position and cost cutting. In the apparel industry, companies can operate as retailers or manufacturers (wholesalers) or both. For instance, Gap, Inc., a vertical retailer, manufactures and markets their own apparel and accessories. A company like VG Corporation is a manufacturer and sells solely to retail channels. A company like Tommy Hilfiger does both, selling its products to both retailers and consumers (through retail outlets).
We are an alternative to existing clothing lines. We make our own lines which offers exclusivity, your coworkers or other fashion forward friends won’t be wearing the same thing. We are also highly aware of trends and brands, you will be the envy of all your friends because you found us first.
Expectations
The company’s goal is to expand from retail into online, with its own branding, to be sold by the end of the period in other retail stores as well as online.
Financial Highlights by Year
Financing needed.
We are looking to expand our design line so our owner will put in $65,000. Further we are looking for a $115,000 business loan. Both will be paid back by our second year with our already established customer base and relationships
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How To Create A Clothing Line Business Plan - w/ Template
Published: May 06, 2020 Updated: February 27, 2023 19 min read 37 Comments
Before you can get started on your business plan… Have you set up your clothing line budget ? If not, check out this article. Once your budget is set, come back to here and get to work on your clothing line business plan.
But, before we get started.
Have you heard about the super secret document that everyone in the fashion industry uses, but no one is talking about? Probably not. That is because you can't find it on Google or Instagram (believe me, I've tried).
It's a form I have used for over 13 years at every job I have ever had. Literally everyone from brands to fabric suppliers use it, but you can't find it anywhere publicly.
The best part? It can cut your sourcing time in half, and save you tons of money in product development ! This is the kind of info consultants charge the big bucks for. And, I'm giving it away for free until the end of the month.
So, get ready to make fashion startup life a whole lot easier, and GRAB YOUR FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE NOT SO SECRET SOURCING DOC HERE
What this article will cover:
- Executive summary
- Company overview
- Product/services
- Marketing strategies
- Sales strategy
- Competitive analysis
- Production plan
- Operation plan
- Financial analysis and projections
Now, Don't Skip This Step
A clothing line business plan is a crucial (and often forgotten step) that is needed for creating a clothing line. The plan will help you define and streamline both your long term and short term goals. It will also help you set a path to reach those goals. Not only does a business plan help you by setting a road map, but it also shows suppliers, investors, and other businesses that you are serious about your company by having a profitable plan of action.
As a bonus to this guide, I use my brand, virtue + vice, to give step by step examples, and show you how it's done. And, there's more, I have a free downloadable template to help you get started!
A Business Plan Is A Living Document
One of the most common mistakes I see founders making is that they will write their business plan, launch their product, and then never look at it again. Please don't do this. A clothing line business plan is a living document. You should use it to check in with yourself and make sure that you are meeting your goals. You can also make changes to it as your business changes.
As we all know, we can plan, and plan, and plan, but we can not plan for the chaos of life happening. So, as situations change, go back, update your plan, and re-strategize.
Keeping your business plan handy even after your launch will set you up for accountability and success.
Lastly, before we get started I am going to warn you. Making a clothing line is a lot of fun. But, it's also a lot of work, and (unfortunately) writing this business plan is the work portion of the job.
How To Write A Clothing Line Business Plan
Some business plans for fashion brands are extremely long, repetitive, and in my opinion kind of convoluted. They are a lot of words, that sound fancy and business-like, but are kind of just saying the same thing over and over. That is why I am keeping this short and brief. I have heard of people spending 6 months to a year working on a business plan. That is far too long. A month is enough - just keep it simple and don't get carried away with jargon and corporate speak.
So, let's get started.
Sections 1 + 2: Executive Summary and Company Overview
An executive summary and company overview are basically a recap of your overall business plan. While they are the first section of your clothing line business plan, you actually want to write them last. So, we will circle back at the end this guide.
But, what you can do is work on your companies mission, vission, and values.
Clothing Brand Mission Statement
Why are you starting this company? How will your company change the market place, or even the world?
Vision Statement
Vision statements for fashion companies ask the question - What does success look like to you? Is it money? Or, is it positively impacting people's lives? How will you measure your success in the world?
Core Values
What are your companies guiding principles. What values are at your core that determine and influence your business decisions?
Mission, Vision, Values Workbook Page
Section 3: product and services.
This section should include…
- A description of the product/ service
- Features and benefits
Development
What is the product or service.
So, what is it that you are actually selling? And, how will you make money? In this section, you want to be clear about the type of product or service you are offering and how that will lead to profits.
My Service Offering For virtue + vice
virtue + vice is a consulting agency dedicated to helping companies clean up their supply chains. Target partnerships are existing and established brands with strong supply chains that need help creating transparency or sourcing ethical and sustainable components, as well as, startups who are focused on creating conscious products.
virtue + vice profits through consultancy fees paid by the customer. virtue + vice specializes in the following - sourcing, product development, production management, sustainable design, supply chain transparency, and ethical and sustainable storytelling.
To Recap Products + Services...
See, it's quick and easy. What am I selling? My consultancy services. How am I making money? Through consultancy fees.
What Are The Features + Benefits?
What are you offering that makes your company unique or special?
virtue + vice features and benefits
One key feature that separates virtue + vice from other consultancy firms is our sliding scale for pricing. Because we believe in our mission, virtue + vice pricing structure is on a sliding scale based on a companies profits. We choose to operate like this as a way to give back to small businesses, which we believe in, who might not have the finances to pay our full rates that larger corporations can afford.
Secondly, virtue + vice operates transparently with our customers. Our supplier is your supplier. Many consultancy firms keep their supplier contacts close to the vest and do not share, we welcome our clients to come and visit our partner factories in China and India, and work directly with them
To recap...
Again, super quick and easy. What makes us different. One, we offer sliding scale prices to help small businesses (we aren't only about corporate life). Two, we work transparently without supply chain secretes like many other sourcing agents.
This section answers what happens when your company grows. Or how business people like to ask "how do you plan to scale".
How does virtue + vice plan to scale?
At about 20 clients, that is manageable for me as a solo-preneur. But what happens when I have 100 clients or more? How does my company grow?
As my company grows I plan on hiring support staff in three key areas. Product development, production, and storytelling. Product development employees will assist in taking our client's projects from initial inception, all the way through sourcing and sample development up until production. The product team member will be responsible for production, and shipping logistics of that production order. And, the storytelling team will assist our clients in telling the story of their products through photos and video for social media, copy, look books, line sheets, website design, etc.
I am actually excited to soon been announcing my first hire on the product development team (but more on that on the about us page.)
So, here I have made a plan for the future. What happens when it gets to be all too much for me alone? Who do I hire to help? I have chosen to separate tasks into three main categories that make the most natural sense for my business model.
Section 4: Marketing Strategy For Clothing Business
- Market analysis
- Target customer analysis
- And, your unique selling proposition that makes your product and business different from everyone else's
Market Analysis
Do you understand the market that you are getting into? Like, do you really understand it?
This section of your clothing line business plan starts to get into proving that there is a need for your product or service. Even if something sounds great to you, if there are no customers that want it, then there won't be sales, and you won't have a successful clothing brand.
Here is how I break down my market analysis for virtue + vice
Sustainable and ethical fashion is a trend that has been growing year over year. In this article from Sourcing Journal they reported: "Overall, searches including sustainability-related keywords increased 75 percent year-on-year, amounting to 27,000 searches for sustainable fashion every month, according to the report."
This means that there is currently a sizable market share, that is growing rapidly for brands selling sustainable products to customers. And, those brands need help changing their traditional supply chain models to tap into the growing trend of sustainable fashion.
So, to recap.
What's the market doing, and how does my business play a part in that? Sustainable fashion is a proven growing trend, here is a little industry data to back that up. And, this is how my business plans to be part of that. Instead of choosing to sell direct to consumers, we are choosing to help brands that do.
Target Customer Analysis
Who is your target customer, who would want to buy your brand?
Here is who I target
virtue + vice plans to approach brands and companies that founder Melanie DiSalvo has been working with for the past decade. Because she already knows the ins and outs of their supply chains, she hopes to offer valuable changes and suggestions on targeted areas to help them become more ethical and sustainable.
Now, I understand that everyone does not have a built-in customer base like me. One of the most beneficial pieces of advice I can give is that you should go niche, and not broad.
To simply say "we are targeting people interested in making more sustainable and ethical purchases". Well, every big brand from H&M with their conscious collection to Walmart with their recycled t-shirts is doing that.
What makes you special? Pick something, one thing that makes your customers different. Maybe they are really into composting, so all of your materials are compostable. Maybe they are really into clean water, so your entire supply chain is dedicated to conserving water resources.
Again, I am saying this again, because it is so, so, so important. You can't be everything to everyone. Choose something laser-focused, and then as your brand grows you can expand into other areas.
How Are You Unique?
Did you see what I did there? By choosing a very niche target customer, you have already made yourself unique, and you stand out from the crowd.
How is virtue + vice unique?
virtue + vice is unique because of founder Melanie DiSalvo's extensive time spent living and working in countries like China, India, Taiwan, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic. She has spent over 1/2 of her career working overseas and that offers her a unique and detailed first-hand perspective on how the fashion industry really works and the best ways to implement change quickly and effectively.
My tips for this section.
Don't be afraid to get a little braggy. Why does your customer want to buy from you? What makes your product so great that it's better than what is already out there on the market. Don't hold back.
Section 5: Sales Strategy
This section should include...
Sales Goals
Price strategy.
- Investments into sales
What are your sales goals per quarter? For the year? The next 2-5 years? What is your pricing strategy? How will you sell? Do you have an online clothing store? Do you have plans to hire support staff for sales, as a showroom, salesperson, or go to trade shows? Will you open a boutique? Will there be promotional campaigns to support sales like partnerships, advertising, fashion shows, and events, etc.
