business plan for second hand clothes

Thrift shop business plan template

Download this thrift shop business plan template in PDF or Word format, or tailor it to your project directly in our business plan software.

Discover our thrift shop business plan template

Not accustomed to writing business plans? Our thrift shop business template will turn a typically challenging process into a total breeze.

Modelled on a complete business plan of a thrift shop in Normandy, our template features both the financial forecast and the written part that presents the project, its team, the local market and the business strategy implemented by the management.

Cast your eyes on this template to achieve a better understanding of what your bank and investors would like to see, so that you can create a business plan that meets their expectations.

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Tailor it to your own project

Adapt this template to your personal project by changing the written part or the financial forecast in our online business plan software .

Thrift shop business plan template content

This template includes a complete business plan, with a financial forecast and the following sections:

• Executive summary: The executive summary gives the reader a clear and concise overview of your business idea
• Company: This section lays out the structure of your business, including its location, management team and legal status
• Products and services: Here, you'll give an overview of the services or products offered by the company
• Market analysis: The market analysis is where you’ll demonstrate that there is a strong demand for your products and services through a thorough assessment of the industry (customer profile, hot trends, regulation, competition, etc.)
• Strategy: This section highlights the company's game plan when it comes to pricing, marketing and mitigating risks along the way
• Operations: This step lays out the company's operational organisation, including the recruitment plan
• Financial plan: The financial plan includes a table of sources & uses (initial funding plan), and complete financial statements (P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statements).
• Appendices: This part provides the opportunity to include multiple financial appendices generated by our software (debt maturity profile, monthly financial statements, financial analysis, etc.).

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Thrift shop business plan template extract

Executive summary, business overview.

La Chineuse Caennaise will be a thrift shop located in downtown Caen at 6 rue Saint-Sauveur in Caen.

Rue Saint-Sauveur is a prime downtown location, as it directly connects Rue Saint-Pierre, the city's main shopping street, to Place Saint-Sauveur, one of Caen's historic squares.

Home to a variety of cafés, bookstores, and restaurants, Rue Saint-Sauveur is also extremely close to rue Froide, which hosts independent clothes boutiques and specialised stores including a violin maker and a tea house, with the eclectic mix of businesses on both streets accentuating their attractiveness to consumers.

We will sell second hand women's clothing, shoes, and accessories that we will have sourced from private donors, as well as from flea markets and vintage fairs.

We will select and sort the pieces before marketing them, offering top-of-the-range brands and unique, one-of-a-kind items to our customers in a sustainable and ethically responsible way.

Our company, directed by Alicia C., will be a limited company with a share capital of €5,000.

Since Alicia has over 10 years of experience working in the fashion industry, she has the ideal profile for running a successful thrift shop. With an address book filled with the contact details of vintage clothes dealers and acquaintances working for major fashion brands, she has access to a variety of premium garments.

Market Overview

French Market

Companies in the fashion industry generated a total turnover of €150 billion in 2018, with exports accounting for €33 billion of this amount.

This turnover constitutes 2.7% of the French GDP and about 1 million jobs in France.

Clothing alone generated €67 billion in 2018, representing a majority of the turnover.

The clothing market

The second hand clothes market (in-store and online) in France is estimated to be worth around €1 billion, with about 13,000 second hand clothing shops throughout the country.

A study by the American site ThredUp estimates that the second hand clothes market within the US will surpass the fast fashion market by 2028.

Between 2010 and 2018, according to the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM), 30% of French people were believed to have bought second hand clothes. By 2018, 64% of consumers said they would be inclined to buy second hand.

It appears that consumers don't feel quite as guilty making frivolous clothes purchases when they cost less than 70% of the price of a brand new top or pair of trousers.

Second hand clothes consumers

Although millennials (born between 1980-1994) make up a large portion of second hand clothes consumers, it's Generation Z (born between 1995-2015) that forms the fastest growing customer segment.

More inclined to be attuned to the climate issues of our time, their attraction to the second hand clothes market means the sector is constantly evolving.

Although generation Z buys the most second hand clothes, a vast majority of these purchases are made online.

Second hand clothes shops are mainly visited by Baby Boomers (those born between 1944-1964) and millennials. Millennials, unlike generation Z, prefer shopping in-store rather than buying second hand clothes online.

The environmental impact of fast fashion has been pivotal in turning the tide towards second hand goods, with 72% of consumers in 2018 claiming they wanted to buy from environmentally conscious brands.

According to the IFM, the standard clothes budget of a French woman decreased by 3.2% in 2018. This brings the average annual clothes budget (all genders and age groups combined) within France to €472.

According to Le Telegramme, the difference between a second hand clothes store and a regular clothes shop is the average expenditure of each customer. In a high-end clothes shop, this will amount to around €200, while for a second hand clothes shop this figure falls to around €75.

Local market

According to INSEE figures, Caen had a population of 105,453 in 2016.

Women aged between 15 and 59 years old, who are our core target, make up about 20% of the local population.

Caen is also a student and tourist city, enabling us to rely not only on Caen locals, but also on tourists passing through or students on the lookout for cheap vintage threads.

Caen city centre has a high concentration of clothes shops and several thrift shops.

A majority of the vintage and thrift shops are grouped together in the Rue de Bras and Saint-Sauveur circuit, giving anyone on the lookout for second hand clothes a reason to prioritise this shopping street other than others.

The city is easily accessible via bus and tram, as well as the Caen ring road, which connects the city centre to other surrounding towns, including Mondeville and Hérouville Saint-Clair.

Target Market

We will predominantly target women between the ages of 25 and 55, as they make up the majority of thrift shop customers, as well as one of the largest segments of the Caen population.

According to the Institut Français de la Mode, the average clothes budget per French woman is €472 each year.

The arrival of a high-end thrift shop within Caen will help meet the expectations of this target clientele.

While like Gen Z, millennials and baby boomers want to consume more responsibly, they still want to wear reputable brands, meaning they're willing to spend a bit more money on clothes that are unique and of good quality.

Competition

We have identified 4 competitors selling second hand clothes within Caen.

These competitors are, for the most part, located in the Saint-Sauveur district and sell vintage clothing.

Although we expect strong competition from other second hand clothes shops in the downtown area, we trust that the market is large enough to accommodate a new entrant.

We believe that, thanks to our high-end products and the fact we'll be located in a shopping area where no other second hand stores are currently present, we'll be able to successfully set ourselves apart from rival clothes shops nearby.

Financial Highlights

We expect to achieve a turnover of €142,070 in our first year of business.

Thereafter, we expect to reach a turnover of €148,140 in year 2 (or 4.27% of growth) and €156,550 in year 3 (or 5.68% of growth).

This growth will be driven by word-of-mouth and the implementation of customer loyalty actions described in our marketing plan.

We expect to achieve a positive EBITDA in the first year of €658 (or 0.46% of margin), but the high level of depreciation and amortization will lead us to recognize a loss.

For Year 2, we expect EBITDA of €3,200 (or 2.16% of margin) and net income of €1,397 (or 0.94% of sales).

In Year 3, EBITDA is expected to be €6,703 (or 4.28% of margin) and our net income will be €4,770 (or 3.05% of sales).

Our cash generation is expected to be positive over the plan as a whole, and the company is adequately capitalized to meet its financial commitments, while maintaining sufficient liquidity to meet any contingencies.

We need initial funding of €40,000 for the opening of La Chineuse Caennaise. The founder has invested €25,000, equating to 62.6% of the total amount.

We would like to obtain a bank loan of €15,000 to complete our financing requirement.

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How to open a thrift shop

If you would like to open up your own thrift shop business, have a look at our guide.

How to start a clothes shop

Follow our advice if you're interested in opening a clothes shop

How to carry out market research for a thrift shop

Want to do market analysis for a thrift shop? Check out our article to find out how.

How to write the business plan for a thrift shop

Not 100% sure on how to proceed? Read our guide for your business plan thrift shop.

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Thrift Store Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Thrift Store Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and thrift store owners create business plans to start and grow their thrift stores. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a thrift store business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your thrift store as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a thrift store, or grow your existing thrift store, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your thrift store in order to improve your chances of success. Your thrift store business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Thrift Store

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a thrift store are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for thrift stores.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a thrift store.

If you want to start a thrift store or expand your current one, you need a business plan. Below are links to each section of your thrift store business plan template:

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of thrift store you are operating and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a thrift store that you would like to grow, or are you operating thrift stores in multiple markets?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the thrift store industry. Discuss the type of thrift store you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.  

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of thrift store you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of thrift stores:

• Vintage thrift store : this type of thrift store specializes in buying and selling retro-type clothes, shoes, etc. The items are usually aged over ten years.
• Consignment thrift store: this type of thrift store buys and sells more expensive types of clothing, shoes, jewelry, etc. They are usually luxury items that can be resold if in good condition.
• Goodwill thrift store: this type of thrift store will take donations of all monetary values. The store will also employ more disadvantaged workers and is a charitable benefit to the community.

In addition to explaining the type of thrift store you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to question such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of customers served, number of positive reviews, reaching X amount of customers served, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the thrift store industry. While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the thrift store industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating. Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your thrift store business plan:

• How big is the thrift store industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your thrift store? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your thrift store business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, families, and the low income population. 

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of thrift store you operate. Clearly, families would respond to different marketing promotions than college students, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other thrift stores. 

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes large retail stores, estate sales, neighborhood garage sales, etc.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other thrift stores with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be thrift stores located very close to your location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of thrift stores do they operate?
• What areas do they serve?
• What types of customers do they serve?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide thrift store items that your competitors don’t offer?
• Will you provide better employment opportunities?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a thrift store business plan, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of thrift store that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific services you will be offering. For example, in addition to thrift store services, will you provide skating instruction and training, an area for food and drink, private parties, and any other services?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your thrift store. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your thrift store located near a school, a busy neighborhood, or an urban setting, etc. Discuss how your location might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your thrift store marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Commercials
• Social media marketing
• Local radio advertising
• Word-of-mouth

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your thrift store, including cleaning and maintaining the thrift store, inventory of items, scheduling of staff, taking in new inventory, marketing, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to obtain your XXth customer, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your thrift store to a new location.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your thrift store’ ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company. 

Ideally you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing thrift stores. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a thrift store or have nonprofit and community relations experience.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statements.

Income Statement : an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you do a 20% markup on purchased intake of inventory or will you sell donations people drop off for a low cost ? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets : Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your thrift store, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement : Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. 

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a thrift store:

• Cost of thrift store construction and facility build-out
• Cost of thrift store supplies
• Cost of marketing the thrift store
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your list of items your thrift store will offer, types of customers you will be targeting, and the areas your thrift store will serve.  

Putting together a business plan for your thrift store is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the thrift store industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful thrift store.  

Thrift Store Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my thrift store business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Thrift Store Business Plan.

What is the Goal of a Business Plan's Executive Summary?

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of thrift store you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a thrift store that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of thrift stores?

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Thrift Store business plan?

