Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hey all,I'm exploring the idea of starting my own second-hand vintage clothing store. The city where I'd like to start it has a population of 250k people with over 70.000 students and vibrant culture & touristic scene. There's about 15 second hand clothing stores active.
Most of them barely sell any brands or streetwear they don't have any high-end/luxury and a lot of them have a regular interior design. I'd like to do both men eand women.*We'd like to create an experience for our customers with a very cool interior, a wall of "high-end eye-catchers (think vintage Chanel, rare items, etc.." and a larger part of more affordable pieces.
I am not a fashion expert but am now starting talks with different fashion bloggers/ to help set up with the inventory, track best wholesale etc... I'm here on this forum to get advice from you guys, do you think this is a good idea? Are vintage clothing stores profitable (I've been the numbers of my competitors but they do not impress me 100%
We're also toying with the idea of also creating a bar within the store where people can buy drinks.Just any advice is welcome, anyone has any experience with running a second hand vintage clothing store? What to do? What not to do?
How to choose wisely what type of fashion and categories.*What to look out for? Where do most stores fail? What are very common mistakes?
btw: I already own a succesful business so it's not that I am totally depending on this income stream however I don't like losing money and this is a very early stage. please don't shoot me *Muchos. gracias
What jumps out to me is inventory. Thrift shops thrive because of diversity of products.
My questions are - where are you going to get your inventory? You indicated it's a "second-hand" store so your inventory has to come from people already holding on to it. Are you going to buy it? Keep in mind your suppliers. I can only speak for myself but I donate merchandise because (generally) I get more from the tax write off than I would selling it. One would assume people with "high end" clothing would understand the premise. Then the next argument is - will these people keep your shop in mind or will they just donate it to Goodwill with all of their other "stuff" and be done with it.
You mention you want a second hand vintage clothing store but then you mention fashion bloggers helping you track wholesale. I'm not sure what that means.
At the end of the day the questions for me are 1.) How much are you willing to pay for your inventory and 2.) Would people who have the inventory you want accept the price you're willing to pay? After answering those, my next questions are would your customers be willing to pay cost + profit for your items?
A bar in a second-hand shop? That seems like it would make everything MUCH more difficult, what with obtaining a liquor license, meeting local zoning, sanitation, and health regulations, and then worrying about what type of clientele the bar might attract. Bars and clothing shops are two very very different businesses. You say you’re already a successful business owner, but unless you already own a bar or restaurant I’d stick to just a resale shop.
You said population is 1/4 million with 70k students.
what is the socio economic status of the locals?
Second hand clothes often have a musty?mildew odor,I dont know if I want to have a drink at your bar?and if I am shopping/browsing used clothes,am I in the mood for a drink?
New clothes are so cheap,with markdown,I bet it could match your price,so why buy someone else's clothes,unless they are designer ones.
With 70,000 students,thats a lot of hungry looking for cheap eats,why not get into the food business.
I used to live in a city near college campus,the students are from upper middle class family,but tuition is expensive,back then 82% have applied for student loan ,that was many years ago/
Students prefer to live off campus so they have to prepare their own meals.
if you offer 'value',word of mouth will get you good business,you may just do lunch and make enough to go home at 3 pm.
How about a food truck?
At the end of the day you are saying "retail"> Margins are tough. 15 competitors in a small market. People can't/won't go out, so where/when are they going to wear "vintage clothing"?
Put together an honest business plan and go see your banker. You might not need to borrow from them, but they can be tough on your plan and you definitely want that scrutiny before taking a leap.
What jumps out to me is inventory. Thrift shops thrive because of diversity of products.
My questions are - where are you going to get your inventory? You indicated it's a "second-hand" store so your inventory has to come from people already holding on to it. Are you going to buy it? Keep in mind your suppliers. I can only speak for myself but I donate merchandise because (generally) I get more from the tax write off than I would selling it. One would assume people with "high end" clothing would understand the premise. Then the next argument is - will these people keep your shop in mind or will they just donate it to Goodwill with all of their other "stuff" and be done with it.