How much, and how often do you need to sell to turn a profit? At what rate do you plan to grow?
This is what I have in place for virtue + vice
I am uncomfortable sharing that. Here is what I will tell you. My consultancy business is strong enough that I am able to offer all of this information that some other companies charge hundreds or even thousands of dollars for, for free.
My business is healthy enough that I am able to give back to the fashion community at this time.
Are you going to try and sell tons of product at a low price, or fewer units at a higher price? Do you plan to drive sales through special discount promotions?
As I mentioned earlier virtue + vice works on a sliding scale so we are able to help smaller brands build their businesses.
How Will You Sell?
Are you direct to consumers, selling online? Are you business to business? Will you wholesale, will you have a distributor? What is your plan and break down?
At the moment virtue + vice relies mostly on word of mouth and referrals.
Do you need to hire support staff? What does that staff need to do their job? Can you sell on your own, or do you need help from a pro? For example, if you hire a showroom, not only will you have the monthly cost of the showroom, plus a cut of sales that the sales agent will take. But, you will also have fees to be in the showrooms booth at trade shows. Maybe at the tradeshows, you will need some special promotional items like look books, line sheets, or even a giveaway so buyers remember you.
It Costs Money To Make Money
All of the costs associated with sales, need to go back into your price strategy. Price strategy is like a balancing act. You need to invest in it, but you need to make sure that your sales are more than the investment so that you can be profitable.
This is the hard part
This part of your clothing line business plan should probably take the most time, Really research what everything costs, what your product will cost to make, etc and come up with a well-researched plan.
How I invest in my sales
At virtue + vice I do everything myself. But, people reading this that want to sell a service like me, it's important to remember that your own personal time costs something. While it's not a salary, or an actual expense, the hours that you devote to generating sales for your company should be compensated for.
Section 6: Competitive Analysis
- SWOT analysis
How Do You Compare To The Competition?
This is where you get a little stalkerish. In this section, you need to identify your competition and then the advantages and disadvantages of your competitors. You will need to research things like how long they have been in business, their annual sales (if they are public). How they market themselves. Then compare your price, quality, and general vibe to theirs. Maybe you are selling the exact same thing but have a totally different target customer and vibe you are putting out.
One of the best ways to get you started is through a SWOT analysis.
Ok, so let's get to it with virtue + vice
Who is my main competition?
I just did a quick google search of keywords that I thought my compeators would rank for. And, let's call my top three competitors A, B, and C. Luckily I do not know any of these companies or people personally. So, I don't have to hold back in this analysis.
Before we dive into the SWOT analysis, here is a little info about each company.
Focuses on scaling small businesses.
The website was launched in August of 2018.
And, the founder just so happens to have no information about her experience. But a quick google and Linkedin search shows her background is in marketing for telecommunication companies. Good for them with SEO, but they don't have any real experience in the industry.
Dubs themselves as a strategic advisory for fashion and apparel brands. Offering a full range of different services.
The founder started her sustainable and ethical fashion consultancy business over 8 years ago with 20 years of fashion industry experience. And, has worked with many small, yet well known sustainable fashion brands.
A many different hats consultant that can help brands with things from marketing, so supply chain, to design.
The founder has over 20 years of design experience working with some seriously well known household names that do not have a focus on sustainability.
Competition is a good thing
A lot of times when people start their SWOT analysis they see other people doing what they want to do and they give up.
Don't do that. Competition is good.
Two of these ladies have been in the clothing business for over 10 years working in sustainable fashion consulting. That means it's a good market to be in. They have been making living out of sustainable consulting for a decade. So, business must be good!
Think about fashion in general. There are so many brands, like super successful American Eagle, which was basically just a knock of Abercrombie back in 2003. Don't' let competition discourage you.
The point of SWOT is to figure out your advantages and how to position your brand in the market.
I am working on writing a full SWOT and fashion business competition analysis post, that will be coming soon. For now, I will just quickly go through one example. For this article, I have chosen Company B because their business most closely resembles mine.
How To SWOT
SWOT stands for strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, threats.
Like I mentioned, a lot goes into a SWOT analysis. I am just doing a quick one here to give you a brief idea about what it is.
What advantages does your brand have?
virtue + vice is located in NYC, one of the fashion capitals of the world. Comapny B in New Zeland, has a much smaller fashion scene, and the geographical distance makes networking and partnerships more difficult.
I spend 1/2 the year in India. This keeps me close to my supply chains on the ground, and able to help clients with content about how their products are made as well as live updates. It also offers an added layer of authenticity.
Opportunities
Opportunity is a natural progression from strengths. How can you use your strengths to become even stronger?
My geographic strength of being in NYC leads to more networking opportunities and the ability to attend more fashion events. My life in India allows me to be on the ground working directly with factories so I am first in the know with the latest news.
Company B has been at this longer than me. Almost exactly twice as long as me. Also, one of the things that I thought made me unique - my long history working with well-established brands is also a strength of Jacinta's. We have even worked with some of the same brands!
Threats, analyze what obstacles you face because of your weaknesses. For me one of virtue + vices threads is authority. The fact that Company B has been in business for twice as long, gives them more authority in this space.
Now there are tons more strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats that I could add. And I would recommend doing this exercise for at least 3-5 competitive brands. Again if you want to learn more I will be putting out a full competitive analysis guide with a lot more details and info on how to do a proper SWOT. But for now, I think you get the idea.
Section 7: Production Plan
- Company development, sales, production, and delivery calendar
The Importance of Timelines
This is basically a development and inventory calendar. How many seasons a year will you produce? When will you develop them? Sell them? When will you produce them? And, when will they sell in stores, and even be discounted?
virtue + vice follows our customer's timelines. So, what I am working on for them, depends on their business model. Some of our customers are seasonal, and only put out one main collection per year. Some two seasons, and some up to seven. And, our clients are all over the world. So our southern hemisphere clients are working on a totally different season than brands in the North.
For example, I am working on everything from Summer 2020 (happening like now!) for quick deliveries to Fall 2021, that's not this fall coming up but the fall after it (18 months from now).
How To Set Up Your Calendar
As a brand, I would recommend setting up your calendar around industry tradeshows to start out. The below break down is for America's sales season.
There are 6 major fashion seasons. They are spring, summer, fall, winter, holiday, and resort.
And, there are 4 main dates you need to keep track of for each season. They are development dates, sell dates, and production dates, and delivery dates.
development dates
Are the times you will be developing your product for the next season. You are going to want to plan for 3 months of development time before your sell dates.
Are the dates there will be trade shows and other sales opportunities for that season.
production dates
Are when you need to start producing the goods, and when they need to be finished by.
delivery dates
Are when the goods need to be delivered to your customer. Remember it can take over a month to ship goods from a factory if you are shipping by sea, so factor that in.
the fashion calendar
SPRING Development Dates - May - August Sell Dates - August - October Production Dates - October-January Delivery Dates - January - March
SUMMER Development Dates - July - September Sell Dates - October - January Production Dates - December - February Delivery Dates - March - May
FALL Development Dates - October - December Sell Dates - January - March Production Dates - April - June Delivery Dates - July - August
WINTER Development Dates - December - January Sell Dates - March - April Production Dates - June Delivery Dates - September
HOLIDAY Development Dates - February - March Sell Dates - May - June Production Dates - July Delivery Dates - October
RESORT Development Dates - March - May Sell Dates - June - August Production Dates - July - September Delivery Dates - November - January
Get Detailed
But, this section needs to go even more in-depth than just a timeline.
To understand what goes into product development, production, and sales and marketing schedule I am working on writing full courses on all of those coming soon!
Section 8: Operation Plan
- Your company budget
What Do You Need To Keep Your Business Running On A Daily basis?
Remember that budgeting guide I wrote ? This is where all that info goes. Filling out this part of your clothing line business plan should be easy if the budget was done correctly.
virtue + vice operatin plan
I work from home, so that saves me a lot of money. I don't have full-time employees, so that also requires me to have less capital for salaries. Where I personally spend most of my money is on travel.
And, no it's not the glamorous kind of travel. It's me booking a ticket at 6 am for a flight to India at 9 pm that same day so I can go straighten out some sort of supply chain issue we are having in person.
Do I have to travel? Well, that's 50/50. A lot can be done remotely. But, there is always a special touch that comes when you do business in person. You will find that almost any time in business when you are face to face the dynamic is different. Even just taking a conversation off of email and onto the phone can makes huge difference.
Necessary recurring monthly costs for me are the website domain, hosting for the website, apps, and programs I use like Grammarly, Adobe, and quick books.
Basically you can take your budgeting template and use it for this section. Yay! The work is already done for you.
Section 9: Financial Analysis + Projections
Again, this is where budgeting is going to come in handy. You might even want to hire a professional bookkeeper or accountant for help with this.
- The money you need to get started
- How you will use that money
- The income you hope to make off of your products
- And, balance sheet
Financials make most peoples heads spin, that is why I definitely recommend talking to a pro for this part.
At virtue + vice I have a full-time bookkeeper and an accountant. I am uncomfortable sharing my companies finances publicly. But, if you need help with this section, that's why I suggested at the start of this article to help get your financial plan for fashion business in order before even starting the business plan.
Back to Sections 1 +2: Executive Summary + Company Overview
Now back to the top. Remember, we skipped the executive summary and company overview. Now that we have mapped out our entire business plan we need to recap everything by writing these two summaries.
Executive Summary
This is where you can hook potential investors. It's the first section anyone reads of your plan, so make it clear and quick.
Here is mine for virtue + vice
virtue + vice is a consultancy firm dedicated to helping companies clean up their supply chains. We are located between NYC and Goa, India. Our dual locations allow us access to the world's fashion capital, while our time spent in India allows for close monitoring of our supply chains.
Our goal for virtue + vice is to assist companies who are realizing that sustainable and ethical fashion is not a trend that is going away anytime soon, and want to be the process of cleaning up their supply chain. We offer support across all product life cycle steps including - conscious design, sourcing, product development, production, marketing and branding, retail and sales, storytelling, and content.