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Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how Growthink’s business planning advisors can create your business plan for you.

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Thrift Store Business Plan Sample

AUG.23, 2018

Do you want to start thrift store business?

Do you want to start a thrift store? Well, if you want to start a business whose startup costs will be run over by the profits earned in the very few months, helping the underprivileged side by side, then this is undoubtedly the most suitable business for you.

A thrift store resembles opening a second hand store , in which you can keep used clothes, books, furniture, crockery or whatever you want, and sell them in relatively low prices. The thrift store owners gather the items by the rich community, which are in a position to be used again, and keep them in their stores.

Just like every other business, the first thing before starting a consignment shop is to make a business plan for thrift store , adding all the details and decisions about how will you manage to collect the items, how many persons will be required, which will be the most suitable location etc. As you might be starting this business without experience, you will be in need of a help regarding writing an professional business planning . You can take help from this s thrift store business plan sample  free of cost written for a thrift store startup named, ‘City Thrift Store’.

Executive Summary

2.1 the business.

City Thrift Store will be owned by Jude Daylon, who is a graduate from Harvard University. City Thrift Store will be located on Howard Street, one of the bustling streets of San Francisco. The business plan for thrift store is aimed to gather the used items which are in a condition to be used again and sell them at economical prices. The variety and number of the used items depend upon how vast do you want your business to expand. City Thrift Store is aimed to keep used clothes, books, toys, musical instruments, furniture items, small electronic instruments at the store with appealing presentation all the time.

2.2 Management

Management is the primary footstep on which the whole thrift store business stands. This business will require extraordinary management skills to make sure that the stock of items is available in the store every time and is displayed in the appealing way.

Jude has many unique thrift store marketing ideas , and he will act upon all by being the manager himself. Before starting a consignment shop business , Jude has planned all the policies and possible mechanisms for the smooth running of the store. He has hired a number of drivers and social workers to collect the items by roving in the whole San Francisco, which is a necessity to start a second hand store .

2.3 Customers

Our target market will be the residents who can’t afford expensive things and have relatively low income than the other citizens. Moreover, the people who are travelers, tourists, or students and want to buy reasonable but good quality goods for temporary use will also be our potential customers.

2.4 Business Target

We aim at becoming the most visited thrift store in the whole San Francisco. We aim at stabilizing our business plan for thrift store and balancing the initial startup costs with earned profits by the end of the first year.

The business targets and the profits as forecasted by our experts for the next three years are demonstrated in the following graph:

Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

City Thrift Store will be owned by Jude Daylon. Jude is a graduate and has been working as a senior manager in a prestigious restaurant for four years. Jude has done a lot of research on how to start a second hand store  and is passionate enough to help the underprivileged. He wants to start a trusted thrift store by collecting used products from the wealthier community.

3.2 Why the business is being started

San Francisco is the city, which is suffering from highest levels of income inequality. The difference of the income can be demonstrated by the fact that the city is divided in two groups of rich and poor, and the category being called as rich is the one which has 11 times income than that of the poor. An estimate shows that one out of ten families in the Bay Area are struggling to hardly make both ends meet.

Besides that, the rich community dispose of many things which are in usable or sometimes good state just because they get bored. Such people want someone to take away donations of clothes and other things from them and give to the poor, by usually putting them outside of their houses. So, Jude has decided to help the low-income and average households of his city by gathering those items and running a consignment shop .

3.3 How the business will be started

Don’t do the mistake of opening a consignment shop , without efficient planning. You will need the persons to load the luggage onto the vehicles and display them in different sections in the store. Jude has planned to make separate and arranged sections of the products so that customers can easily buy them. Jude has arranged the vehicles for loading the used items, he has made a list of the staff he will require to hire, moreover, he will also hire some good speakers to raise awareness among the wealthy to donate the things they don’t need.

If you are going to enter this venture you have to collect many things before starting the shop. But, this all can be done only by accurate planning. If you are new to the business plan for thrift store , you can take help from opening a consignment store ideas and plans available on the web like this one free of cost.

The financial experts have forecasted following costs for expenses, assets, investment, and loans for the startup.

Services for customers

If you are thinking about starting a second hand store , you must decide the things you will keep in your store. A thrift store can contain anything which can prove useful for the people. In case, you are a beginner in this business and don’t know much about how to open a second hand store , you can take help from this thrift store business plan sample of City Thrift Store. This sample business plan will not only guide you in opening the store but will also assist you by explaining how to run a consignment store successfully.

The City Thrift Store has hired skilled repairers to repair any type of damages to the second-hand objects and make them reusable. Our store will sell the following items.

• Furniture: We’ll clean and polish the furniture items such as wooden tables, chairs, cradles, old rugs and carpets, cupboards, etc. which are in a reusable condition and sell them to at very low and economical prices.
• Clothes, Shoes & Books: The reusable books, shoes, fashion accessories, and clothes like dress shirts, sweaters, jackets etc. will also be kept at the store to be purchased by the low-incomes.
• Small Electronic Devices: We will also sell the technology products and small electronics such as cell phones, microwaves, printers, mobile and computer accessories, storage devices and much more than that.
• Sports Equipment & Musical Instruments: This type of inventory is often found in the solely new condition as people after getting bored put their guitars, pianos, rackets, footballs and the things like that outside their house to be taken by someone, so we have decided to keep such reusable things in our shop.
• Miscellaneous: Besides the above-mentioned necessities of living, we will also keep the miscellaneous items like crockery, decoration pieces, baskets, plastic products etc.

Marketing Analysis of thrift store business

The most significant component of a thrift store business plan is its precise and accurate marketing analysis. Marketing analysis will help you to understand the position and demand of this business plan for thrift store in the latest market. It is important as it can help you in finding the most suitable location for your store. The location which will be frequently visited by your target customers and your donors. Your consignment shop business plan  must also include the strategies and policies you’ll adapt to market your services and how effectively can you gain and maintain your potential donors.

So, if you have any doubts and confusions regarding how to start a consignment shop business , you can take help from the thrift store business plans available online, you can also take help from this thrift store business plan sample  for City Thrift Store. You can also have the opportunity of downloading business plan for thrift store pdf from the web. No matter, how many business plans you read before writing yours, that cannot be equivalent to a single consignment store business plan  written by a professional marketing analyst. It would be better for you to seek the services of a professional to make for you a thrift store business plan template . A professional can better understand the marketing trends and do accurate marketing analysis and segmentation of your location before making a thrift store business model  for you.

5.1 Market Trends

Due to the rising economic inequality in the city and financial stress on the underprivileged and the average, people are now trying to cut their discretionary spending and are fascinated towards the idea of buying second-hand things on reasonable prices. The industry of selling used goods is growing at a noticeable rate of 2.6% annually. According to IBISWorld, there are about 84,037 such businesses running in the United States, employing more than 267 thousand people in the whole country. No matter, how many businesses of thrift store are currently running in the country, there is still demand of more in some areas, like the one for City Thrift Store.

If you are thinking that how can you generate a profit by selling the goods at almost no prices, whereby you have to bear the expenses of the staff you hire, don’t worry current report by IBISWorld has shown that this business has generated $20 billion at an annual rate.

These statics shows that you can also earn a massive profit besides helping people, provided that you plan your business plan for thrift store successfully.

5.2 Marketing Segmentation

Our customers will be the people with average financial background. Most people living in the Bay Area of San Francisco do not have enough incomes to meet their expenses in a rich city. These people lust for the items like clothes, furniture etc. and are convenient in buying used items. It is also a requirement of this business to attract notable and rich people for maximizing our donations, they will not be our customers, they will be our need. We’ll arrange seminars and advertise the need of their donations through social media.

The detailed marketing segmentation of our target audience is as follows:

5.2.1 Moneyless Senior Citizens: According to a report by City Performance Scorecards, more than 15 thousand senior citizens are living below the poverty level in San Francisco. The health and age of such people don’t allow them to meet their needs by hard work.

5.2.2 Underprivileged Children, Teens & Adults: There are many children and teens in the city who desire to buy good clothes, tech-based things, or sports equipment and musical instruments, but the reality is that most of their desires remain unfulfilled due to the costs of such items. Moreover, about 61 thousand young and adults are living below the poverty level in San Francisco, according to the same report. So, our marketing analyst has identified this as our largest target group in buying used goods.

5.2.3 Tourists & Students: There are often situations when you are roaming in another country, but due to wrong estimates, become out of budget. So, the tourists or students who have to cut their discretionary needs, temporarily, will also be one of our target groups.

5.3 Business Target

We aim at serving more and more needy and average people of our city to help them in raising their status and spirits. Our aim is to become the most visited thrift store in our city and the most trusted thrift store in the eyes of donors. We also aim to balance the initial startup costs with the profit earned in only a few months after the launch.

5.4 Product Pricing

Our main target is to serve the underprivileged community of the city, but, due to requirements of staff, wages of employees, costs of inventory, and expenses of transportation, we can’t sell the items totally free of cost. However, we have priced all the items at very meager and low costs to meet the targets of our business plan for thrift store .

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If you are opting for starting a consignment store , you must prepare an effective and detailed business plan first. If you want your business plan to be complete and outstanding than instead of focusing on just how to open a consignment store you should also focus on how to run it successfully and how to pull the traffic to your site. If you are having difficulty about how to start a thrift store business plan, you can take help from this sample business plan for the City Thrift Store.

6.1 Competitive Analysis

Our biggest competitive advantage is the location which we have chosen after a great research and analysis. Our store is located on the main street of San Francisco, which is a street every citizen encounter while travelling in the city, as it connects the residential communities to the offices, institutes and recreational places. When so many people pass by our shop daily, a large number of them will be surely attracted toward our beautiful display through the large sized windows.

Our second competitive advantage is our excellent management system. We’ll collect the item which are in a good condition daily and display them in well-organized separate sections in our stores for the convenience of our buyers. Moreover, we have a quick transport facility for the rich people who want to donate their goods to us in large amounts.

6.2 Sales Strategy

For promoting our sales, we will advertise our store in local magazines, newspapers and social media. We will also distribute our flyers in nearby schools and colleges. We’ll post our banners in well-off residential communities.

6.3 Sales Monthly

6.4 Sales Yearly

6.5 Sales Forecast

By analyzing our market segmentation strategy, our experts have forecasted the following sales on a yearly basis which are summarized in the column charts.

Personnel plan

No matter how much you invest your assets on your startup, it is all going to be wasted if you don’t have honest and dedicated workers. Before you open a consignment store , you must make a list of the workers you’ll need to hire. You should train your staff before starting your shop that how to value the needs of customers and help them in finding the best product for them.

If you are searching for how to start a consignment store,  then you can take help from this sample business plan for thrift store in which we have a complete guide on how to run a consignment shop . This thrift store business plan sample will guide you by informing you about the staff Jude will hire for running the City Thrift Store.

7.1 Company Staff

Jude will manage the overall operations and will hire the following people for his assistance.