You mention you want a second hand vintage clothing store but then you mention fashion bloggers helping you track wholesale. I'm not sure what that means.
At the end of the day the questions for me are 1.) How much are you willing to pay for your inventory and 2.) Would people who have the inventory you want accept the price you're willing to pay? After answering those, my next questions are would your customers be willing to pay cost + profit for your items?
The inventory is a big study for me right now. From what I know there's a lot of "second-hand stores" that are owned by the government (more than 150 all over the country), they offer everything from furniture to clothing. A big plus is that around 25-35% is branded clothing (Ralph Lauren, Levis,etc.. if you're lucky you'll find a Gucci tie for 3/4 dollars). Most of the brands are real, not fake and are just donated by people.
That's one source, another source is browsing on second hand websites and sites such as Etsy. What I am also thinking is keeping a wall reserved for eye-catchers (I know some high-end second hand websites are open to showcase a couple of there items in my store and let me take a commission. Of course, these would be the +150 euro/dollar items so that commission is worth it.
Fashion bloggers are helpful to help with choosing the collections and selecting stuff. Some of those bloggers have a background as a buyer and have connections in the industry that could be interesting for me.
I have around $/€ 20k to invest in clothing itself and I am capable of paying 1 year of rent upfront.
The idea is that we keep the pricing affordable ($5 - $150) and have one dedicated for really high-end stuff. I'm also considering selling a over-the-counter cool and unique 'vintage' like gadgets (pens, buttons, necklaces) and items that are interesting for students (cool notebooks etc...).
A bar in a second-hand shop? That seems like it would make everything MUCH more difficult, what with obtaining a liquor license, meeting local zoning, sanitation, and health regulations, and then worrying about what type of clientele the bar might attract. Bars and clothing shops are two very very different businesses. You say you’re already a successful business owner, but unless you already own a bar or restaurant I’d stick to just a resale shop.
i think you made a valid point however, "bar" might be a bit of a big word. Lounge is maybe better where we install two comfortable couches and a mini retro fridge for people who are waiting or for instance a group of girlfriends that is shopping together. I agree with most of what you're saying.
You said population is 1/4 million with 70k students.
what is the socio economic status of the locals?
Second hand clothes often have a musty?mildew odor,I dont know if I want to have a drink at your bar?and if I am shopping/browsing used clothes,am I in the mood for a drink?
New clothes are so cheap,with markdown,I bet it could match your price,so why buy someone else's clothes,unless they are designer ones.
With 70,000 students,thats a lot of hungry looking for cheap eats,why not get into the food business.
Most of the students are upper-middle class. They all rent student rooms/co-housing which is easily 300 to 600 euros/dollars a month. the thing is that vintage is now hipper than ever and lots of the students (especially the young women) are very fashion-oriented. There's something about mint-condition vintage that makes it special. the clothes have a story, they are often good quality. If you look at a lot of the affordable stores you'll find that the quality of clothing is not always guaranteed. A lot of vintage clothing that is in mint condition survived the test of time. Our pricing will be affordable (see my previous answer) so I am considering the 'cheap eats' mentality. A lot of vintage clothing is so original that it can't be found in regular stores. Also, some people really appreciate the fact that vintage is most of the time one single piece, the chances you'll cross someone with the same shirt is rare in most cases.
I used to live in a city near college campus,the students are from upper middle class family,but tuition is expensive,back then 82% have applied for student loan ,that was many years ago/
Students prefer to live off campus so they have to prepare their own meals.
if you offer 'value',word of mouth will get you good business,you may just do lunch and make enough to go home at 3 pm.
How about a food truck?
Food trucks are money machines but the problem is getting a permit or at least an affordable one. That will most likely not happen or it won't be worth the investment unless you're doing christmas markets and events. I also don't like food too much, I've worked in restaurants before and don't like the cleaning part of it all. Don't wanna get my hands too dirty.
In case you're talking about me just selling sandwiches or whatever, there's lots of competitions and the supermarkets are just too hard to compete with. They're already offering meals at very affordable pricing, unable to compete.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
*Muchos. gracias