Key things to include in your executive summary
What you do. Where you are located. Benefits of your location. What you are selling. Why what you are selling is a great idea. Again, it's ok to get a little braggy here.
Company Overview
You can use this part to dive a little deeper into you and why you are starting your brand. Who are you? Why this product? How are you qualified to do this, etc? Why are you designing the type of products you are designing (hint, hint, market research). Etc...
this is my company overview for virtue +vice
virtue + vice was founded by Melanie DiSalvo. In her own words
"After working in fast fashion for 7 years I left my position as Director of Product Development with the goal of helping brands clean up their supply chains.
At the time I had a great salary, was working my way up the corporate ladder, under 30 and already had a director's title, and was traveling the world to developed and produce products for brands like Walmart, Target, Ralph Lauren, and Levi's to name a few.
The problem was that I saw and learned too much about how our clothes are really made in dark corners of the world.
So, I made it my goal to expose the industry by educating curious customers and help brands choose better supply chain partners. I have been featured in publications like WWD, VOX, Sourcing Journal, and more. And, was a speaker at SXSW."
virtue + vice aims to target clients from the fashion industry with well-established brands as well as startups to aid them in supply chain transparency and creating conscious products for this growing market share. virtue + vice will work with each client individually to meet their seasonal needs.
We believe our strength is our 10 years experience in this industry and the supply chain partners we have developed relationships along the way. Our plan. is to operate out of NYC and India for the foreseeable future where our founder has homes, and hopefully to expand to a third location in China in the next 5 years.
We believe that our dedication to quality and transparency, along with a sliding consultancy rate, will keep us profitable in years to come.
company overview recap...
See what I did here? I spoke more about myself and created a little background story. Then I hit all the other points of the business plan quickly - marketing, sales, competition, production, operation, financial.
And, We're Done!
And there you have it. A clothing line business plan. I hope this helps. After coming across so many generic business plan templates online, I was inspired to write something a little more intimate. I really wanted to show you what goes into making a business plan, and in the spirit of transparency open up about how my business works.
Remember, business planning is a lot of hard work. But, when clothing brands put in the effort at the start of their business, they have a much higher chance of success and growth.
37 Responses
Sandeep Kaur
January 30, 2023
Thank you so much for the wonderful information regarding a valuable business plan and it’s different stages. Thanks again
October 18, 2022
Thank you so much for the advise I would like a guide on my business plan Thanks
Opeyemi Kadri
This piece is so helpful. Thanks for sharing. God bless
August 02, 2022
Very detailed and understanding
mena cashback
June 17, 2022
You are so awesome! I do not believe I’ve read through something like that before. So wonderful to discover somebody with original thoughts on this subject matter. Really.. thank you for starting this up.
Adeola Olatokun
June 12, 2022
This is quite detailed and straight forward
May 10, 2022
I’m more motivated now having an overview of what to begin with and move forward in my business thank you so much
Ochiaka Amaka
April 29, 2022
Your advice is simple and legendary
Ikotun Deborah
April 26, 2022
Thanks so much, the business plan guide is super simple and straight forward.
Narcisse Tuyizere
Thanks so much for your amazing advice as well your ideas support in Fashion industry
April 25, 2022
I need help
March 28, 2022
Hi Patrick! To work with me check out the 6-month coaching program – https://launch-my-conscious-line.mykajabi.com/
Morning Thank you for your advices and make it easier for us whom wanna start a business.
I would highly appreciate your services via finance part..I am into sneakers, starting my own sneaker brand because. I am a footwear designer.
Looking forward to hearing from you
Abegunrin margaret oluwabusayomi
March 22, 2022
This is a nice one This information is very useful
Momoh Alpha
March 18, 2022
I am so much pleased to have come across this wanderful write up of yours which helps me greatly to set up my business plan.
Fredy Ngbanzo
thank you looking forward to work with you in the future.
Hilda Chimanayi
January 10, 2022
This is very helpful I am starting my clothing line soon for my company so I needed ideas of writing the plan, I found it here
January 07, 2022
Thanks this really helped me,I had no idea on how to start the bussiness plan but now Im ready to go!!
Josh Rasmussen
December 13, 2021
Thanks for this body of work. Much appreciated.
Oyinkule Omemu
December 12, 2021
I am completely blown away. So glad I saw this. Great Work.
Itumeleng Mathosa
December 10, 2021
This is really helpful thank you so much
November 25, 2021
Thanks for this I leean alot
November 16, 2021
I just learned some of important things, thank you so much
Tebogo Ngobeni
November 12, 2021
Wow this came in handy I think after reading the whole thing I am even more fuelled up. Thank you very much.
November 08, 2021
Very interesting
November 06, 2021
Thank you so much for your training, I have understood well hope am going to be the best seller clothing in my country thaxs so much
November 03, 2021
this really helped me .Am 20 and really trying to start my own brand was stuck a lil bit but now i guess am ready to do it .thankyou
ella peters
October 26, 2021
amazing, super useful content!! thank you very very much!!
Saratu Asuku
October 13, 2021
This is real good. Thanks
September 13, 2021
Thank you so much for this content, it is exactly what i needed.🙌🏼
September 11, 2021
THANK YOU SO MUCH for creating such a detailed overview of a clothing line business plan. Phenomenal and incredibly helpful information.
Ebere Agwu Ifiala
This is so helpful and informative. I really do appreciate this leverage.
Snegugu Mdladla
July 31, 2021
Thank you so much Melanie. This is so helpful and thoroughly informing. Appreciate this!
Olubanji Motunrayo
June 24, 2021
Thanks so much for the tip, more wisdom
Melanie DiSalvo
March 21, 2021
Pamela, have you checked out the Free Course? There is lots of information about budgeting in there.
https://shopvirtueandvice.com/pages/start-a-clothing-line-free-course
Pamela Bouable
Hi my name is Pamela Bouable, I would please like guidance regarding my cash flow for my upcoming business. I have difficulties completing this section. I look forward to hearing back from you soon. Thank you very much
March 17, 2021
Thank you very much for enlightening me through this business plan. I pray you grow higher. Thanks again.
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Clothing Manufacturer Business Plan
Looking for the perfect business plan for your new clothing manufacturing business We have created this sample Maxwell Clothes Clothing Manufacturing Business Plan to help you start writing your business plan
With influencer culture and pop culture on a rise, the fashion industry is growing faster than ever.
From impeccable outfits for social media to wearing outfits inspired by their favorite celebrities, clothes are in demand more than ever before.
And if you have a passion for all things fashion, the clothing manufacturer business can work wonders for you.
Moreover, the fashion industry is growing both in size and scale. So now is the time as good as any to get into it if you want to.
Industry Overview
According to various statistics, the US apparel industry stands at a whopping value of 70 billion dollars and is growing at a rapid pace.
Although it was impacted massively by the pandemic it is experiencing a rapid resurgence now that isn’t slowing down any time soon.
As life returns back to normal people need new clothes, and want to stay at the top of trends too.
And this isn’t less than brilliant news for the fashion industry. And if you want to be a part of it, you must get started at the earliest. But before that, we have some tips and methods to help you get started and grow in style.
Things to Consider Before Writing your Clothing Manufacturing Business Plan
Find your niche.
Nobody lied when they said that the riches are in the niches.
Though you might be tempted to go all out and manufacture every kind of clothing material that exists, it is always smart to select a niche and become an expert in it.
In a world of constant scrutiny, people pay for perfection. And selecting a niche can help you achieve just that.
Budget and plan your resources
Having a steady flow of resources is central to success in the fashion industry, that too in a cost-effective way can act as a cherry on the cake.
Hence, planning from where you’ll acquire various raw materials for manufacturing clothes and drawing out a budget for the same, can make doing business smooth and easy.
Know your customers and their preferences
All of us know that the trends in the fashion industry change faster than any other business. Hence, to have a thriving business it is important to stay updated with the changing trends.
Keep an eye out on what your competitors are doing
Everything good attracts a lot of competition and so does the fashion industry. Thus, it becomes necessary to know what your competitors are doing to stay ahead of them.
Also, more often than not it gives you an insight as well as foresight into the working of your business.
Chalking Out your Business Plan
If you are planning to start a new clothing manufacturing business, the first thing you will need is a business plan. Use our sample Maxwell Clothes – Clothing Manufacturing Business Plan to start writing your business plan in no time.
Before you start writing your business plan for your new clothing manufacturing business, spend as much time as you can reading through some examples of clothing and fashion-related business plans.
Reading sample business plans will give you a good idea of what you’re aiming for. It will also show you the different sections that different entrepreneurs include and the language they use to write about themselves and their business plans.
We have created this sample Maxwell Clothes – Clothing Manufacturing Business Plan for you to get a good idea about how a perfect clothing manufacturing business plan should look like and what details you will need to include in your stunning business plan.
Clothing Manufacturing Business Plan Outline
This is the standard clothing manufacturing business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.
- Mission Statement
- Vision Statement
- Keys To Success
- 3 Year profit forecast
- Financial needs
- Past Performance
- Business Structure
- Startup cost
- Products and Services
- Market Trends
- Target Market
- SWOT Analysis
- Advertising Strategy
- Pricing Strategy
- Milestones & Metrics
- Important Assumptions
- Brake-even Analysis
- Profit Yearly
- Gross Margin Yearly
- Projected Cash Flow
- Projected Balance Sheet
- Business Ratios
After getting started with upmetrics , you can copy this sample business plan into your business plan and modify the required information and download your clothing manufacturer business plan pdf or doc file.
It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan .
Business Planning Resources
We have plenty of free business planning resources available to help you with your planning. You can download our resources to learn all about business planning.