• 1 Accountant for maintaining financial and other records
• 2 Cashiers for selling products and maintaining records
• 6 Salespersons for organizing the store and its different sections and assisting customers in finding their required item
• 3 Drivers for collecting products from the whole city every morning
• 5 Technicians/Workers/Sewers/Menders for repairing and reviving used things
• 2 Cleaners for maintaining freshness and cleanliness of the store
• 2 Persons responsible for advertisement of the store

Financial Plan

The first step before starting any business is to make a comprehensive business plan, and the most important part of an effective thrift store business plan is its financial plan. Before you start a consignment shop , you must collect a lot of items to keep in your store. You can find them free of cost but to be good and distinguished, you should sell these products after reviving them. For managing the costs of their repairs, the rent of your store and the salaries of your employees, you will need money initially. So, in your financial plan, you have to plan the ways of balancing your expenses with the profits earned. Although the business plan for thrift store is in great demand and has is responsible for generating a lot of profit annually, but besides thinking about how to start a consignment shop , you should also think about the worst situations you can face financially.

If you are searching for profit thrift store business plan and need help in writing an effective financial plan, you can take help from this sample business plan for thrift store on how to open a consignment shop . The statics and figures in this sample business plan are for the City Thrift Store, so, it is advised to hire a professional financial planner advisor, who can write for you an accurate financial plan according to your investments and sales.

8.1 Important Assumptions

The company’s financial projections are forecasted on the basis of following assumptions. These assumptions are quite conservative and are also expected to show deviation but to a limited level such that the company’s major financial strategy will not be affected.

  8.2 Brake-even Analysis

The following graph shows the company’s Brake-even Analysis.

 8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

8.3.1 profit monthly.

The following charts shows detailed information about profit and loss, and total cost of sales.

8.3.2 Profit Yearly

8.3.3 Gross Margin Monthly

8.3.4 Gross Margin Yearly

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

The following column diagram shows the projected cash flow.

Download Thrift Store Business Plan Sample in pdf

OGS capital writers specialize in business plan themes such as lingerie store business plan , snicker shoes business plan , clothing store business plan , bridal shop business startup , business plan for clothing store and many others.

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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How to Start a Second-hand Clothing Business

• November 18, 2022

Selling second-hand clothing has never been more popular and easier. Due to the economic downfall happening worldwide, the used clothing industry is growing rapidly and is expected to increase in the coming years. Following this, the vision to waste less and reuse more has gained more momentum as everyone, including the Gen Z consumers now visit the second-hand clothing market often.

Just like other businesses, being a second-hand clothes supplier may seem tedious and nerve-wracking, but it’s somewhat easy and highly rewarding if the proper steps are followed. In this post, we will be sharing with you the due processes that will support you on how to start a second-hand clothing business.

What is a Second-hand Clothing Business

Just as it implies, a second-hand clothing business is an establishment that deals with the resale of pre-owned clothes, such as shirts, skirts, gowns, blouses, trousers, shoes, etc. Formerly, they were traded offline on flea markets and thrift shops. But today, they are sold via online platforms.

As opposed to a total of $119 billion in 2022, the second-hand market is expected to reach $218 billion in 2026 . This makes it a great and profitable business to venture into.

Why Start Used Clothing Business

Source: Pinterest

Used clothing business is not like other businesses as it’s extremely simple and requires less stress. Unlike other businesses, just little capital is required. Also, they are easily recognized and attract attention anywhere they are placed.

Below are reasons why you should start a second-hand clothes business.

• Cost: This business entails the resale of pre-owned wears, meaning that they won’t be valued at the same price they cost when produced. Following this, a designer item can be gotten for a fraction of the original price. Also, little to no advertisement is required as the business promotes itself. And as regards the location of the business, you don’t necessarily need to have a shop. You can converse with customers from your residence, thereby eliminating the cost of rent.
• High demand: It’s popularly used by the upwardly mobile youths and middle-age population who are limited by tight budgets, especially with the consistent increase in food, rent, transport, electricity bills, and other essential expenses. Also, the world’s population keeps increasing, meaning that clothes will continue to be in high demand.
• Quality: Many people trust used clothing over new ones as they’ve been tested and confirmed to be durable. Banking on the fact that they’ve been used by someone else for years and still retain their color and overall quality, they are believed to be better than new ones with no past record.
• Power of choice: Unsorted used clothing wholesale comes in various grades, which are pecked at different prices. This allows you to attract many customers, including those with higher income to afford A-grade clothes and lower income individuals that are capable of affording other grades of clothes.
• High turnover: Everyone needs to cover themselves with clothes, resulting in an increase in second-hand clothing demands and high turnover. This is more beneficial in festive seasons as only food is the commodity that sells more.
• Does not require formal education: As opposed to some other businesses that require education certificates, a used clothing line only demands serious efforts and perseverance to succeed. You need to study fashion trends and customer behavior as these are the factors that influence business success.
• Flexibility: You have the liberty of controlling the way the business will go. Depending on your capacity, you can start small while managing all the aspects of business yourself or start big and employ additional hands for proper management.
• Impulse buying: Due to the cheap price of second-hand clothes, it’s easy to convince customers to buy as they pass by. With proper promotional and negotiating skills, you can alter the placement, packaging, and price to influence the decision of end users.

Steps to Starting an Online Used Clothing Business

With the advancement in technology, starting an online clothing business has become extremely easy. Discussed below are the steps to take on how to start a second-hand clothing store online .

Source: indetexx

1. Conduct Market Research to Find Your Niche

The very first step that ascertains the success of every business, including online used clothing stores, is conducting market research to find the best niche to focus on. With this research, you will be able to understand customer’s needs and verify if your intentions are in line with theirs or not. This evaluation will help you devise the best business model to suit market needs and earn reasonable profit.

Another importance of this process is that it tells if the niche you intend to venture into is already saturated by other sellers.

In carrying out the market research, you need to analyze existing second-hand clothes and vintage trends in other places. Bringing in new designs will make your products unique, hence you will stand out amongst other used clothes suppliers and get more customers. Also, within your locality, check out the existing online used clothing stores and read customers’ reviews to get the aspects you can exploit.

Other questions you need to provide answers to during your market research are:

• What is the state of the second-hand clothing industry in your community/country? Is it growing or not? Is there a government ban or not?
• How has the revenue of online used clothing businesses evolved over the years?
• How many online second-hand clothes shops opened and shut down over the last few years? What is/are the reason(s) for their failure?
• What’s the average amount of money customers are willing to pay for second-hand clothing?
• Which online platforms do customers visit more?

2. Create Your Brand

After concluding on the niche to focus on, setting up your brand is the next step. Branding requires time and a lot of effort as it tells a story of what your used clothing business is about and what it stands for. As a general rule, the name, logo, design, and style of your business should be in line with the brand’s vision and mission.

When branding your business, be sure not to use difficult and hard-to-remember details. Also, check with your country or state business registration agency to confirm that no other business already uses your name. This is to prevent legal issues in the future.

Also, see to it that you sort out all legal documents needed like the Social Security Number, Tax Identification Number, Online Privacy Policy, Online Terms of Use, Seller’s Permits, etc.

3. Set Up Your Online Shop

It’s important that you set up how you want to sell your used clothes before buying them. Because what’s the need of having stocks without a means to sell? Whether it is selling second-hand clothing for a single piece or exporting in batches, you need to build your own website or website store. On how to start a used clothes store online , there are three different possible routes.

An eCommerce Platform

eCommerce stores are the simplest way for new sellers to make waves online. These platforms allow sellers to select and customize their preferred templates without any technical requirement. This is a highly beneficial and cost-effective means for new businesses as it’s more difficult and costly to build and maintain personal websites.

Moreover, eCommerce stores provide a committed support team to help you set up your online shop. Examples of eCommerce site builders are Shopify, WooCommerce, GoDaddy, Wix, Zyro, Magneto, and Volusion.

A Self-hosted Website

The second possible route is to create your personal website using a Content Management System like WordPress. The benefit of this method is that you have full ownership and control of the activities on the website. But it’s a little costly, requires a lot of time and technical skills. Also, you’d have to spend money on a domain name, web hosting, and security measures.

If you have the required technical skills, the advantages of having a self-hosted website are endless. This kind of website is very suitable for bulk used-clothing exporters.

Online Marketplaces

There are already established popular marketplaces online where people frequent for all kinds of products. Some of them include eBay, Amazon, Tradesy, Urban Renewal, Beyond Retro, Luxury Garage Sale, etc. Millions of people visit these online stores, making it a great way to get noticed. Online marketplaces allow second-hand clothes sellers to build a large customer base conveniently as these platforms only face few technical issues, hence very reliable.

However, the competition is fierce as both small and large scale businesses make use of these platforms in order to expand their customer base. Also, the fees can add up and eat into your margins.

Selling on online marketplaces is fine, but not a long-term solution. After building your followers with more loyal customers, you can create your website for better control, lesser fees, and lesser competition.

4. Order Your Bale Clothing

Ordering for second-hand clothing is different from other types of business. Don’t buy too many products at first; start with a small collection. This will help you ascertain what’s selling amongst all your products and to buy more when placing the next order. Places to source your products from include eBay, craigslist, flea markets, clearance sales, garage sales, estate sales, and community donations.

For better second-hand clothing, go to thrift stores located outside town where items are less likely to be sold immediately. You can also get used clothing from affluent neighborhoods; they usually have quality used clothes.

While sourcing your used clothes, inspect them to make sure that they still retain their quality and are sellable. Also, check for their labels and brands to know if they are vintage wears.

5. Get a Warehouse for Your Used Clothes

After getting your used clothes, the next thing to do is find a place to store them. As a beginner, you can choose to use a section of your house. But as your business grows, you will need an extra space to store them.

As a second-hand bale clothes supplier , the warehouse for your products should be big enough to contain them conveniently. Right from the storage, the used clothing should be sorted accordingly – in categories like shoes, trousers, shirts, etc.

6. Take Good Product Photos

After properly arranging your bales of clothes in the warehouse, you need to take great product photos. These photos will be posted on your online platform to show customers what they will be buying. This means that the images must be clear and show the quality of the clothing.

7. Place a Price Tag on All Your Pre-owned Clothes

Setting the right price for your bulk used clothes is a great determinant to sales and turnover. You wouldn’t want to have a price tag and discourage potential buyers. And at the same time, you wouldn’t want to have a low price tag that will result in loss.

Before concluding on the price of your pre-loved clothes, you need to consider two factors, which are margin management and competition.

Margin management entails the cost of production, such as product acquisition cost, packaging & shipping cost, and all other expenses like warehouse rent, website hosting, insurance, etc. To get the right price for your products, evaluate the cost of production to make a solid decision so that you’ll get profit. But don’t be too greedy and charge a very high sum of money.

You are obviously in a competitive industry unless you have unique stocks. In terms of competition, check for the prices other sellers charge as you need to be competitive with pricing.

