No Market or a Gap in the Market?!!

[maria102]

For the few month or so, I have seriously been considering setting up my own business (evening dress hire), so as part of my business plan, I started my research, namely to visit potential competitors, see how they were doing things etc. However, the first place that I visited said that they no longer hired out dresses as they found it too much hassle! They wouldn’t go into detail, just that they were now selling off the dresses! They said there wasn’t anyone in that neck of the woods in that business that they were aware of and that they were sorry they couldn’t help me (obviously they had presumed that I was a customer).. So off I went to the next place on my list to find out that they now sold school uniforms!!

As a result of this rather than thinking that there is a gap in the market, I feel maybe there is no market?! Any suggestions regarding further market research or information would be gratefully appreciated, as this has left me rather deflated….

[Russ]

Hi Maria

I live in Chelmsford and there are four or five evening dress hire shops in our town. Some cater for both men and women and some cater for just men. I have not seen any that just cater for women...

The wedding shop that I last used to hire a tux from was very busy with evening attire because of graduations but the lady did mention that her shop was affected by the seasons and although was very busy at that particular she spends many months twiddling her thumbs....

It seems to me that this is a very competitive area not just with other hire companies but with retailers all fighting for the same high street pound?

Does your background lend you the experience you need to be competitive in this field? Do you have any USP that works for you? Why do you want to start a business in this field?

Be lucky

Russ

[SillyJokes]

Maria,

Why not try speaking to fancy dress hire shops about the problems they experience?

ie how many hires can you get out of one garment, how often are they returned ruined, how often are they returned late, how big an inventory would you need, wha is the cleaning bill like -

Imagine the investment in stock and that stock has to be in fashion so, unlike a roman emporer fancy dress costume which can run for years, your dresses have a limited shelf life.

I think this idea is fraught with stress and if two businesses have tried and failed you might want to listen to them.......unless you can do it better.

[RedArc]

Sorry to hear you're feeling a bit deflated. Rather than accept that there mustn't be much of a market for your service because of your competitors' experiences, do some more research. Focus on whether there is a potential customer base in your area for evening dress hire by surveying your potential customers direct. Are there many evening dress functions in the area? Perhaps ask people attending business, society or community events whether they would find such a service beneficial. If the other business gave it up because it was too much hassle, it would suggest that there is a market but there are potential issues involved ... you might be able to deal better with these issues, so keep smiling and do some more research before making any firm decisions. Hope this helps. Best of luck!

Carol

[maria102]

Thanks for all the responses to this - I'm new to this and didn't expect much. My idea was to bring dress hire into the noughties! rather than all the websites that I have seen etc, that seem to be, well...in the 80's! My thinking was, that when I had shelled rather a lot out for a dress for an occasion (it was an evening do of a wedding) that I didnt really get my wear out of it, as most of our friends had seen it, it was kinda once seen, never forgotten - I thought there must be other people with tons of 'worn once' dress in their wardrobes and maybe they would hire one for a quarter or so of the price. It was a newish concept really, not formal wear as such - just sort of 'special do' wear. I definitely need to do more research, I may be uniquely vain or something with my way of thinking about outfits....I did ask a few of the girls in the office, and they thought it was a good idea, but I suppose the proof would be in the pudding if they actually went through with hiring one. I've no particular experience apart from being absolutely fashion mad, and I suppose if I had a USP, it would be myself, quite a few people in the office think I would be great for this sort of thing, they frequently make comments about me being their personal shopper etc.
Maybe I should contact some wedding dress shops regarding issues with hiring. As far as the fashionable thing goes, I thought this would work in my favour, vintage is now chic rather than second hand?! Once again, your encouragement and responses are greatly appreciated. x

[MinuWeb]

As a result of this rather than thinking that there is a gap in the market, I feel maybe there is no market?!
It's like the story of the 2 shoe salesmen that go to India in the 20's, after a week one flies back home and reports "India is a terrible place to sell shoes, no one wears them there" the other salesman stayed and made a small fortune......