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Clothing Store Business Plan Template
Business Plan Outline
- Clothing Store Business Plan Home
- 1. Executive Summary
- 2. Company Overview
- 3. Industry Analysis
- 4. Customer Analysis
- 5. Competitive Analysis
- 6. Marketing Plan
- 7. Operations Plan
- 8. Management Team
- 9. Financial Plan
Start Your Clothing Store Plan Here
Clothing Store Business Plan
You’ve come to the right place to create your own business plan.
We have helped over 100,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their clothing stores.
Essential Components of a Business Plan
Below are links to each section of your business plan:
Next Section: Executive Summary >
Clothing Retail Business Plan FAQs
What is a clothing store business plan.
A business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your clothing store. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.
You can easily complete your plan using our Clothing Store Business Plan Template here .
What Are the Main Types of Clothing Stores?
Clothing stores are categorized by the kind of clothing that they sell. Those that sell expensive brands are considered high end or designer clothing stores. Stores that offer trendy or popular styles, that are similar to premium brands, but lower in quality are called fast fashion brands. The most common type of clothing stores are those that specialize in a specific kind of clothing like athletic apparel, lingerie, children’s clothing and plus size clothing.
What Are the Main Sources of Revenues and Expenses for a Clothing Store?
The primary source of revenue for a clothing retail business comes from clothing sales.
The key expenses for clothing stores are rent, salaries and wages, cost of goods sold, and marketing expenses.
How Do You Get Funding for Your Clothing Store?
Clothing stores are typically funded through small business loans, personal savings, credit card financing and/or angel investors.
What are the Steps To Start a Clothing Store Business?
Starting a clothing store business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.
1. Develop A Clothing Store Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed clothing store business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.
2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your clothing store business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your clothing store business is in compliance with local laws.
3. Register Your Clothing Store Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your clothing store business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.
4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your clothing store business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.
5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.
6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.
7. Acquire Necessary Clothing Store Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your clothing store business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.
8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your clothing store business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.
Learn more about how to start a successful clothing store business:
- How to Start a Clothing Store Business
Other Business Plan Templates
Clothing Line Business Plan Template
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- Business Plans Handbook
- Business Plans - Volume 01
- Retail Clothing Business Plan
Retail Clothing
BUSINESS PLAN
CLOTHES AS ART INC.
49567 Main St. Los Angeles, CA 55550
April 1, 1993
Clothes As Art offers a creative alternative in the retail clothing industry: customers create and then produce their own designs on garments. Faced with strong competition, this plan outlines several marketing strategies and provides insight into factors like location and demography when planning a clothing venture .
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Description of the business, competition, marketing strategy, financial section.
Clothes As Art Inc. will be a wearable art retail store. Clothes As Art Inc. enables people, male or female, young or old, to design their own clothing whether they have any artistic abilities or not. It will be fashion art that's unique and original. Most of all they will be entertained while creating their own fashion art.
Clothes As Art will begin conservatively by offering T-shirts and sweatshirts as in-store inventory from which the customer can choose. In addition to blanks for the customers to design, Clothes As Art Inc. will have a moderate inventory (30% of projected sales) of pre-painted shirts and sweatshirts. This will tap into the market of those who like the clothing but are more spontaneous buyers. Any customer will be allowed to bring in pieces from their own wardrobe to paint. In addition, at the end of the day the spin drum is coated with a strip of the paint around the edge. This dries over night and becomes a durable, pliable material. This can be fashioned into belts, cut into earrings and other jewelry that will match all clothing produced by the artist. These will be offered as accessories at Clothes As Art.
Clothes As Art's products have two target markets. The first being female, 21 to 35 years of age, with household income of $35,000 per year or higher. The second target market is 50% male, 50% female, 5 to 16 years of age, with household income of $35,000 per year or higher. The only location that would be conducive to the sale of these products is in a small or similar location with very high walk-by traffic. Therefore, the location requirements are a high traffic, indoormall.
Clothes As Art will have no true direct competition by another store in the area. Clothes As Art's edge will be its price. Of the existing indirect competition, there are few companies that will be able to compete with Clothes As Art's price.
Clothes As Art's financial statements have been compiled with the greatest degree of conservatism. Clothes As Art will require a loan of $179,077. The loan will comprise 31% up-front expenses and 69% working capital needs. Close analysis will show that Clothes As Art's gross profit margin is 77% before tax, return on investment is 20%, and time interest earned is 2.0 for the first year. According to Robert Morris and Associates' most recent studies, these ratios are at or above average for this type of company.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Name of the Business
Clothes as art inc..
This is not the legal name as of yet. I wish to incorporate and trademark, which will give rise to legal costs.
Owner: Cathy Wood
Form of Ownership to Be: Corporation
(Pictures are available for a more visual demonstration of the product.)
Clothes as Art will be a wearable art and accessory retail store. Whether you consider the 1990's as the "me" generation or the "I" generation, consumers today want to do their own thing. Clothes As Art enables people, male or female, young or old, to design their own clothing whether they have any artistic abilities or not. It's fun, it's exciting, and it will be inexpensive for them. It will be fashion art that is unique and original. The consumer will be able to design any number of pieces to go with any other articles of clothing they own. Most of all they will be entertained while creating their own fashion art. In addition, accessories will be fabricated from the by-product of the artwork. Therefore, the accessories will complement any article sold in the store.
The service procedure of the store is quite simple. The customer enters the store and picks out an article of clothing they wish to paint on or they may bring in a piece of their own wardrobe (I will use "shirt" to identify the clothing article). The customer then takes a number to await a free work table at which they will paint. The customer then chooses 4 colors that they will paint with. The paints are applied with squeeze bottles full of bright colors. While they are choosing their colors their shirt will be clipped and stretched on a cardboard board the same size as the shirt. This prepares the shirt to be a canvas for the artist. The attendant will then give the customer brief instructions on how and where to paint on the shirt. The customer then paints on the shirt in any way they believe will look good when it is spun. When the customer is done he/she hands the shirt to the attendant who spins it. This is where the excitement begins. Spinning at about 450 RPM, the paint that was applied to the shirt quickly evolves into original art right before the eyes of the customer. (Pictures are available for a more visual demonstration of the product.) The centrifugal force caused by the spinning causes the paint to be drawn from the center of the shirt to the edges resulting in a star-burst (spin art) look to the design. The colors swirl together but don't blend into new colors. The original colors remain separate colors, while this is happening crowds gather to watch the artist and they quickly form a line to do their own thing. The shirt is then sent through a large belt drier that adheres the paint permanently to the shirt, when the shirt is done drying, the customer's number is called at the cash register and another happy artist is born. The finished product is a self-made piece of artwork that can be machine washed and dried for years along with the customer's regular clothing. The entire services process takes an average of only 20 minutes, so the turnover is great. This includes average time to paint 5 minutes, to spin 30 seconds, and to dry 15 minutes. There will be several tables at which to work. The drier can dry up to six shirts on a continuously moving conveyor belt.
Clothes As Art will begin conservatively by offering T-shirts and sweatshirts as in-store inventory. In addition to blanks for the customers to design, Clothes as Art will have moderate inventory (30% of projected sales) of pre-painted shirts and sweats. This will tap into the markets who like the clothing but are more spontaneous buyers. Any customer will be allowed to bring in pieces from their own wardrobe to paint. A caution will be given that the shop won't guarantee the results and no flammable materials will be allowed. When in-house inventory expansion is warranted, Clothes As Art will expand into jeans, jackets, women's casual suit coats, jean jackets, leggings, leather jackets, collared shirts, canvasses, placemats, more jewelry, sweatpants, ties, belts, and shoes. With respect to canvasses, Clothes As Art will have blank canvasses on which the customer can paint. Many people decorate their homes with certain color schemes. This will give the decorator the ability to create their own piece of artwork that the end of the day the spin drum is coated with a strip of the paint around the edge. This dries overnight and becomes durable rubber type material. This can be fashioned into the accessories such as belts, cut into earrings and other jewelry type articles that will match all clothing produced by the artist.
Target Market
In accordance with the manufacturer and my own experience, Clothes As Art will be tapping primarily in to two separate markets.
❑Target Market A:
Sex: Female Type: Working woman who is fashion Conscious Age: 21-35 Education: Some College or Degree Holders Household Income: $35,000+
❑Target Market B:
Sex: 50% male, 50% female Age: 5-16 Education: Grade School Household Income: $35,000+
As you will see in my biography (available upon request) I will have previously worked for a retail store of this nature. It has been my experience that this product's market is both sexless as well as ageless (age 5 to 50). I have also spoken with another shop owner who agrees that the product has this type of wide appeal. For analysis I will deal with these two target markets. My choice for location is the Shelby Corners Mall, which offers no traffic studies for their mall. According to their "Primary Trade Market, Neighborhood/Lifestyle Composition"Target Market A fits into those categories called Blue Blood Estates, Money and Brains, Urban Gold Coast and Young Influentials. This accounts for 81.8% of the 1.1 million in this mall trade market. Target Market B fits into the category called Furs and Station Wagons. This accounts for 2% of the 1.1 million in the trade market of the mall. With respect to Target Market B showing such a low market share of the trade area, please keep in mind that the mall offers no traffic studies. If you visit the mall you will see quite a few more children and teenagers than the mall market study shows. Therefore, the overall market with respect to children is very healthy.
Total Market
According to the Standard Industrial Classification Manual, Clothes As Art's Industry Group Number is 565 and the Industry Number is 5699, under which "Tee Shirts, Custom Printed - Retail" is listed.
According to the 1991 U.S. Industrial Outlook published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the forecast for total retail sales increase is 6.5% in 1990. This is an increase of .8% over 1989's increase of 5.7%. According to most recent information (1989) apparel and accessory stores showed the largest gains of 7.1%.
In addition, Standard and Poor's Industry Surveys (1991) suggest that specialty retailing is the way to go. Their research indicates the general merchandiser is suffering by trying to meet everyone's needs at the same time. This publication states that by meeting the more specialized needs of people, a retailer will be in a better position to grow. Given Clothes As Art's ability to customize to any person's needs, it fits with this analysis very well.