8. Set Up Delivery/Shipping Processes

After customers have placed an order, the next thing is to have them delivered. So, you need to set up your shipment process. There are two ways to do this – either you deliver the products yourself or employ the services of a logistics company.

9. Formulate a Marketing Plan

The steps on how to start a second-hand clothing store online is not limited to the above. A business without proper marketing will move at a slow speed if at all it moves.

After setting up your online platform, you need to ensure that it attracts traffic and turn the visitors into loyal customers. To do this, marketing is essential and below are two plans that can be adopted.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the process of improving your website to boost its visibility when people surf for products and services that are similar to your business. The more people get to see your used clothes website, the more likely it is that your customer base will increase. This plan is carried out on search engines like Google and Bing.

Social Media Marketing

Social media is a large house that supports business promotion. Currently, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, and TikTok are arguably the most powerful social media platforms available to new online businesses. Using these platforms, you can make people know of your used clothes.

Steps to Starting a Second-hand Clothing Business Offline

The major difference between starting a second-hand clothing business online and offline is the location of the business as selling is done outside the comfort of your residence. For offline business, here are the steps you need to take:

1. Get a Location

Choosing a location is very paramount to the success of your used clothing business. Firstly, you must do research to find out the most suitable place to be situated. Then provide answers to these questions:

• How much does customers frequent the location?
• What is/are the age bracket of customers that frequent the place?
• What’s the purchasing power of consumers who come to the location?

The point is you must be in a favorable location where buyers always come. This is an advantage as it will lessen the effort you will expend towards promotion.

2. Source Your Used Clothes

There are two ways to do this – it’s either you start a consignment store or buy your products yourself. In a consignment store, people bring their second-hand clothing to you. Before starting this, make a list of rules concerning the types of clothes that are acceptable (quality is paramount). When each cloth is sold, the owner gets a larger part of the money while you keep an agreed percentage.

To buy used clothing yourself, you can check out second-hand clothing companies, yard & estate sales, eBay, thrift stores, and online overstock shops.

3. Focus on a Niche

While you can sell all kinds of clothing, including used men, women, children, and vintage clothes you can as well specialize in a niche. Then you can choose to sell related housewares and accessories that match your niche.

4. Complete all the Necessary Legal Documentations

The legal documentation to be processed differs based on the regulations of every country/state. Find out and complete all the business registrations needed.

5. Buy Other Supporting Equipment and Supplies

Since the clothing will be displayed outside for customers to see, you will need hangers, racks, shelves, display stands, and mannequins. You will also need tags for the clothing and a changing room. Also, you will have to get packaging where customers can put the second-hand clothes they bought.

6. Display Your Products

Showcase your high quality used clothes in a way that they will be visually appealing and attractive to passersby. You can in fact go as much as studying window designs at other department stores for better ideas.

7. Promote Your Shop

Depending on your budget, select the most cost-effective promotional means for your offline second-hand clothing business. You could choose any or all of these: flyers, display ads in the local newspaper, radio ads, charity events, organize fashion events, and a grand opening celebration. Collaborate with other businesses in the environment.

How to Start a Used Clothes Business by Buying Wholesale

Here are the steps on how to start selling second-hand clothes by buying wholesale. By following these processes, success with high profit is guaranteed.

Source: iStock

1. Market Research and Feasibility

Conduct proper research and study the market to know the demographics and psychographics of people who need used clothing. While doing this, focus on low-income earners as oftentimes, they are the ones mostly in need of second-hand clothes.

2. Decide on the Niche to Concentrate On

There are many areas you can venture into to make huge profit and gain more customers. Below are some of them:

• Online second-hand clothing store
• Offline second-hand clothing shop
• Garage sales
• Bricks and mortar consignment store

You could decide to focus on any of these, and at the same time choose to sell used males, females, children, and vintage used clothes or just some of them.

3. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges

One of the difficulties you will face is how to compete with already established used clothing businesses, as well as new second-hand shops around your environment.

Another possible threat and challenge is the economic downturn, which influences customers’ purchasing power. Unfavorable government policies, such as ban on import of used products will pose serious problems as it will affect how you source for goods.

4. Set Up Your Business Legally

To register your business with the government, you need to first of all do branding. This entails creating a unique story and name for your business.

After the branding, you can head on to the business registration body in your country/state and have your second-hand clothes business registered to become legal.

5. Choose the Best Insurance Plan

Since you will be ordering second-hand clothes for sale in bulk , it’s imperative that you discuss with an agent to advise you on the best insurance policy to choose. This will help to cover some part of the loss in case your business faces any misfortune.

6. Hire Reliable Employees

Just one person cannot control a startup used clothes business that buys in wholesale; extra hands will be needed for proper management. Employ additional hands for your technical and manpower needs. Every section of the business, such as the sourcing department, inspection department, financial department, etc., should be handled by experts.

7. Write an Idea-Packed Marketing Plan

Customers are the major determinant to your business success, so you need to devise a way to let them know of your business and buy your products. Your marketing plan must be fully packed with great strategies as you need to be proactive in order to counter any challenge that you might face, as well as how to retain customers.

Here are some marketing plans you can use:

• Direct marketing
• Online marketing through SEO and social media
• TV and radio programs
• Using sales agents and representatives
• Erecting of billboards in strategic places across the city
• List your used clothing business in local directories

Things to Consider When You Want to Buy Wholesale Bale Used Clothes

Asides from the points discussed above, these are some other factors that should be considered when buying wholesale bale used clothes.

1. Market Trend

Customers love to be in tune with trends in their environment. This means that you must consider the recent used clothes styles and designs circulating the market as it influences customers’ decision to wholesale or not.

2. Clothes Style

The styling of the used cloth also matters. Even though it’s not trendy, it must be beautiful and attractive to the eyes.

3. Turnaround Time

When ordering for second-hand clothes, you must make inquiries about the turnaround time i.e., how soon will you get your order delivered. A delay in shipment can tamper with your business plan.

You should estimate the total cost of doing business while having the price of each expense that will be incurred. Unless you plan to run the business yourself, you will need employees, which amounts to payment of salaries. Also, you would have to pay rent if it’s an offline business. This and many more are the pointers to consider.

International Second-hand Clothes Exporter – Indetexx

Source: Indetexx

Indetexx is a highly-rated second-hand clothing company with an established system in souring, recycling, and selling used clothes to customers worldwide. Offering competitive advantages, we have more than 70,000 collection points that ensures a steady supply of raw materials, making us to have at least 1,500 tons of used clothes available at all times to meet your demands.

The sourced clothes are inspected thoroughly and only the ones with at least 90% quality are accepted into the warehouse for recycling. Having a streamlined production process and cutting-edge machinery, we provide you with only high-quality clothing at an extremely cheap price within the expected time.

Used clothing exporter-indetexx also provides many customization services, like logo, and packaging. And partnering with reliable logistic companies, we have your order shipped to you within the lead time while you enjoy free logistics tracking.

You can reach out to indetexx today for all your second-hand clothes needs!

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Since 2012, Indetexx has been exporting a wide range of used clothing and products all over the world, continually earning a great reputation from a number of brands.

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Vintage Second-Hand Clothes Wholesaler Business Plan,University of Southampton

ตัวอย่างการรับจ้างเขียนงาน business plan ให้กับนักศึกษาไทย มหาวิทยาลัยเซาแธมตัน (the University of Southampton) สาขา fashion management โดยใช้เวลาทำเพียง 5 วันเท่านั้น พร้อม comment เพิ่มเติม Thai student business plan hire us to work in very limit time. สนใจติดต่อได้ที่ 0831585457 email [email protected]

