How to start a business from scratch?

[asimshajar]

Hi,
I want to start a shoe business and i have a friend in China who is going to supply me stock from china which i want to supply to different distributors and shops, but i don't know how to start as i don't have any contacts and i don't know any distributor, can someone help me in guiding how do i start and make contacts with big businesses like JD, Footlocker etc
Thanks

 

[MH1]

I can't help with the contacts but I can tell you there is a huge over supply in shoes at the moment, so make sure of your market.

A friend of mine who sells a lot as an independent and he has been in the game over 40yrs, but has never been offerred better deals than recently. There are a lot of cancelled orders up for grabs.

 

[Ashley_Price]

I can't help with the contacts but I can tell you there is a huge over supply in shoes at the moment, so make sure of your market.

A friend of mine who sells a lot as an independent and he has been in the game over 40yrs, but has never been offerred better deals than recently. There are a lot of cancelled orders up for grabs.

It sounds like the perfect time to get into the business!

It reminds me of the apocryphal story about two shoe-salesmen being sent to a country to sell shoes to the natives. One salesman wrote back to his company and said "No market here, nobody wears shoes".

However, the other salesman was much more positive, he wrote back to his firm "Great opportunity here! Nobody wears shoes."

 

[DreamLifestyle]

Be careful with items such as shoes from China as there are masses of fakes been produced.

 

[castilejewellery]

I highly doubt you can source shoes from china that JD or Footlocker would want to be honest, They sell brand names and get them from authorised dealers, Anything like that from china as mentioned is nearly always fake.

 

[asimshajar]

Then at least give me some idea i want to supply stuff to big stores where should i start and what should i supply if not shoe or if i not buy shoe from china then where.

 

[ChrisR]

From what I gather, you're shoes won't be high standard or anything, you'll be competing to be the cheapest (against "enormous" companies). (Otherwise you's be doing R&D trying to event new shoes, new designs, ...)

Large distributors will buy from you if your shoes are cheaper. You should try to find out how much distributors are buying their shoes for and then check if you can be cheaper. I'd say it's unlikely, because usually, new entrance in a cost dominated market requires really high investments (for example, buying a Chinese shoe manufacturer (to cut the middle man), hiring cargoes (or large places in cargoes) to transport them, ...).

Another path could be to buy a small sample of the shoes, and choose some which you find could look fashionable somehow (also, can you get your own logo on them, to try to create a brand?), and try to sell them as "fashion wear" to smaller distributors (or even shops). Convince small shops with stuff like exclusivity in 50 Miles circle, ... Of course, if you happen to know a rock star or something who would wear them, it would definitely kick start your business !

Chris

 

[RSQU]

If I were you anything your going to sell I'd start through eBay. Small overheads and will give you the taste of running a business. Before you approach the major players you need to know your supply chain is reliable and there is definite consistency. The big players will be very unforgiving if they think your trying to pull a fast one.

Learn to crawl before you can walk.

 

[castilejewellery]

Have you not thought of finding a niche market, Personally i think shoes , trainers etc are a bit saturated by the big boys especially for a startup, Have you looked into steel toe cap boots, hiking boots etc, I think these would be easier to market to smaller business's at the right price.

Regards
Jon

 

[danmaull]

I dont think you will have much success with bug compnies why not open your own shop or provide smaller shops to start of with

 

[Beneddie1112]

Then at least give me some idea i want to supply stuff to big stores where should i start and what should i supply if not shoe or if i not buy shoe from china then where.

The only way that you could get your shoes into the stores you are talking about is to establish a very good brand reputation or supply them to the stores under their shop name.

The second option would be have to be sold at a lower though due to the fact that people will not pay as much for stuff that isn't a brand name.

For the first option, For the money it would cost to create the right sort of brand, I believe you would need to offer more than shoes to recoup the investment.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Most companies do it the other way round

You start as a retailer and then when you have the money and knowledge you buy large stocks and become a distributer

Your way you will need a large stock holding with no idea if they are winners or loosers

I would suggest buying some stock from uk distributers and try selling them to learn the business and then expand as far as you can,

Dont forget for every hundred pairs that you can buy the big boys are probably buying hundreds of thousands and getting the big profits

 

[rbhealthandsafety]

If you have any questions relating to Health and Safety problems then let me know, am always happy to give advice.

 

[MH1]

It sounds like the perfect time to get into the business!

I always look at things positively myself, and as in any business money can be made even in hard times, but if you truly believe it is likely to start from scratch in such a market then good luck to you, I was just trying to be fair on the OP.

Personally I always prefer to trade in goods where no discounts or cancelled orders are the norm, tends to mean the goods are in demand to start with and are much easier to sell.

 

[incredibl]

Give yourself some milestones. Learn the business and gain some contacts - perhaps join a buying department for a retailer, any retailer. Once you have built some contacts, then look into the gaps in the market in relation to your contacts....and Fill them

Building a brand, or starting a store sould be costly, and with little expertise be detriMENTAL

 

[jdpos]

Sounds to me like you just want to be with the big boys in the big boys market.

You don't actually have a interest in what you supply just who you supply it to, which is no way to start, you have to start small, import (preferably not from China) and then start a wholesale business, wholesale the items to small companies and then without you even knowing you'll grow and grow, bigger orders, bigger companies.

IMO it's impossible to just decide one day your going to supply shoes to the largest chain stores in the UK even in the world, unless of course you have a few million quid spare. Like I said, you should start small, if you could just buy a load of fake shoes with a very low quality from a mass producing factory in china and then sell them in the 1000's to JD Sports, Sports Soccer etc, don't you think everyone would?

Best thing to do, think about what you want to supply research hard, find a reasonable, genuine factory that will supply you, if you do want to get stuff imported from China, your best bet is to get over there yourself and visit factories yourself, your always welcome usually and treat very well.

Hope things go well for you