Direct Competition
According to Spin and Dry Inc., the manufacturers of the spinning and drying equipment, there is no other equipment-based store of this kind in the metropolitan area. Therefore, Clothes As Art would have no direct competition in the Los Angeles area.
Clothes As Art's toughest competition is Artwear, Custom Designs, and Clothes Etc. This is due mainly to the fact that their capital strength is greater than Clothes As Art, their prices will be competitive, and their lines will be more full.
Clothes As Art's main drawback will be a lack of capital necessary to compete with these stores. Clothes As Art can handle this drawback in one of two ways: either avoid them altogether or have a location that has a large enough market to handle all of the shops. The only way to avoid them is to choose another location; this would greatly affect our chances for success. Clothes As Art's location in the mall will have a large enough market for all of the shops. Currently the mall houses only two of our competitors. The expansion has added mainly high-end, high priced shops to the roster. Clothes As Art's main marketing device will be the low price of the goods; therefore, the new expansion has had little effect on the competition but it has increased the number of potential customers. Clothes As Art will bring a product to the market that each of these shops either do not carry or carry in small quantities. Most, with the exception of Clothes Etc., have prices that are quite a bit higher than Clothes As Art. We may not have the capital strength, but we also don't have the expenses that the other stores have to cover. We will be highly competitive with our prices.
Indirect Competition
The remaining T-shirt retailers are men's and women's sportswear stores and little shops that sell small proportions of T-shirts. Clothes As Art will be competing with them by giving the customer something that they don't offer. We will meet a market niche that is not being filled by the current stores.
Other T-shirt retailers are generally custom silk screeners. Clothes As Art is not going to directly compete with them by doing silk screening per se. We will be competing with them in that a proportion of Clothes As Art's sales will be to fraternities, sororities, church groups, etc. to supply their baseball jerseys, event T-shirts, etc.
Based on experience in this market, with respect to T-shirts, price sells. This will be the same case with Clothes As Art's sweats. The cost of a finished T-shirt at our store will be $14 and a sweatshirt will be $17.50. This will be the store's major selling point. Even with this low price the goal of profit and positive cash flow can be achieved. This price may even be able to be raised given the superiority of the location and relative price flexibility of the patrons of that mall.
In addition to my own advertising the mall does quite a bit of advertising itself and will be augmenting other advertising.
The greater proportion of Clothes As Art's advertising will be in give-a-ways to local groups such as high schools, fraternities, and church groups. This will be the best way to build local support in both target markets given that the product is relatively difficult to describe on the radio. In addition, this is a community-oriented advertising device that will help the respect of the store. In contacting local fund raising organizations, such as fraternities and church groups, they will be very apt to be return customers when their next fund raising drive comes around.
Another shop owner has commented that birthday parties are a very effective means of advertising. By bringing in a group of children (Target Market B) to paint, they will either return themselves or show others our product. This is achieved by advertising in small local newspapers and church leaflets.
Another marketing avenue we will explore is contacting the local art clubs at high schools and colleges. The object of an art club promotion will be to teach people how to use the process efficiently. That would in turn help to make repeat customers out of them. Once they have mastered the techniques they would now be in a position to create wearable art gifts or garments for themselves. They will also bring in their friends which they will attempt to teach. In addition, this would be a great method of getting artistically done pre-painted inventory for Clothes As Art for their work. This would be done with the understanding that all designs must be pre-approved. This could also give rise to a special "gallery" section of the store for local artist's work thus adding to the stature of Clothes As Art.
Clothes As Art will be advertising toward local schools. The store will bring in local art classes and charge a nominal fee if they bring their own shirts. The object will be to derive repeat customers out of the class and new customers out of the school. This is another avenue to exploit target market B.
Logo identification will be another advertising method. Garments can be manufactured for the local bowling groups, fraternities, restaurants, and companies. The logo can be screen printed and brought in for establishment or hand painted with the Clothes As Art system. Clothes As Art will attempt to exploit the local professional sports team's logos. The need for licensing agreements will be explored. It is my impression that as long Clothes As Art is not doing the initial screen printing, Clothes As Art will not have to incur the large costs of acquiring a licensing agreement. Clothes As Art can create shirts for special events such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Father's Day.
Clothes As Art will require very little space. The space needed is only 850 square feet so the rent will be lower than a regular retail store. T-shirts and sweatshirts can be stored in stacked cubicles which take up very little space while storing large amounts of inventory. The pre-painted inventory will constitute 30% of sales and will therefore require a small amount of space also. In using cubicles there will be a very little space needed in a storeroom to store other inventory.
Through my experience with this product, Clothes As Art must be located in a very high walk-by traffic mall with high visibility through a glass store front. A large selling point of this product is entertainment. Therefore, in addition to the above-mentioned marketing techniques, it is sold by one person watching another spin their shirt and then wanting to paint one themselves.
The mall affords the greatest visibility for Clothes As Art product. As mentioned earlier, the mall has no traffic studies but it is known as the most successful mall in the metro area. It also affords the greatest means of reaching Clothes As Art's two targetmarkets. A simple trip through the mall shows overwhelming evidence that Clothes As Art's two target markets will be very effectively reached.
The costs associated with the mall are quite steep. The track record of the mall owners who own several plazas in the area of deli vering a fruitful market to their renters has been shown conclusively by the longevity of and need for expansion of both the malls and plazas.
Clothes As Art's first choice would be a pre-built space where another was operating and is in a good location.
This would lower the store construction costs. The preconstructed space would have to be in a good location. It is the experience of the owners of the mall, that the shops that fail were in the worst positions; therefore, the chance of Clothes As Art finding an adequate, preconstructed space is very remote. To be as conservative as possible, financial statements are based on a few, not yet built, store site in the expanded section of the mall. The average cost per square foot is $25.
Analysis of the completion indicates that the Shelby Corners Mall is the best location to access our target markets, while avoiding locations that house direct competition.
Owner: Cathy Wood earned a Master of Business Administration from St. Louis University in May of 1991. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Finance at St. Louis University in December of 1990.
Throughout her life she has been very involved in entrepreneurship. She has owned her own house cleaning business since she was in grade eight. During the summer of 1988 she completed and entrepreneurial internship in North Carolina with a retail store specializing in Clothes As Art's product. There she learned many aspects of the business from inventory control to cash management.
In addition, during the summer of 1989 she was an original partner in a car part retailing business register in the State of California as Core Enterprises. She has done work for the Small Business Institute as a small business counselor for Bellni Baby and Children's Furniture in Glenwood, California. She was also commissioned by South County Landscaping and Construction Company in Sacramento, California as a small business counselor. During her last year of her undergraduate work she was the founding Vice President of the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs (ACE). The Association was begun on campus to help students who aspire to become entrepreneurs get needed information and meet the necessary people. In this association she was responsible for promotion and scheduling of speakers and events.
This plan received an Honorable Mention from the Kennesaw State business plan competition. This competition is international in nature and highly competitive.
Currently Ms. Wood is employed as a business planner for Fox Associates. Fox Associates is an entertainment business in Los Angeles, which owns and operates the Bijou Theater (a local landmark) as one of its lines of business.
Clothes As Art will not have a manager in the first year of operation. The owner will perform the duties of a manager. When the time comes for the company to acquire a manager he or she will have to have two outstanding abilities. She or he will have to perform all the normal managerial duties such as scheduling, employee guidance and sales computing, and she or he will have to have adequate artistic abilities to lend in the sales process by giving advice to prospective customers.
The directors will include the owner Cathy Wood. Other directors will include people currently involved in local small business, the local artist community and the local financial community.
General Hiring Philosophy: Each employee of Clothes As Art will have to possess enough artistic ability to aid and advise the customers. We already know that Clothes As Art requires almost no artistic abilities to produce a shirt. Therefore, with respect to customer aid the employee's ability to give advice will need to be the strongest. They will have to be pleasant and sales-oriented. They will have to be able to emphasize the ease of the painting process and therefore sell the product effectively. In addition, to their duties to the customer, they will have to be able to design shirts for the pre-painted in-store inventory. With respect to pre-painted inventory their artistic abilities will need to be strong. They must be able to excel in design beyond the average customer.
Analyses and financial statements for projections and information concerning competition and location have been prepared and are available upon request.
The loan will be collateralized with inventory, equipment, and leasehold improvement. Clothes As Art will always have 8 weeks worth of inventory in the shop at all times. T-shirts and sweatshirts are a staple item for screen printers and will therefore have a high resale value in the event of default. In addition, the dryer is commonly used by screen printers; therefore, it is not considered specialized equipment like the spinner and has a high resale price. I will attempt to persuade the mall to take a subordinated position on the leasehold improvements as another form of collateral. It is my intention to use all available net cash flow to pay down the outstanding long term liabilities of Clothes As Art. In addition, the unused portion of the loan will be held in short-term certificates of deposit at the loaning bank.
Financial statements for year 1, as well as supporting documents have been prepared. Financial statements for years 2-5 consist of monthly income statements and year end balance sheet.
I have assumed a 20% growth in sales for years 2 and 3. This is due to the time it takes the product to take hold of its market. The sales then level off at a 15% growth rate for years 4 and 5. This is due to the fact that the store will be becoming an established business in the mall. I have assumed a 5% increase in the cost of my inventory. This is closely tied with the national inflation rate.
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Clothing Boutique Business Plan Template [Updated for 2022]
- by Emily Polner
minute read
![Clothing Boutique Business Plan Template [Updated for 2022]](https://blog-assets.lightspeedhq.com/img/2021/09/ee9acfe0-blog_clothing-store-business-plan_1200x628.jpg "business plan for a garment company")
A business plan is a document that outlines its intended purpose and goals and helps serve as a reference to keep you on track after you open your doors. If you plan to raise capital, you can send your boutique business plan to friends, family and other potential investors so they have a clearer idea of what they’re investing in.