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• 1. Vintage Second-Hand Clothes Wholesaler Address 1 Address2 City/town Post code Phone Fax Mobile E-mail Web site To insert your business logo, click an insertion point using your mouse to the right of the word ‘logo’ above, then go to the menu at the top of this window (File, Edit, View, Insert, etc), click on Insert/Picture/From file/(and select your logo).
• 2. 1. Summary Vintage Second-Hand Clothes Company sells used clothes that the company selects and buys from markets in Thailand and many other countries in Asia such as China and Cambodia. The company will promote its business through Facebook web- page and its blogspot or website. Customers can pay money to the company by transferring the money to the owner’s bank account or by creditcard via paypal system. The company concentrates on wholesales which means customers have to buy products in a lot. However, the company might hold a seasonal event to retail the products left in the stock for longer than 1 year. To stock the goods, the company has to rent a warehouse located near the basement of the business, i.e., the office. The company will promote its business and products through Facebook page and its blogspot or website, aiming to create people’s awareness of the company and its products. The company is solely owned and operated by XXXXX.
• 3. 2. Business overview The company sells the used clothes bought from Thailand to customers in the UK. The products of the company include women’s tops, pants, skirts, suits, jackets, women’s evening gowns and cocktail dresses, blouses and accessories. After operating the business for 6 months, the company might extend its product lines to menswear. The second-hand clothes market in the UK is quite huge since new clothes are very costly. Thus, the company believes that it can get some market shares from the existing competitors such as ‘Trashy Flowers (http://www.trashyflowers.com/shop/)’ and ‘Glass Onion Vintage (http://www.glassonionvintage.com/)’, which are vintage clothes wholsalers as well. Introduction Vintage Second-Hand Clothes Co, Ltd, is solely owned by XXXX who have noticed that the prices of second hand- attire sold in Thaialnd and China are very low (around 1 pound) whilst those of the second-hand attire sold in Englad are much higher- around 5 pounds to 100 pounds (http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/second-hand- clothes); thus, to import used clothes from Thailand and China to sell in England deems profitable because the company can sell the products in the reasonable and competitive price. In addition, the
• 4. vintage clothes from Asian countries are stylish. This will enable the company to sell products more easily. The products that the company will sell include a wide range of vintage clothing products such as shirts, troursers, skirts, dresses, blouses, jackets, evening gowns, etc… (in various sizes from s to XXXL, and made from various materials such as satin, chiffon, linin, cotton, silk, polyester, denim, wool, and so on.) However, the company will focus on fashionable but casual outfits because this kind of outfits are sold in high prices in England. Business Objectives Doing the business, the company aims to accomplish the following business objectives: 1. To generate total income of 350,000 pounds within the first three years; 2. To run a sustainable business with consistent growth rate each year; and 3. To expand the business from London to other urbans in other countries such as New York (U.S.), Tokyo (Japan) and Sydney (Australia). Current position Currently, the second-hand vintage clothes market is in the growth phase because there are some competitors in the market such as ‘Trashy Flowers’ (http://www.trashyflowers.com/shop/) which is a wholesaler of used vintage clothes. However, the
• 5. number of used vintage clothes wholesalers in England is still small. Thus, the company still has chances to get some shares of the market. This is the important feature of the growth phase- the market is quite stable and there are few competitors, but there are also opportunities for new players to enter the market providing that the demands can be increased (Heizer and Render, 1999). The company has started its business by gathering second-hand clothes from Thailand and contacting the shipping company which will ship the products to England by ships. The market of the second- hand apparel in Englad is growing, the empirical evidence of which is the great number of second- hand suppliers most of which are from Mainland China and European countries (http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/second-hand- clothes.html). There are also many used clothes wholsalers in UK such as ‘Trashy Flowers (http://www.trashyflowers.com/shop/)’ and ‘Glass Onion Vintage (http://www.glassonionvintage.com/)’. However, the products from these suppliers are still costly; hence, the company’s products which are from Thailand are supposed to be capable of competing with those products in terms of prices and styles. SWOT Analysis
• 6. Strength The company can compete with other second-hand apparel vendors by dint of several factors, namely, 1. The company can buy second-hand clothes in very low prices, ranking from around 0.2 pound to 1 pound, depending on the quality and style of the clothes; 2. Even though being a wholsaler, the company buys and sells just selected goods, so every single piece of products bought and sold has been selected; 3. The company’s products are stylish; 4. The company can find suppliers who sell cheap products to the company, such as vendours in Bangkok and in Rong Kluer; and 5. The company can adjust the size of the clothes so as to fit the sizes of English people. Weakness However, the company’s business also has some weak points, which are: 1. The shipping of the goods take a long time from Bangkok to England; 2. The fee for the shipping service is expensive; 3. The shipped goods subject to applicable customs and taxes; 4. During the course of the logistic, some items might be damaged; 5. The company will have to endure the loss stock because it may not be able to sell some products; and
• 7. 6. No matter how stylish they are, second-hand clothes are belived to be cheap. Opportunity The opportunities that enable the company’s business yo become properous are: 1. Vintage clothes are ‘in’ and can be sold in high prices; and 2. Thai baht is cheaper than English pounds, so, buying the products in Thai baht and selling them in English pounds, the company will enjoy the margin caused from the currency exchange. Threat The threats that will hinder the company’s operations are: 1. The downturn of the global economy will make people spend less money; 2. The concern about health issues (some customers might not buy used clothes because of these issues); 3. When the value of the English pound drops, the company will have less revenue; and 4. The quality and styles of the products are inconsistent because sometimes, suppliers might not be able to supply the products that the company really want. Growth plan Business growth is related to every aspect of the business such as the investment plan, the accurate estimate of profits and expenses, the management of buisness, product quality and personnel.
• 8. Thus, in the following part of this report, such aspects will be discussed. As mentioned afore, the company will experience problems concerning logistic and time spent on logistic. This business plan will enable the company to run its business without spending too much time on the waiting for the shipped products which is a cause of wastes (Heizer and Render, 1999). In addition, the trasportation is also another factor that causes expenses for the company. Transportation can cause expenses on vehicles, fuel and labour. It is another major waste that needs management (Heizer and Render, 1999). Implementing this business plan, the company aims at the 10% annual increase of sales, and the total revenue of 350,000 pounds by the end of the third year of the operation (the total revenue from year 1 + year 2 + year 3). ดูในส่วนของ Finance นะคะ
• 9. 3. Business strategy In this section, all the business schemes and operations implemented here will be discussed. This includes the overall business scheme which will be referred to as the strategic plan of the company. Vintage Second-Hand Clothes is emphatic on wholesaling used apparel to customers in England by relying on the business-to-business sales. Therefore, the company will make trade contracts with customers so as to supply lots of products to customers in specific timeframes, e.g., every year, every quarter or every season. The company will have sales representatives contact customers directly by walking into the customers’ shops or offices and present the company. In addition, the company will use the promotion and sales via online channels such as a Facebook page, blogs, e-mails and paypal system. This online operation will be useful especuially in the case where the company cannot sell some items and has stocked them for a long period. In that case, the company will promote such items and retail them online. The company divides its business plan into two phases. The first phase is the plan for the first year and the other phase is the plan for the next two years.
• 10. In the first year, the company will emphasis on ladies’ outfits by focussing on women’s bloses, tops, dresses and gowns because women are believed to be interested in clothes more than men. This is because the company realises that womenswear market is larger than meanswear one and that women are more liable to buy clothes than men. Samson and Daft (2005) suggested that the company should be aware of certain matters when setting a set of business strategies. Such matters are (1) potential new entrants which include capital requirements and business scales; (2) bargaining powers of buyers; (3) bargaining powers of suppliers, (4) threats from substitute products and (5) rivalry among competitors. To learn about these matters, the first thing the company should do is to research on these matters by observing the existing players in the market. Having observed both the wholesalers and retailers of second-hand clothes in England, the company realised that most sellers, although selling their products in a lot, sell their products in a high price, for example, Trashy Flower sells its products in a dozen in the price of 100 pounds (approximated price) which is around 8 pounds an item (http://www.trashyflowers.com/shop/). At the same time, many sellers sell cheap products with normal styles. This may not be enable the company to compete in the market.
• 11. Therefore, the company decides to sell stylish clothes in cheap prices by dividing products into three categories, namely, the category of shirts and skirts, the category of mini and middie dresses (cocktail dresses) and blouse, and the category of luxurious evening gowns. The price of the product of each category is different from each other. A product of the first category costs 10 pounds, one of the second category will be sold for 20 pounds and one of the last category is worth 50 pounds. To differentiate its products from competitors’, the company will concentrate on clothes produced, made and manufactured in Asain countries lest the products of the company would be the same as those sold by competitors. The company will also do a research work to learn about the styles that most prospected customers prefer such as printed dress, mini dresses; and the owner of the company or the owner’s relatives will go to the places where second-hand clothes are sold in cheap prices such as Ratchada Night Bazarr, Rong Kluer Market (located near the Thailand- Cambodia frontier), Jatujak Week-End market and so on to select the products piece by piece. This will enable the company to have just the products that can be sold.
• 12. After selecting enough products, the company will promote the products on websites or blogspots. In addition, the owner of the company or the sales representative might make direct approaches to customers in UK so as to inform them about the company and the products. Receiving an order, the company will have all the products shipped by ship. This process might take around 2 months which is a long period but it is inevitable. However, if any customer requires faster delivery, the company will have the products sent by air. This process might take just a week but the fee is higher. ปรกติส่งทาง เรือก็สองเดือนแล้วนิ As for the plan for the next two years, it will start with a research work on the preferences of the people. This information will enable the company to understand what can be added to the product list, such as shoes, acessories, men’s shirts and men’s suites. Then, the company will find additional products to sell to customer. Also, the company will expand its business to other urbans such as New York (U.S.), Paris (France) or many other cities. This will increase the sales and revenue of the company. In the phase, the company is supposed to have some cash flow (the money obtained from selling the products in the first year); therefore, the company can invest more money in promotion campaigns.
• 13. In addition, the strategic and action plan for the next two years will include several marketing activities such as to give 20% discount for any customer whose order is greater than 1,000 pieces per order. Marketing activities will create loyalty in old customers and attract attention of new ones; thus, in these two years, the sales volume of the products is expected in increase more than10% each year. Core values The company puts its emphasis on selling good and stylish second-hand vintage outfits to customers in England. Therefore, all the items sold by the company must look unique and stylish. Furthermore, the company will never sell copied or plagiarised products such as fake Louise Vuitton products lest the company would experience legal problems. 4. Marketing As mentioned afore, the company will concentrate on business settlement in the first year; thus, during the year, the company will promote its business on Facebook page, blogs writtem by the owner of the company and brochures. In the first
• 14. year, thus, the company will create customers’ awareness of the company. The company will also make direct approaches to customers in UK (especially London) so as to introduce the business and pursuade the customers to buy the products. As a wholesaler, the company will sell at least a dozen of products per order; however, the company will emphasise the motto ‘The More The Cheaper’ so as to urge customers to buy more. After the first year, in the next two years, the company will carry out more marketing activities so as to keep old customers and to attract new customers at the same time. Distribution channels The company will sell products online via Paypal system because it is based in Thailand but the customers are in England. Online payment system is a convenient and safe system for the business. The tactics that the company will implement are divided into two phases: the first year phase and the next two years phase. As for the first year phase, the company (the owner) will introduce the business on Facebook
• 15. web-page, blogspots and websites. In addition, the company will approach some retail shops in England so as to promote the business. The tactics that the company will use in the next two years are related to the prices of the products. In other words, the company will use price factor to keep old customers and to attract new ones. However, the company will not just decrease the product prices by holding a sale season. Rather, the company will hold a marketing campaign that encourage buyers to buy at least 1,000 pieces per order to receive 20% discount. In addition, the company will offer cheap size adjustment services (5 pounds per piece) whereby customers can choose the clothes they want and ask the company to adjust the size of the items they order. This can be done because the fee of size adjustment services in Thailand is very cheap (not more than 2 pounds a piece). This service will enable the company to differentiate its business.
• 16. Operational Costs The company will have so many expenses during this year. These expenses are expense for legal activities (to registered the company) concerning business settlement and formation (as required by the Business Registration Act of Thailand B.E. 2499 (1956) and B.E. 2549 (2006) and other applicable laws) and accounting activity. The company will control the invested money to be no more than 10,000 pounds. In addition to the budget for starting the business, the company will have some other expenses such as the shipping fee, the customs and taxes, the warehouse rental fee, the staffs’ wages and the transportation fee (for the delivery of the products to the customers and for the business owner’s trips to England, Cambodia or China to buy and sell products). The expenses of the second-hand clothes and the expenses from the shipping of the products and the trasportation as well as the customs and taxes vary accordingly to many factors such as the total weight of the products, and the policies of Thailand and England ; thus they can be regarded as the variable cost and will be averaged for each piece of product, which should not be more than 5 pounds a piece.
• 17. The rental fee of the warehouse (around 500 pounds a month) and the staffs’ wages (around 300 pounds per person per month) are regarded as the fixed cost because the company has to pay an exact amount of money each month for these expenses. In addition, the company plans to spend not more than 300 pounds a month on electricity and water supply (the warehouse is in Thailand).
• 18. 5. Team and management structure Skills, experience, training and retention The company will rent a warehouse in Thailand and will build a small office where the products are adjusted (size adjustment), fixed, cleaned and stocked. Thus, the company will hire 8 operation staffs to do all the tasks and 2 other staffs to do the Quality Control tasks. Both the production staffs and the QC ones will be trained so as that they will know the company’s standards and be able to judge whether a piece of product can be accepted or not. In addition, the company will hire 2 security staffs (one for the day time and another for the night time) from a supplier. The security guards from the professional suppliers will be well-trained; thus, the company need not train them. However, the company will, on the daily basis, provide a check-list for each staff and ask the staff to check the activity that he/she has performed during that day. As for the product selection, the owner of the company will be incharge of this task so as that all th eproducts will be what the company really wants to sell.
• 19. Management systems Th ecompany will apply the MRP (Material Requirements Planning) principle (Heizer and Render, 1999) which suggested that everything has to be stocked so as to be delivered to the customers in an immediate manner. In this case, there is no material but the owner has to stock the products by buying them in a lot at a time, which will enable the owner to save money spent on the trip to thailand (to buy products) and to ship the products from Thailand to England because the logistic fee will be charged by weight not pieces of shipped items. To manage the inventory, the owner has to check how many products are stocked at the first place and monitor the sales of the products to check how many products are left in the inventory. To manage the products left in the stoock for more than a specific period, such as one year or three months, the company will mix them with some popular products and ask the customer to buy that lot of products in a special price (such as 90% from the actual price). Otherwise, the company might retail the left-over products by adjusting their sizes or modifyoing their styles so as to make them more interesting. This will enable the company to sell such products even in higher prices.
• 21. 7.Financial budgets and forecasts The company has planned to budget 10,000 pounds for the settlement of the business. This 10,000 pounds will be spent on legal activities, accounting activities and equipments (computer). For the each of the latter years, the budget will be 10,000 pounds which will be for promotional activities (the discounts, and other events) and other matters such as accounting activities. In addition, the company has to bear the variable cost of each product. This variable cost consists f the price of the product, the averaged shipping fee and the tax (customs) for eaxh piece of product, which should not be more than 5 pounds because the company will import a ton of product at a time. As for the finance issue, the company will analyse the break even point at the first place to see how many products should be sold in order to meet the break even point. The formula to calculate the break even point is Q = FC / (UP - VC) where: Q = Break-even Point, i.e., Units of production (Q), FC = Fixed Costs, VC = Variable Costs per Unit
• 22. UP = Unit Price Therefore, Break-Even Point Q = Fixed Cost / (Unit Price - Variable Unit Cost) (http://home.ubalt.edu/ntsbarsh/Business- stat/otherapplets/BreakEven.htm). From the formula, the break even point of the company is (Assuming that all the products are sold for 10 pounds; the fixed cost is the budget of the first year (10,000 pounds), the warehouse rental fee (500 pounds * 12 months = 6,000 pounds), the electricity and water supply (300 pounds*12 months = 3,600 pounds) and the wages of all staffs (300 pounds*12 staffs*12 months = 43,200 pounds). Therefore, the fixed cost is 10,000 + 6,000 + 3,600 = 43,200 = 62,800 pounds). The variable cost is the price of each product+ the averaged shipping fee and tax for each product + and the postal service for delivering each product to each customer, which is estimated to be 5 pounds.) Q = 62800/ (10-5) Q = 62800/5 Q = 12560 Therefore, the company must sell at least 12,560 products in the first year unless it wants to have a deficit. For the latter years, the company plans to budget 5,000 pounds for accounting activities, the
• 23. maintenance of the equipments and the bonus for the staffs. The variable cost is still the same. Thus, the break even point (Q) of each of the next two years is Fixed Cost = 5000 + 6000 + 3600 + 43200 = 557,800 pounds; Variable Cost = 5 pounds; Product Price = 10 pounds; Q = 57800/ (10-5) Q = 57800/5 Q = 11560 Thus, for the second year and the third year, the company needs to sell at least 11,560 pieces of products each year lest it would have a deficit. Since the total income for the three years must be 350,000 pounds, the number of the products to be sold is (assuming that a product costs 10 pounds) 350,000/10 = 35,000 pieces in three year, or 35,000/3 = 11,667 pieces a year. However, if the company sells just 11,667 pieces of products in the first year, it will have a deficit. The company has estimated its income for the first year to be 150,000 pounds. The revenue is estimated to increase by 10% each year; therefore, the estimated revenues for the second and the third years are 165,000 pounds and 181,500 pounds respectively.
• 24. Thus, granting that a product costs 10 pounds, the company must sell at least 15,000 pieces of products in the first year, 16,500 pieces in the second year and 18,150 pieces in the third year. References Book References Heizer, Jay and Render, Barry (1999), Operations Management, 5th ed., New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Somson, danny and Daft, Richard L. (2005), Management, 2nd ed., Victoria: Thomson Learning Australia. Online References
• 25. Appendix 1 Balance Sheet (Predicted) As at 31st December, 2011 Assets English Pounds Current Assets Cash and Cash Equivalents 150,000.00 Non-Current Assets Other Current assets (Equipments and Brochures) 10,000.00 100,000 pieces of attire (5 pounds each) 500,000.00
• 26. Total Assets 660,000.00 Appendix 2 Cash Flow Statement For Period of 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2011 English Pounds Total Revenues 150,000.00 Expenses
• 27. Legal Activities Equipments Accounting Activities 10,000.00 Staffs 43,200.00 Warehouse 6,000.00 Electricity and Water 3,600.00 Total Expenses 66,400.00 Net Profit (Loss) 83,600.00 Appendix 3 Sales and Profit Forecast for the Second and the Third Years
• 28. * With the 10% annual increase ** The estimated figures are in English Pounds 1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year Total 150,000.0 165,000.0 181,500.0 Income 0 0 0 Expenses Expenses 10,000.00 5,000.00 5,000.00 on Business Settlemen t and Promotion s Staffs’ 43,200.00 43,200.00 43,200.00 Wages Warehous 6,000.00 6,000.00 6,000.00 e Electricity 3,600.00 3,600.00 3,600.00 and Water Supply Total 66,400.00 61,400.00 61,400.00 Expense Annual 83,600.00 103,600.0 120,100.0 Profit 0 0 Total 307,300.00 Profit