In this article, we outline what to include in your clothing store business plan, as well as a blank business plan template for you to use however you see fit. You can be as detailed as you like when writing your plan.
Here’s what you need to know and include to get started:
How to start a clothing store business in 2022
Executive summary, business description and mission statement.
- Product services and pricing
Competitor and market analysis
Clothing marketing strategies, business structure, clothing boutique startup costs and funding , growth forecast, clothing store boutique business plan template, global state of the retail industry report: omnichannel is do or die.
Get to know the state of the industry today as you open your clothing store boutique.
How much does it cost to open a clothing store?
The cost of opening a clothing store varies depending on the size and location of your store. Leasing a retail space costs more in certain geographic areas than others. The average initial cost of opening a store can be anywhere from $48,000 USD to $150,000 USD, and this figure doesn’t include an upfront payment of first month’s rent or utilities.
Having an accurate idea of your initial cost—and, as such, how much funding you need—is one of the key benefits of a thorough boutique business plan.
The costs and logistics involved in starting a clothing store business in 2022 are different than they were even 10 years ago.
You need a rock-solid niche for your business, so you can make a splash in a crowded market. You need a brand identity that stands out, too. Those pieces aren’t new, though creativity is more important than ever—you want your new boutique clothing store to stand out online, after all.
It’s the online aspect that really matters in 2022. Instead of picking between a brick-and-mortar or eCommerce store, your boutique business plan should take both into account. In an era of high-tech stores (even Amazon is getting in on the industry with its new Amazon Style ), customers have come to expect more from retailers.
Keep in mind the technology you need to start a clothing store today: that includes a POS system with an integrated eCom platform, inventory management software that syncs your online and offline stock in real time and loyalty programs to reward them for shopping. These costs, and the time required to manage multiple sales channels, should be built into your business plan.
How to write a clothing boutique business plan
Your business plan can be as long or as short as you’d like, but it needs to be clear to others, not just yourself. Remember, other people might read your plan in order to determine whether or not to invest, so each part needs to be understandable.
Here is an example of a business plan for a boutique clothing store that gets funders on board (and what you should be putting in each section).
The executive summary should be a summary of your entire business plan. It typically appears at the beginning of a business plan, but you should write this last so you can draw from the rest of the sections for a more accurate blurb.
Think of this as the elevator pitch for your boutique business plan. If this summary was all someone read, they’d come away with an idea of what you want to open and why; detailed enough that they get the big picture, but not so detailed that they get lost on the page.
An executive summary should be at most 10% of the entire document. For example, if your clothing store’s business plan is 15 pages long, the summary should be a page and a half at most; if your plan is five pages long, try for a half-page executive summary.
The next section should be a description of what your clothing business is and does. For example, are you a children’s clothing boutique? Are you selling in store, online or both? What kinds of styles are you going to cater to? For instance, do you sell basics like plain tee shirts or pieces with a more bohemian aesthetic?
This is also where you should define your mission and company values. Your mission should answer the questions: why are you starting your business and what will your new store bring to the table? Your company values are the characteristics your business aligns itself with and uses to make informed decisions. What values are most important to you and which qualities will you make a priority?
This is your opportunity to really sell potential funders on why your clothing store will succeed. What’s more compelling: describing yourself as a new apparel retailer, or as a new clothing boutique with a focus on personal styling for young professionals that carries local designers in a high-foot-traffic area in your city’s financial district?
Products, services and pricing
With your executive summary and business description having introduced potential funders to your vision, your boutique business plan should next move into the concrete details. Your products and services section should outline:
- What kinds of items you’ll be selling
- Any services you’ll be offering (i.e. tailoring or clothing rentals)
- The main benefits and features of what you’re selling
- How much each item will cost you vs. what you’ll be selling it for
- How each item will be created or sourced: which suppliers are you getting your inventory from, if any? Do you have existing relationships with suppliers or will you have to create them?
If you plan to offer more or different products later down the line, outline that in this section as well.
It’s important to look at what your competitors are doing to get a sense of which needs are being met and where the biggest gaps in the market lie. Make sure you explain how you’re positioning yourself and why you offer something different or better than what already exists. Include the following information:
- Competitor analysis: who are your competitors? What seems to be working for them and what doesn’t? How long have your competitors been in business? Are they growing? Make sure you categorize your competition into direct and indirect competitors in your boutique business plan. Direct competitors will be anyone who is targeting your exact niche, while indirect competitors will be big chain retailers and department stores who offer an alternative experience to what you’re building.
- Industry trends: talk about the current trends and future predictions for your industry. Is it popular or growing? How have these trends impacted your niche? Can you expect these trends to keep growing—and what proof do you have that the popularity of your chosen focus isn’t just a passing fad?
- SWOT analysis: a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis details exactly what it sounds like it does. Think about what your biggest strengths and opportunities are, as a business. On the flip side, is there anything that may be a potential threat to your success?
- Target customer: what kind of person you’re aiming to target. Who is going to shop at your store? Where do they live, how old are they and what are their main pain points? What are they looking to get out of a clothing store, and how will you serve their needs? Do you have any data about your particular target’s spending power and shopping habits?
As a new business, you’ll need to promote yourself to bring customers in the door. Use this section of your boutique business plan to explain to investors and your team how you intend to do that.
- Which marketing channels do you plan to use? Are you going to use email marketing, social media marketing , SEO blogging, PR or influencer marketing ?
- Do you plan to run paid advertisements or only market your business organically, or both? If you plan to pay for advertising, you’ll need to include this budget in your costs section.
- How will you measure the success of your marketing efforts? Which metrics will you examine to determine whether or not you met, exceeded or fell short of your goals?
- What sort of loyalty program will you use to ensure customers keep returning? How will you split your budget for marketing to new customers and reaching out to returning customers?
The structure of your business will have a big impact on how it’s taxed and managed. Define your plans for incorporating as well as your org chart:
- How is your business defined, legally ? Is it an LLC, an S-Corporation, a partnership or unincorporated?
- Who is running the clothing business? List the founders and what each person brings to the table in terms of skills and capital.
- What kinds of roles will you be hiring for? Who reports to whom? Create a preliminary organizational chart that includes the current hierarchy of your business and which roles will need to be filled.
There are many upfront purchases to be made as well as recurring expenses that come with starting a clothing store. This is where you’ll list what you need to buy and the funding you’ll need in order to make sure you get everything you need. Here are some examples of costs you might include:
One-time costs
- Lease, security deposit and other fees associated with signing a retail lease
- Furniture and façade costs
- Initial inventory
- Technology hardware, such as computers, tablets, phones, credit card readers
- Website design costs (if you’re not using an eCom platform with a built-in site builder)
- Grand opening costs for the store’s launch day
Recurring expenses
- Rent and utilities
- Employee wages
- Marketing and advertising
- Retail commerce platform subscription
- eCom platform subscription and web hosting costs
- Domain name registration
- Accounting services
In addition to listing expected expenses and funding needs, also add a projected profit and loss statement, cash flow and balance sheet, if you’re able to. This will help paint a more complete financial picture.
Growth forecast
In this section, list how much inventory you’ll have on to start and your initial assets. Plan how much cash you’ll have on hand for your grand opening.
Here is where you can predict how quickly you will grow and in what ways you intend to expand. How much revenue do you intend to generate after one year in operation? Do you plan to offer more products in the future? Are you envisioning outgrowing your first retail space? Do you intend to open more locations? Describe these plans to the best of your ability.
Now that you know what goes into a business plan, you’re ready to make one. Fill in this free template to set your future clothing store up for success.
Executive summary
Business name:
Founders and executive team:
Products and services:
Target demographic:
Marketing strategies:
Future plans and goals:
Company description
What does your business do?
What gap does it fill in the market?
Mission statement:
Core values:
Description of each product and service:
How you plan to price each item:
Supply chain details:
Competitor and market analysis
Competitor analysis:
Industry trends:
Market size:
SWOT analysis:
Target customer:
Marketing strategies
Which marketing channels you’ll be using:
Plans for paid vs. organic marketing:
Loyalty program outline:
Marketing goals:
Legal structure:
Business leaders:
Organizational chart:
Hiring plans:
Startup costs and funding
What you need to buy:
How much funding you need:
Profit and loss statement:
Balance sheet:
Assets:
Cash on hand:
Revenue (projected or actual):
Other growth plans or predictions:
Create your clothing business the way you envision it
A clothing store business plan can help you solidify your thoughts and ideas so that you can start your business the way you intend to. Taking time to ask yourself important questions like how and why you’re starting will serve you well in the long run.
Clothing retailers use Lightspeed’s commerce platform to take sales, manage inventory, create a website and so much more. If you’d like to learn about how Lightspeed can help you accomplish your business goals, watch a demo .
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Emily is a Content Specialist at Lightspeed, where she brings her passion, knowledge, and expertise to give you helpful tips on how to take your retail business to the next level. When she’s not behind the keyboard, Emily can be found thrifting, getting iced lattes at local cafes or endlessly scrolling through TikTok.
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Home » Business Plans » Fashion & Style
How to Write a Clothes Manufacturing Business Plan [Sample Template]
Are you about starting a clothes manufacturing company? If YES, here is a complete sample clothes manufacturing business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE . Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a clothes manufacturing company.
We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample clothes manufacturing company marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for clothes manufacturing companies. So let’s proceed to the business planning section .
Why Start a Clothes Manufacturing Business?
Clothes manufacturing business is one of the many businesses that can be started in any part of the world and the owner of the business can still penetrate the world market once the design is good and meets a need in the fashion market. Everybody needs clothes, and as such there is always a ready market for manufacturers of clothing. All a designer needs to do is to ensure that he or she carves a niche for his business and then work hard to build their brand to be accepted beyond his/her city of operation.
Clothes manufacturing businesses thrive on creativity, branding and good business skills. Any aspiring entrepreneur can start a clothes manufacturing business as long as they are creative, they can get people to promote their brand and they have good business skills. The starting size of this type of business doesn’t really matter as long as the business is built on the right foundation and with the right combination of skills and talents; after all, a world-renowned clothing line – Coco Chanel started from a little hat shop in a street in Paris and today they are all over the world.
The truth is that if you are creative, you will be able to come out with a unique style. In the clothes manufacturing industry, your signature is your style. Another important factor that counts in this line of business is the company’s brand name.
If you look at the leaders in the clothes manufacturing business, you will realize that they deliberately choose a name that best communicates how they want people to perceive them. Once you are able to secure a good name for your clothes manufacturing business and then hire experts (graphic artists) to help you create a compelling logo, you can follow the trend in the industry.
Below is a sample clothes manufacturing business plan template that can help you to successfully write your own with little or no difficulty.
A Sample Clothes Manufacturing Business Plan Template
1. industry overview.
It is a known fact that the clothes manufacturing industry is indeed a money spinning industry just like the food industry and the real estate industry. It is simple; clothing is among the top three needs of humans.
Statistics has it that in 2010, American households spent an average of $1,700 on apparel, footwear, and related fashion products and services. In the 2010 alone, the global market for textiles made from organically grown cotton was worth over $5 billion; that goes to show how big the industry is.
In the united states, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Italy and in other parts of the world, people spend on clothes especially renowned clothing brands just to feel among and look trendy. Manhattanites spend the most on apparel in the U.S.; they spend an average of $362 per month while shoppers in Tucson, Arizona spend the least on apparel; they spend an average of $131 per month. In the united kingdom, consumers have an estimated £30 billion ($46.7 billion) worth of unworn clothes lingering in their wardrobes.
The bureau of statistics stated that employment in the U.S. clothes manufacturing industry has declined by more than 80 percent (from about 900,000 to 150,000 jobs) over the past twenty years. However, labor productivity in the U.S. manufacturing sector more than doubled from 1987 to 2010. Labor productivity also more than doubled over that period in U.S. textile mills and nearly doubled in the footwear manufacturing sector as well.
The fashion industry, especially cloth making business was not as easy as it is now. Before now, clothing was handmade based on demand by individuals. In the 20 th century after the invention of sewing machines (industrial sewing machines) it became pretty much easier to produce clothes in mass. Technology indeed is responsible for opening up the clothing industry. Clothes can now go through factory system of production and still maintain good quality and standard sizes.
Some of the leading labels in the fashion industry are from the United States of America, although some of these clothing labels outsource the production of their clothes to other parts of the world; predominantly countries in Asia just in the bid to cut cost.
Some cities of the world are considered to be fashion hubs; they dictate what happens in the industry. The cities are Paris, Milan, New York City, and London. These cities are known to host fashion exhibitions; designers who want to play at the global stage ensure that they exhibit their clothing collections to fashion enthusiast during the fashion week in any of the cities mentioned above.
Recent statistics has it that an estimate of 232,000 people attend New York Fashion Week per year (116,000 each fashion week) and $20 million is channeled into the New York City economy during fashion week. As a fashion designer, once your brand is accepted in any of the fashion capitals of the world, it won’t be too long before you become a globally recognized clothing label.
The clothes manufacturing industry is growing and there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to launch their own clothing line business and still become a globally recognized clothing brand. The advent of computer and computer software brought leverage in the clothing industry. Designing clothes can be conveniently done with the aid of a software, and a designer can reach out to the world market by putting up his products for sale online.
2. Executive Summary
Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. is an international clothes manufacturing company that will be located in Santa Fe – New Mexico. We have been able to secure a large warehouse in a strategic part of town that will be converted to our clothes manufacturing factory. We were able to out rightly buy over the facility with the help of our bank and support from family and friends.
Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. will be involved in the production of corporate clothes, uniform apparels, T – shirts and other casual cum sport clothes et al that will meet the needs of male, female, young adults and children. Our business goal is to become one of the leading clothes manufacturing companies in the United States and we will make sure that every clothe that leaves our factory can favorable compete with the best brands in the industry.
Our workers are going to be selected from a pool of talented clothes designers in and around Santa Fe – New Mexico and also from any part of the world as the business grows. We will make sure that we take all the members of our workforce through the required training that will position them to meet the expectation of the company.
We have put plans in place to build a state of the art clothes manufacturing factory in Santa Fe – New Mexico, which is why we have entered agreement with some manufacturers of sewing machines to produce customized sewing machines for us that will give us the quality of clothes that we want to be known for. Our factory will be well equipped and we will ensure that we follow the trend in the industry.
Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. will manufacture high quality clothes for both high – end customers and low income earners; we want to become one of the people’s choice where ever our clothes are put up for sale. Apart from mass production of clothes, we will also be engaged in customized production of clothes for customers based on their demand.
We are quite aware that there are some clients such as sporting clubs, political parties, schools, churches and organizations that would need quality customized T – shirts for specific purposes and we are well prepared to deliver as requested.
Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. is own by Ian Rosen and his immediate family members. He is an American fashion enthusiast with over two decades of experience in the fashion industry. He will occupy the position of the chief executive officer (CEO) of the organization.
Ian Rosen has a Degree in Fashion Designing from New York School of Fashion and also an MBA from Harvard. He is a well – respected figure in the fashion industry, and prior to starting Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. he was the creative director in one of the world’s leading fashion label that is based in New York.
3. Our Products and Services
Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. is established with the aim of producing high quality and highly fashionable clothes for men, women, young adults and children. We know that quality is a key factor that will help us sell our brand, which is why we hired a competent quality assurance team that will ensure that all our clothes meet and even surpass our customers’ expectations.
We will work hard to ensure that Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. is not just accepted nationally in the United States of America, but also in other parts of the world.
4. Our Mission and Vision Statement
- Our vision is to establish a cloth manufacturing company whose products will not only be accepted in the United States of America, but also in other parts of the world.
- Our mission is to establish a cloth manufacturing company that will design and produce high quality official and casual clothes for male, female, young adults and children; a cloth manufacturing label that will compete favorably with international clothing labels like Ralph Lauren, Polo by Ralph, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Gap, Lacoste, Nike, Levi Straus, Adidas, Diesel, Nautical, Puma, Prada and Rebel et al at the global stage.
Our Business Structure
Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. is a cloth manufacturing company that intends to start small in Santa Fe – New Mexico, but looks to grow big in order to compete favorably with leading clothes manufacturing companies both in the United States and on a global stage.
We are aware of the importance of building a solid business structure that can support the picture of the kind of world class clothes manufacturing business we want to own. This is why we are committed to only hiring the best hands within our area of operations.
At Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc., we will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, hardworking, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stakeholders. As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our senior management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more as agreed by the board of trustees of the company.
In view of the above, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;
- Chief Executive Officer (Owner)
- General Manager
Human Resources and Admin Manager
- Sales and Marketing Executive
- Fashion Designers
Quality Control Officer
- Factory Workers
5. Job Roles and Responsibilities
Chief Executive Officer – CEO:
- Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
- Creates, interconnects, and gears the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
- Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
- Responsible for providing direction for the business
- In authority of signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
- Estimates the success of the organization
General Manager:
- Achieves subsidiary objectives by establishing plans, budgets, and results measurements; allocating resources; reviewing progress; making mid-course corrections.
- Coordinates efforts by establishing procurement, production, marketing, field, and technical services policies and practices; coordinating actions with corporate staff
- Builds company image by collaborating with customers, government, community organizations, and employees; enforcing ethical business practices.
- Maintains quality service by establishing and enforcing organization standards.
- Responsible for managing the daily activities in the factory
- Responsible for supervising all the employees
- Ensures that the organization operates within stipulated budget.
- Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
- Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
- Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
- Carries out induction for new team members
- Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
- Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
- Oversee the smooth running of the daily office activities
Sales and Marketing Manager
- Manages external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
- Model demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases
- Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
- Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
- Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
- Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding sales
- Documents all customer contact and information
- Represent the company in strategic meetings
- Helps to increase sales and growth for the company
Accountant/Cashier:
- Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
- Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
- Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
- Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting
- Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
- Responsible for administering payrolls
- Ensuring compliance with taxation legislation
- Handles all financial transactions for the organization
- Serves as internal auditor for the organization
Fashion Designers/Tailors
- Responsible for designing and sewing corporate and casual clothes to meet the latest trend
- Stays abreast with the dynamics of the fashion industry with key interest in corporate and casual clothes
- Research and advice the organization on style, size and other trendy fashion statements
- Ensures that all the corporate and casual clothes in our production line meets the required quality before they are released in the market
- Makes certain that production and manufacturing lines perform efficiently, coordinate employee efforts, and facilitate communications between management and production departments.
- Devises ways of improving the manufacturing process to ensure higher-quality and durable clothes
- Ensures that the organization work in line with international best practices
Factory Workers:
- Responsible for ironing and packaging of corporate and casual clothes
- Responsible for movement of equipment and raw materials as required
- Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
- Cleans both the interior and exterior of the factory, machines and other equipment
- Handles any other duty as assigned by the general/floor manager
6. SWOT Analysis
Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. intends to build a world class clothes manufacturing business that will manufacture both corporate and casual clothes for men, women, young adult and children. We will be based in Santa Fe – New Mexico, but we will not restrict the sale of our clothes to the U.S market alone, we will sell our product in other parts of the world.
In other to achieve this in a highly competitive industry like the fashion industry, we must ensure that we critically look through our strength, our weaknesses, the opportunities available in the industry and the threats that we will are likely going to face.
Because of the nature of the business we are involved in and the brand we want to build, we were able to hire the services of an HR and Business consultant with bias in fashion and retailing to help us conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and to help us create a Business model that will help us achieve our business goals and objectives.