How to Start a Used Clothing Business by Buying Wholesale

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business ideas » Fashion Industry » Boutique (Clothing Store)

Do you want to open a clothing store or boutique ? If YES, here is a detailed guide on how to start a clothing business with buying wholesale .

If you are planning on starting a clothing business and you are in doubt of the specific area to specialize in, then you should consider starting a used cloth business. It is a kind of business that guarantees you patronage and good turnover.

With fairly used clothes been sold all over the streets and local markets, you could also start up your own and make huge profits from it. Selling used clothes can be done with little or no capital, and you can steadily grow your business till you become highly successful in it.

You can leverage on the fact that fairly used clothes are far cheaper and highly affordable than brand new clothes to thrive in the business and build a profitable venture for yourself.

Steps to Starting a Used Clothes Business by Buying Wholesale

1. understand the wholesale business.

Before proceeding to deal with wholesalers, you need to understand the types of wholesalers there are as well as how they operate. This will help you make well-informed choices and decisions. There are different type of wholesalers based on their size, distribution channels, and supply chains.

As the owner of a new clothing retail store, you are unlikely to be able to buy directly from a high-volume wholesaler, because your initial sales volume won’t support buying in bulk. You will need to find smaller wholesale distributors who will gladly sell smaller volumes. As your sales volume grows, you can deal with bigger wholesalers and demand better wholesale volumes.

Interesting Statistics About the Industry

It is estimated that the united states of America consignment/resale industry is worth billions of dollars. The industry rakes in over 16 billion dollars in revenue annually which includes the revenue generated from antique stores which are pegged at about 13 percent of the annual income of the industry.

Statistics have it that the number of consignment stores opening across the United States of America is on a steady growth of 7 percent with over 25,000 registered consignment and resale stores scattered across the country.

Globally, many businesses are forced to close up due to unfavorable economy conditions, but consignment retailing business in which the used clothing business belongs remains ever growing and perhaps more profitable over the years.

From the recent research conducted by the America’s Research Group, it concludes that within a year, about 16-18 percent of Americans will shop at a thrift store while about 12-15 percent will shop in consignment shops (resale shops). Within this same time frame, it is believed that 19.6 percent of those that shop in consignment stores visited the used cloth stores.

It is a known fact that the turnover of an average fairly used cloth business can be more than 50%. That is the main reason why entrepreneurs who want to make good money from a business without much stress and little start-up capital open a used cloth shop. They could either start the business by making use of their cars/vans, garage (garage sales) or rent a shop.

The consignment sale industry is enjoying more patronage as more consumers are becoming aware of the need to cut unnecessary spending and save up as much money as they can. Another factor that makes people venture into the used clothing business is the amount needed to start the business is relatively low when compared to other small-scale businesses.

This further makes it easier for the interested entrepreneur to come into the industry at any time they so desire. The entry barrier for this business is quite affordable, and any serious minded entrepreneur can comfortably raise the capital needed to start-up to this business without sourcing for loans from the bank.

2. Conduct Market Research and Feasibility Studies

• Demographics and Psychographics

When defining the demographics and psychographics of those that require used clothing, you should make it all encompassing with a specific focus on low-income earners. It transcends beyond gender and age as the need for cloth is general, so different age groups, sex and social status will need your services.

3. Decide Which Niche to Concentrate On

There are several areas in the used cloth business that you can diversify into to make more profit and gain more customers. They are all closely related to the used cloth business and could be done side by side with it. Below are some of the ideas one can specialize in within the used cloth business;

• Online used cloth shop
• Mobile used cloth shop
• Not-For Profits Resale Shops
• Garage Sales
• Bricks and Mortar Consignment Shop

It is also important to note that entrepreneurs who are looking towards starting a used cloth business can also decide to specialize in either the sale of used electronics, used furniture and home appliances, used books and educational materials, used shoes, bags, belts, used computers, phones and accessories etc.

The Level of Competition in the Industry

The fact that the used cloth business requires low startup capital, is easy to start, requires no technical skills and is highly profitable makes it one of the sought after businesses that people would want to start, leading to the high level of competition in the industry.

It is quite easier to meet with stiff competition when selling used clothing. The truth is that despite this level of competition, entrepreneurs running the business are still making their profits with some of them generating as high as 50 percent turnover.

4. Know Your Major Competitors in the Industry

Here are some of the well-known brands in the used cloth sale industry;

• Trunk Show Consignment
• Michael’s Consignment
• Buffalo Exchange
• Crossroads Trading Co
• Second Time Around
• A&E Clothing
• Beacon’s Closet
• The Dressing Room
• Cadillac’s Castle
• The RealReal – therealreal.com (online consignment store)
• ThreadFlip – threadflip.com (online consignment store)
• Poshmark – poshmark.com (online consignment store)
• ThredUp – thredup.com (online consignment store)
• Twice – liketwice.com (online consignment store)

Economic Analysis

Used cloth business attracts different consumers from all economic levels. There is no typical used cloth shopper, just as there is no unique resale shop. The truth is that everybody would usually look towards saving money irrespective of their financial status.

Low-income people especially take advantage of the opportunity of buying used clothing at a lower price to save money on clothes. The money they save from purchasing used clothes can be diverted to other areas like paying bills for vacations.

In order to start this business, you have to conduct comprehensive feasibility studies and market survey to get your economic analysis right so as to grow the business to generate profits, and perhaps expand the business beyond your present locations to other cities within the United States.

When conducting economic analysis for your used shop business, you have to examine critically these 4 key factors; place, product, pricing, and promotion. As a matter of fact, you would need to review these factors at regular intervals while running your used clothing business.

5. Decide Whether to Buy a Franchise or Start from Scratch

When it comes to choosing which Business model to adopt, there is no hard and fast rule about it. Your overall business vision and mission statement should act as a guide for you. If all you intend to do is earn money and make a living without much stress, then you can afford to look for a successfully run used clothing company to buy their franchise.