This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc.;
Perhaps one of our strongest strength could be attributed to the quality of employees and the latest machines and equipment that we have in our clothes manufacturing factory. Our chief executive officer, Mr. Ian Rosen will be bringing his vast wealth of experience to the table.
A major weakness that may count against us is the fact that we are a new clothes manufacturing company and we don’t have the financial capacity to compete with multi – billion dollar fashion labels when it comes to controlling the market or dictating the trend.
- Opportunities:
One thing is certain, whether good or bad, people will always look for clothes to wear and on the average, they go for casual clothes because it is cheap. Besides, the opportunity for clothing lines to sell their clothes is massive and we hope to leverage on these opportunities to sell our clothes.
Just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing power. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new clothes manufacturing company in same location where our target market exist who may want to adopt same business model like us.
7. MARKET ANALYSIS
- Market Trends
In recent time, the fashion industry relies more on mass market sales for them to make the kind of income that will sustain the business. The mass market takes care of a wide range of customers that cuts across both the rich and the poor. Most of the new clothing line that are trying to catch up with the market ensures that they produce ready-to-wear clothes using trends set by leading fashion labels.
What they do is that they try to see the direction of the trend as established by renowned fashion brands before producing their own versions of the original look by making use of cheaper fabrics and simpler production processes. They can comfortably sell such products at a cheaper price to the masses who can’t afford to buy the original which is often way too expensive for them.
Clothes manufacturers now leverage on the runway – fashion expo to promote and attract market for their products. Any fashion designer who is recognized in Paris, Milan, New York City, or London can comfortably become a global recognized fashion label.
Small startup clothes manufacturing companies leverage on small markets such as companies, churches, schools, organized groups and sport fans to sell their clothes and uniform apparels. These group of people can order large quantities of customized clothes for special purposes.
8. Our Target Market
When it comes to selling clothes, there is indeed a wide range of available customers. In essence, our target market can’t be restricted to just a group of people, but all those who reside in the locations where we intend opening our clothes manufacturing company.
Despite the fact that Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. will start operation from a single factory in Santa Fe – New Mexico, we have a holistic view of the kind of business we want to build; we want to grow to the level where we will build factories in Thailand and China. Our brand is going to be specifically designed to penetrate not just the United States market, but also the world’s fashion industry.
We want people from across the globe to someday put on our clothes; we want to see our clothes being worn in Paris, in London, in Tokyo, in Lagos, in Madrid, in Johannesburg, in Bueno Aries, in Sao Paulo, in Port Elizabeth, in Dubai and all over the nooks and crannies of the world.
We are in business to retail our clothes to the following groups of people;
- Security Outfits
- Para-military organizations
- Businesses and Corporate Organizations
- Every adult that resides within the locations where our clothes will be retailed
Our Competitive Advantage
A close study of the clothes manufacturing industry reveals that the market has become intensely competitive over the last decade. As a matter of fact, you have to be highly creative, customer centric and proactive if you must survive in this industry. We are aware of the stiff competition and we are well prepared to compete favorably with other clothes manufacturing companies both in the United States of America and other part of the world.
Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. is launching a standard clothes manufacturing company that will become the preferred choice of residents of Santa Fe – New Mexico.
Another competitive advantage for Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. is the wealth of experience of its management team. The management team comprises of professionals who have worked with some of the leading international brands in the fashion industry. Our latest machines and equipment also count towards our advantage especially when it comes to competing with other clothes manufacturing companies within the same category that we operate.
Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category in the industry, meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our aims and objectives. We will also give good working conditions and commissions to freelance sales agents that we will recruit from time to time.
9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY
- Sources of Income
Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. is in business to retail a wide range of clothes in the United States and other countries of the world. We are in the clothes manufacturing industry to maximize profits and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we achieve our business goals and objectives.
Our source of income will be the manufacturing and retailing of a wide range of both casual and corporate clothes for both adults and children.
10. Sales Forecast
One thing is certain, if you into the manufacturing of a wide range of quality clothes, you will always attract customers cum sales and that will sure translate to increase in revenue for the business.
We are well positioned to take on the available market in and around Santa Fe – New Mexico and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough profits from the first six months of operation and grow the business and our clientele base.
We have been able to critically examine the clothes manufacturing industry, we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projections are based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to startups in Santa Fe – New Mexico.
- First Fiscal Year: $450,000
- Second Fiscal Year: $750,000
- Third Fiscal Year: $1.5 Million
N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same products and customer care services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.
- Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy
Before choosing a location for Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc., we conducted a thorough market survey and feasibility studies in order for us to be able to penetrate the available market and become the preferred choice for residents of Santa Fe – New Mexico. We have detailed information and data that we were able to utilize to structure our business to attract the number of customers we want to attract per time.
We hired experts who have good understanding of the clothes manufacturing industry to help us develop marketing strategies that will help us achieve our goal of winning a larger percentage of the available market in New Mexico. In summary, Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to win customers over;
- Introduce our clothing label by sending introductory letters to churches, schools, corporate organizations, political parties, groups, and other establishments that wear uniform and casual clothes
- Attend fashion expos in the U.S and in other parts of the world
- Organize our own fashion show in order for us to display our designs / clothes
- Advertise our clothing label in newspapers, TV and radio stations
- Canvass celebrities to wear and help us promote our clothing label
- List our business on yellow pages ads/local directories
- Leverage on the internet to promote our business
- Engage in direct marketing
- Leverage on word of mouth marketing (referrals)
11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy
Publicity and advertising as it relates to the fashion industry involves being in touch with the organizations target market and being very creative and proactive.
Beyond every reasonable doubt, the media plays a very big role when it comes to helping a clothing labels gain international significance. The social media also plays an important role in modern day fashion publicity and advertisement as it it gives fashion labels the ability to reach out to a wide range of customers all over the world within a short period of time and of course at a very cheaper price when compared to other publicity and advertising platforms.
Any player in the clothes manufacturing industry that wants to take on the market must be deliberate when it comes to building brand awareness and credibility. Most often than not, big – time clothing labels ensure that they create great hype whenever they are about to release any unique design from their stable.
Social media, such as blogs, micro blogs, podcasts, photo and video sharing sites are some of the tools fashion designers leverage on to promote their labels. Some of the preferred social media platforms that are used in the fashion industry are Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, twitter, YouTube and other sharing sites.
Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc.;
- Sponsor relevant community programs like school fashion shows et al
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, twitter, YouTube and other sharing sites.et al to promote our brand
- Attend local and intentional fashion expos
- Organize our own fashion show
- Promote our clothing label on our own official websites and online fashion community
- Build relationship with celebrities especially in the entertainment industry and sports to endorse our clothing label
12. Our Pricing Strategy
We at Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. will make sure that we design and manufacture corporate and casual clothes that will meet the financial capacity of different classes of people in different parts of the world. The prices of all our corporate and casual clothes will be affordable and at the same time competitive with what is obtainable in the fashion industry.
- Payment Options
The payment policy adopted by Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.
Here are the payment options that Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. will make available to her clients;
- Payment via bank transfer
- Payment with cash
- Payment via credit cards / Point of Sale Machines
- Payment via online bank transfer
- Payment via check
- Payment via mobile money transfer
- Payment via bank draft
In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for clothes purchased without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials.
13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)
In setting up any business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by renting a place, then you would need a good amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are well taken care of, and that your facility is conducive enough for workers to be creative and productive.
This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business.
The machines and equipment that will be used are nearly the same cost everywhere, and any difference in prices would be minimal and can be overlooked. As for the detailed cost analysis for starting a cloth manufacturing business; it might differ in other countries due to the value of their money . These are the key areas where we will spend our startup capital;
- The total fee for registering the business in the United States of America – $750
- Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $3,300
- Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
- The total cost for hiring business consultant – $ 2,500
- The total cost for the purchase of insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400
- The cost for payment of lease for manufacturing factory for 24 months – $350,000
- Factory remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) – $20,000
- The amount required for the purchase of industrial sewing machines and clothes making tools – $200,000
- Other start-up expenses including phone and utility deposits ( $2,500 )
- Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $250,000
- The cost for start-up inventory – $100,000
- The cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
- The cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs – $5,000
- The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al) – $4,000
- The cost of launching a website – $600
- The cost for our opening party – $5,000
- Miscellaneous – $5,000
We would need an estimate of $2.5 million to successfully set up our clothes manufacturing factory in Santa Fe – New Mexico.
Generating Startup Capital for Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc.
Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. is a family business that is solely owned and financed by Ian Rosen and his immediate family members. They do not intend to welcome any external business partner which is why he has decided to restrict the sourcing of the startup capital to 3 major sources.
These are the areas we intend generating our startup capital;
- Generate part of the startup capital from personal savings
- Source for soft loans from family members and friends
- Apply for loan from my Bank
N.B: We have been able to generate about $500,000 ( Personal savings $400,000 and soft loan from family members $100,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $2 million from our bank. All the papers and documents have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.
14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy
The future of a business lies in the number of loyal customers that they have, the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing, then it won’t be too long before the business closes shop.
One of our major goals of starting Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running. We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to retail our clothes a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are well prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.
Ian Rosen™ Clothes, Inc. will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare is well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.
We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.
Check List/Milestone
- Business Name Availability Check: Completed
- Business Registration: Completed
- Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
- Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
- Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
- Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
- Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
- Application for business license and permit: Completed
- Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
- Leasing of facility and remodeling the shop: In Progress
- Conducting feasibility studies: Completed
- Generating capital from family members: Completed
- Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
- Writing of Business Plan: Completed
- Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
- Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
- Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
- Graphic Designs and Printing of Promotional Materials: In Progress
- Recruitment of employees: In Progress
- Purchase of industrial sewing machines and sewing equipment/tools: In Progress
- Purchase of the needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
- Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
- Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
- Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
- Compilation of our list of products that will be available in our shop: Completed
- Establishing business relationship with vendors/suppliers of textile, sewing accessories and related merchandize, clothes wholesalers and other stake holders: In Progress
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