However, if your aim of starting a used cloth business is to build a business brand that will grow from just one outlet in one city to all around the United States, then choosing to start the business from scratch is your best bet. Starting a used cloth business from scratch is less stressful when compared to other small-scale business which is why it is very much advisable to initiate the business from scratch as against buying a franchise.

Starting this business from scratch might not be comfortable from the onset, but one thing is sure, with due diligence and application of the right business strategies, it won’t be too long before your business becomes recognized not only in your city or state but throughout the United States of America.

6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face

The threats and challenges you are likely going to face when starting your used clothing business have to do with competing with already established used clothing shops. You are also going to face competition from newly opened used cloth shops around your location.

Other threats and challenges you will likely face when you starting your used cloth business are economic downturns which usually affects customers buying decisions and purchasing powers. unfavorable government policies could be a threat to your used clothing business as some countries might ban the export or import of second-hand clothes.

7. Set up your business properly and legitimately

First, you must bear in mind that no wholesaler will want to do business with you if your business is not properly set up within the law—because they are aware that if you run into problems with the law, they might not be spared. So, you need to ensure that you take all steps perfectly.

Register your Business Name with the appropriate local agency. Obtain all necessary licenses and permits that apply in your state or country. Fulfill your tax obligations. Complete all your legal paperwork. And follow due process when acquiring a location for your business . When choosing a legal entity for your business, the way you want to run your business and the model you intend to build should be some of the key factors to guide your decision.

Ordinarily, sole proprietorship should be the perfect legal entity for your used business especially if you are just starting out with moderate start-up capital. But most people prefer Limited Liability Company. The limited liability company makes it easier for you to open several outlets of your used cloth business. If your sole purpose is to own a used cloth shop in different cities and to sell the franchise, then choosing sole proprietorship is not an option for you.

Setting up a limited liability company helps to protect you from personal liability that could occur in the course of running the business. If anything goes awry in the business, you will only have the money that you invested in the limited liability company at risk.

8. Choose a Catchy Business Name

When it has to do with choosing a name suitable for your business, it is quite important for you to choose a name that will indicate the type of business you are doing. Your business name will make it easier for people to identify your brand. Here are some catchy business name ideas that you can select from when you want to start your own used clothes business.

• Caravan Consignment Shop
• Casey Fairly Used Warehouse
• Downtown Resale Company
• Shelly Chapman Consignment
• Colorado Exchange and Resale Store
• Gracious Online Consignment Store
• Chris-Cross Trading Co.
• Ohio Garage Sale Company

9. Discuss with an Agent to Know the Best Insurance Policies for You

The type of Insurance Policy cover that will be needed for your used cloth business largely depends on the business you choose to start. Averagely, to start any business in the United States of America, you will be expected to get at least some of the basic insurance policy covers relevant to the industry you plan to invest at.

Below are some of the basic insurance policy covers that you are expected to purchase if you want to start your own used cloth business in the United States of America;

• General insurance
• Health insurance
• Liability insurance
• Business owner’s policy group insurance
• Workers Compensation
• Overhead expense disability insurance

10. Protect your Intellectual Property With Trademark, Copyrights, Patents

If your idea of starting a used cloth business is to run franchise/chains of used cloth shops model, then filing for intellectual property protection should be a viable option for you. It will be very useful as your used cloth shop brand starts to expand far beyond your reach. The truth about it is that even if you are starting your own used cloth business from the scratch, you can still file for your trademark.

11. Get the Necessary Professional Certification

Generally, you do not have any need for professional certification to legally operate your used cloth business in the United States of America. It is a business that is open to both the learned and the unlearned; both the skilled and the unskilled hence there is no need for professional certification.

12. Get the Necessary Legal Documents You Need to Operate

Below are some of the basic legal documents required to successfully start and run your own used cloth business in America:

• Business License
• Business Plan
• Business and liability insurance
• Building License
• Operating Agreement for LLCs
• Franchise or Trademark License
• Insurance Policy
• Tax Payer’s ID
• Fire certificate
• Certificate of Incorporation
• Employment Agreement (offer letters)
• Contract documents (for vendors / shipping partners)
• Online Terms of Use (for online cloth stores)
• Online Privacy Policy Document (for online cloth stores)

13. Raise the Needed Startup Capital

One good thing about the used cloth business is that you can start the business with little or no startup capital. All you need to do is to source for used clothes from friends and family members with the agreement of helping them sell it and afterwards pay them a certain amount which you will both agree on while you take your cut.

But on the average, you would need startup capital to launch a standard used cloth shop and it could be challenging raising capital to start your business. You must have a workable business plan that will enable you secure finance from financial institutions.

The first thing you would need to put in place before you source for capital to finance your business is to draft a well detailed business plan. With a good business plan, you will find it much easier to convince investors to invest in your business. The truth is that no financial institution will be willing to give you a loan without a good and workable business plan.

Also no serious investors will take you seriously if you don’t have a business plan on ground before sourcing for startup capital. There are several options you can explore to raise money to finance your start up business. Some of the options are;

• Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks
• Applying for loan from bank
• Raising money from investors and business partners
• Sourcing for soft loans from family members and friends
• Pitching your business idea while you apply for business grants and funds from angel investors and donor organizations.

14. Choose a Suitable Location for your Business

In starting a used cloth business, it is very important to get a strategic business location. It is worthy of note that used cloth shops may likely not thrive in highbrow areas of the society, but rather in the lower class suburbs of the city.

Therefore, it is quite necessary for you to ensure that you locate your used cloth shop in close proximity to where the lower class of the society resides. This is important as you would get serious patronage from these areas and you would also get shops at a reduced rates compared to getting the same shops in high class areas.

The fact that there are different sizes of used cloth shops scattered across the United States of America does not mean that the used cloths business can thrive in every location. Therefore, before you choose a location for your used cloth business, ensure that you conduct thorough feasibility studies and market survey. You could possibly come across a used cloth shop that just closed shop in the location you intend to open yours.

Here are some of the factors that you might need to consider before choosing a location for your used cloth shop;

• Accessibility of the location
• The number of used cloth shops in the location
• The purchasing power of the residents
• The local laws and regulations in the community
• The demography of the location
• Traffic, parking and security

15. Hire Employees for your Technical and Manpower Needs

Generally, there are no technical requirements needed to start and run a used cloth business asides from POS machines for those who might want to pay via their debit/credit cards. You might also be interested in buying a CRM software application that will help you to manage your customer base; while you can make use of it to inform your customers about new consignments.

Regarding renting or leasing a shop, your financial capacity should have a big influence on your choice. With the required finance, you could acquire a property or lease a facility to be used for your used cloth business. However, if you are low on cash, then the only option you have other than renting a facility is to operate your used cloth shop from your garage or from your car.

Usually, an ideal used cloth shop would have the owner and one or more sales persons/attendants. But if you intend to operate a standard used cloth shop, then you should hire a store manager, purchasing manager, sales girls/boys and a driver. On the average, you could make do with 5 to 15 employees to successfully run a standard used cloth shop in the United States of America

The Service Delivery Process of the Business

Some used cloth shops do operate daily on a walk-in basis within a stipulated time. For example they may offer 30% off the current value of cloth you want them to sell or 50% store credit. When used cloth shops collect cloths from clients/suppliers, they are expected to remit the agreed amount after the goods have been sold.

If you bring your used cloths to used cloth shops for sale, the owner of the used cloth shop (the buyer) will inform you about the proposed amount they will sell your items for, and if you are satisfied, you will sign a contract for three months with the option of a fourth.

16. Write a Marketing Plan Packed with ideas & Strategies

You need to be proactive when running a business that requires marketing your goods or services. If you choose to run a used cloth business, you need to employ strategies that will help you attract customers or else you will definitely struggle with the business.

Here are some of the marketing ideas and strategies that you can employ for your used cloth business;

• Direct Marketing
• Online Marketing (via your official website, social media platforms and blog et al)
• Sponsor TV and Radio Programs
• Referral Marketing
• Engage in road shows within the community where your used cloth store is located
• Make use of sales Agents and sales reps
• Erect your billboards in Strategic locations around the city
• List your business in local directory/yellow pages

17. Develop Iron-clad Competitive Strategies to Help You Win

When it comes to favorably competing in the used cloth industry, you would be required to explore several ways to sell your used clothes at giveaway prices. One thing is certain, if you operate the biggest used cloth shop in your location and you deal in various secondhand clothing items, you will likely attract more customers than your competitions.

One good idea is to rent a bigger shop/warehouse to run a one-stop used cloth shop for all kinds of wears. Make it a shop where it will be challenging for any customer to visit without getting the cloth that suits them. That is one of the key competitive strategies you can adopt to be successful in this type of business.

18. Brainstorm Possible Ways to Retain Clients & Customers

There is absolutely no doubt that one of the strategies that you could employ in order to maximize sales and also to retain your customers is to ensure that you sell neatly used second hand clothes at an affordable prices. You should also employ the win – win approach when negotiating purchase of used items from your customers. You also need to ensure that your customer service delivery is always on point.

The reason why this is important is that if your customers find it difficult to get quality used goods from your shop, you will definitely have a hard time winning them back once they leave you. This is because people usually patronize places where they are guaranteed of getting value for their money. You can also adopt some other promotional ideas such as loyalty schemes, direct marketing, door drops, merchandising, etc.

19. Develop Strategies to Boost Brand Awareness and Create a Corporate Identity

The used cloth business, just like any other business in the retailing industry requires steady promotion in order to get people to buy into the brand. Your brand goes a long way to determine how people perceive you. This is the more reason why you should be deliberate about communicating and promoting your brand in the market place.

To promote your brand and corporate identity, you should take advantage of both the print and electronic media. You should also not forget the social media because it is very much effective too. Here are the some of the platforms you can use to create a brand awareness for your used cloth business and promote your corporate identity;

• Place adverts on national TV stations, Radio Stations and Newspapers/Magazines
• Make use of the internet and social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter et al
• Sponsor relevant community programs
• Encourage the use of word of mouth especially from loyal customers
• Send out introductory letters to households in and around your location
• Distribute your fliers and handbills to targeted areas from time to time
• Install your billboards in strategic locations
• Ensure that all your employees wear your branded shirts during work hours
• Engage in road shows from time to time

20. Start Finding Wholesalers

Having set up your business correctly and understood wholesalers and their modes of operation, you can start finding the right wholesalers for your clothing retails store.

If you know of reputable clothing retail stores in your locale, you should check their merchandise. This will give you an idea of what stock you need and which merchandise appears to be in vogue. So, you can quickly figure out what their best selling stock is. And if you are not a direct competitor to that store, you can ask the business owner about where they source their stock and ask for wholesale recommendations.

Clothing manufacturers can also direct you to wholesalers of their products if they don’t sell wholesale themselves or cannot sell to you because you are not a high volume retailer. You can also find information about wholesalers by using search engines and online directories. These offer good sources of information about wholesalers within your locality that you can contact and do business with.

Trade magazines and other periodic publications are also good sources of information about clothing wholesalers. Many of wholesalers use these magazines as media for placing ads.

21. Make enquiries

Once you have found a number of clothing wholesalers that you think will be a fit for your business, you should contact them. There are several questions you need to ask then before deciding whether to go ahead with them or not. Ask about minimum orders retailers can place. You must ensure that they can allow you to buy from them in smaller volumes.

Also ask about their unit prices for various types of clothes, wears, and fashion accessories. Compare the prices of all the wholesalers you contact. You may want to go with the one offering the best unit prices, because you will earn more profits that way.

The turnaround time for orders is another factor you should question wholesalers about. In other words, how soon you will get your orders after placing them. Also, find out if you can return any damaged merchandise for a replacement or full refund.

22. Conduct a background check

After you have decided which wholesaler to do business with, you need to conduct a background check to ensure that you are dealing with a legitimate wholesaler. Check with the Better Business Bureau or any business regulatory agency in the town or city the wholesaler is located to know if they are actual wholesalers and not middlemen. Your background check will also reveal their reputation among retailers they have done business with.

23. Enter into an agreement

Once you have conducted your background check and have found your chosen wholesaler to be credible and reliable, you can go ahead to sign a contract with them. This will involve the services of a seasoned attorney. Then you can proceed to source for clothing for your store.

Sourcing your boutique wears from the right suppliers ensures that you buy the clothing at the proper prices, that you set appropriate prices to sell the clothing and consequentially be able to calculate how much profit you would make from the business.

Without getting the best supplier in your market range, calculating the profit to be made from sales becomes rather complex. It is time to move from being a boutique owner in your mind to being a boutique owner in action as well.

The foundation of a solid boutique is having reliable and standard suppliers (the kind of suppliers that have your interest at heart). Below are important tips to take into consideration when deciding on how to buy wholesale clothing for your boutique:

6 Helpful Tips for Buying Wholesale Clothing for your Boutique

1. be wary of fake suppliers.

Most individuals believe that going into the clothing business or owning a boutique would make their pockets full immediately. They are all about using the business to make quick bucks by sourcing out easy ways to get supplies but lack the true passion a boutique business demands.

There are suppliers out there that can spot boutique owners trying to make quick, smart cash, and are always ready to take advantage of those types of individuals. The most commonly used technique by these suppliers is to pretend to be wholesalers or manufacturers when in reality they are likely consumers.

Their aim is to take advantage of boutique owners by charging exorbitant prices for clothing pieces at rates sometimes double the price of what the actual manufacturer charges. After the boutique owners pay the suppliers and the clothing has been delivered, it becomes difficult for the boutique owner to get the clothing off the shelves.

He finds it difficult to make a profit because the selling price would be much higher than what the clothing was bought for. This can easily be avoided if prospective boutique owner has a genuine passion for the business.

2. Make Sure You Get a Reliable Partner

To avoid scam in the business, it is highly encouraged that your supplier be someone you can trust and can be confident in, not some scam artist trying to make as much as he can off you. If you possess a true passion for clothes and sufficient research has been done, the dilemma others have of figuring out what to put on the shelves would not be an issue for you.

To avoid scam artists posing as suppliers, it is very important to first off all register your boutique. Some hear the word register and think ‘stress’ but registering a boutique is fairly easy and involves minimal cost. The registration of your boutique provides you with an official Business Name and registration number, and these things allow you to contact reputable suppliers and distributors with ease.

Having a registered business (boutique) makes contacting suppliers so easy because reputable suppliers/traders only work with businesses that are registered. In conclusion, anyone interested in supplying you products without checking to see if your business is registered is most likely out to sell above wholesale price.

3. Buy big or go home (Wholesale lots):

Being a registered boutique owner makes things easier when sourcing out a supplier, but it doesn’t lead you to a perfect supplier for your boutique. The next thing to put into consideration is the quantity of products you wish to acquire for your boutique.

When starting a business, you need to possess enough clothing in stock based on customer demands, and that creates a win-win situation for you and your supplier since wholesalers do not sell products in small quantities. The operations of wholesalers depend on them selling the entirety of a box to boutique owners rather than open up the box and sell pieces.

This is because less work is involved in selling a box as per selling in pieces and also more money is made. Apart from that, if a wholesaler sells clothing in pieces, what is to stop a potential customer from buying directly from the wholesaler and cutting out the middle man (the boutique owner?).

Also this prevents “fake wholesalers” from buying in end-user quantities and selling at high prices. This method protects boutique owners too as they are then able to buy products in large quantities at lower prices from the wholesaler and sell at profitable rates to their customers.

Things to watch out for with regards to scheming suppliers;

• They won’t request your boutique’s registration number which results in you buying clothing at exorbitant prices
• These suppliers come along with monthly product update fees- reputable suppliers do not ask for such

With these in mind, weeding the real suppliers from the fake would be fairly easy. If all else fails, when you see a product you believe would be a perfect fit for your boutique, check the packaging for the manufacturers information.

Call or send an email asking for a distributor close-by, if luck is on your side the distributor being used would be interested in selling to you, and if not, they might be kind enough to refer you to an individual who can be of service to you, depending on your boutique size.

4. Trade Shows

Trade shows aren’t simply for consumers looking for the next trendy accessory to hang on their wall or around their necks. They can also be a good networking avenue for small and big business owners alike and if you are a budding boutique owner looking for reputable suppliers, it is good to visit trade shows and ask about manufacturers and distributors of the products you see and have an interest in.

5. Shipping Problems

Your boutique is registered, you have a reliable supplier, but you don’t have enough capital to invest in warehousing your products. Not a problem. This is one of the reasons why drop shipping exists. Drop shipping puts more of your profit in your pocket by allowing you forward your client’s order to a shipping house where the products are stored by a supplier, from where the product will then be shipped to your client.

The burden of shipping is now removed from your shoulders, and all you have to do is stock up on products and market your boutique.

Keep in mind that just like when looking for a reputable supplier, there are some drop shippers looking to charge inflated prices for clothing they don’t have a high quantity of in stock. Have it in mind that competent drop shippers would ask for your boutique’s registration details as they only work with officially registered businesses.

6. Client references

Owning a business is not everyone’s cup of tea, but as stated earlier, if you possess a passion for the business, then the stress of starting a boutique would be worth it. Now that you have handled the shipping aspect, the next step is to ask your drop shipper for client references after ordering a product so as to experience firsthand how the shipping goes.

Even though the product shipping is out of your hands, clients would still hold you responsible since the products were ordered from your store and not from your drop shipper, so it is best to see how reliable and how fast the product shipping goes.

Lastly, remember that when operating a business, communication is a very essential part because your reputation, income and boutique growth depends on you as an entrepreneur establishing good relations with your supplier(s).

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How to Start a Secondhand Store

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Do children's consignment stores really make money, where do companies sell their unsold inventory.

• How to Run a Clearance Warehouse
• A Checklist for Opening a Store

Secondhand stores occupy a fun and unique space in the world of fashion and shopping, and opening your own could make for a solid and exciting income source. If you dream of opening your own secondhand shop, prepare to put a lot of time and effort into the process, including stocking large quantities of items and advertising your store effectively. Here's how to get started.

Find a Space

First things first: You need a physical place to sell your stuff. Find a storefront that garners good traffic and comes at a doable price for you and your partners. While some shoppers do specifically seek out thrift stores, others might not consider it unless they happen to be walking by, so shoot for a spot where they might happen to be walking by.

Determine Your Product Mix

"Secondhand" doesn't really tell much about what a shopper might find inside the place. Do you sell furniture or clothing? Antiques and vintage, or current brands? Are you more of a Goodwill-type spot, or a higher-end consignment store? There's a lot to choose from, and it's important to make those choices early so the rest of your store-opening process stays on-brand.

Define Your Target Audience

Knowing the product mix you're going for should help narrow down the audience you're aiming to attract. If you opt for a high-end consignment model, you'll be targeting adults with a relatively sophisticated taste in clothing and furniture. If you're hoping to offer dirt-cheap secondhand prices, your audience might consist of broke college students or low-income families. Identifying your shoppers will help you personalize your marketing strategy and create a strong relationship with your customers.

Develop Your Business Plan

Taking into account your store's location, image and audience, it's time to draw up a real-life business plan. Budget for cost of inventory, rent, deposits, advertisement, staffing and potential unforeseen expenses. The costs of starting a secondhand store vary widely, depending on where you're located and what kind of store you're going for, but opening a consignment store can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000.

Once you have those numbers down pat, determine how you'll price your products to aim for eventually turning a profit. Items you purchase for a lower price can be marked up 50 percent and still sell well, but larger items, like furniture, probably won't sell at that kind of markup unless you snagged them for exceptionally low prices.

Be careful with inventory: Once your shop is running, it can be easy for new inventory that you bring in through donations or consignments to outpace your overall sales. Do market research to stay on top of current fashion and advertising trends to help stock inventory that will sell effectively, so you can keep a good rotation pace.

Buy Inventory

It's time to stock that store. If you have specific clothing categories in mind – maternity and children's clothes, for example, or specific brands you hope to sell – plan to collect inventory accordingly. When you're first getting your store off the ground, you'll need a large supply, so take what you can get while keeping the quality as up to snuff as possible. If it's not going to sell, then there's no point in stocking it. But if you find low-cost inventory that stands a chance for resale, go for it.

Secondhand store owners tend to source their inventory from auctions, consignments and donations. Keep an eye out for high-quality items from well-trusted, popular brands. Sift carefully through donations to find the best brands. For consignments and at auctions, aim to buy at the lowest price possible. These gems will warrant the highest markups, and they'll still sell, so they'll become the heart of your business.

Set Up Shop

Before opening your doors, make and complete a checklist of to-dos. For example:

• Organize inventory on display
• Create a pricing system (such as color-coding tags or pricing by rack)
• Set up dressing rooms
• Set up a security system
• Stock the cash register
• Get staff up to speed on procedures

A lot of your store operation will polish with time, as you get to know your client base – what makes them tick, and what doesn't. With time, you can train your staff and arrange your store accordingly, but in the beginning it's important to be open-minded, prepared for anything and ready to learn from your experiences.

Market Your Business

You're a brand-new store. People don't know who you are or what you're selling, so you're going to have to take it upon yourself to tell them. Create a website and a few social media accounts. Take out an ad in the local newspaper. Put together a fashion show or other fun event to get potential customers to your location. Keep it fun and memorable.

• Mother Earth News: How to Start a Thrift Store Business
• Small Business Trends: How to Open a Second Hand Shop
• Secondhand 4 Business Ltd: How to Start a Second Hand Store
• Entrepreneur: Consignment Clothing Store

Brenna Swanston is a freelance writer, editor and journalist. She previously reported for the Sun newspaper in Santa Maria, Calif., and holds a bachelor's in journalism from California Polytechnic State University.

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