Some advice please?

[ajax]

Hi

I opened a clothing shop about 7 months ago and it was doing ok. We were taking an average of about £70 a day but since February we are only taking an avergae of £10 a day.

We are in a small town and it just rains every day. Just lately we are lucky if we get two people in the shop all day.

Prior to February, we had enough money to pay the bills and replenish the stock but now we cant even pay the bills - never mind order new stock.

Most customers comment on when we are getting new stock in yet the store is still quite full which really ****** me off.

I have set up a sale on the winter items to try and sell them off and created a nice window display but there are still not many more customers coming in the shop and I am about £500 short for the bills this month.

I am also a web developer and I have just created a site for the shop but it hasn't had any sales yet.

The lease on the shop is for five years with a two year break option.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could do to either create more sales or get out of the lease.. or any other suggestions..?

 

[LinkingClever]

Your new website will need some SEO to get traffic, and as long as all is well with the site/products/prices you should get sales.
What sort of advertising are you doing? I know it's difficult to spend money that isn't there, but you need more customers to make sales, or sell more to the existing ones.

With regards to the leese, I have spoken to a couple of people this week who are in a similar position unfortunatly. They are just going to leave, as the costs involved in taking them to court mean it would not be worth the building owner taking them to court. Not ideal, but a possible solution.

Have you tried ebay selling? You will be competing with very low prices, and 50% fake items, but thats another possibility...

where are you based btw?

Hope thats of some help
Jay

 

[Alice3537]

If your customers are asking about the new stock, could it be that you made some buying decisions that have proven to not be right for your clientèle? Had you veered away from the style of clothing you used to stock for example?

 

[danmaull]

Have you been doing any form of advertising?

 

[ajax]

We have community fourms and I usually post when we have new stock in. However it is heavily censored and the posts are usually deleted as the guy that runs it has a site he likes ppl to use for paid advertising.

There is a local paper but it's crap and they charge a fortune. At the minute a small advert would be about 2 weeks income.

The problem with clothing is the sizes. Becuase we are in a small place. We usually have one of each size and when its sold other ppl always seem to want the same size. But becasue we have so few customers our stock seems to be slowly going but we dont have the money to replenish it.

 

[LinkingClever]

Have you been to your local council/enterprise place to see if there are any grants available? Also, what sort of debt have you on the business already? Banks, family, freinds etc may be worth trying...
It sounds like your in a bit of trouble though, not being able to afford stock. I know, its a catch-22 situation, but at some point in the (near) future, your going to have to a)get money for stock and advertising or b) shut your doors.
Hope its a) mate
Jay

 

It sounds as if you are either going to have to invest in stock (getting full ranges, multiples in sizes, etc), or move to somewhere where you will get the necessary passing trade.

Are there loads of people shopping in your area, but just not coming into your shop? This should be a tip that something is wrong with your merchandise really (ie they do not want it), but you need to find a range which will actually meet their needs.

Can you try propping up your range with some sideline products? Eg. Body-shop type products are available under many brands, and you will not have too large a minimum order.

Have you thought of printing up some leaflets with a special offer on them, and handing these out on the street and through letterboxes?

Have you thought about walking down the street with some samples of your clothing and actually stopping people to discuss it with them?

Newspaper ads are not really a solution, and the community forums sound as if they are censoring you too much.

Get the online shop going too, at least this might supplement your income a little.

A few ideas to bandy about

 

[zaccampbell81]

The online store could come in handy although it will take some time before you may see real revenues coming from there but keep working on it, rainy days will come again.

Do you have a list of your existing customers, perhaps sending them mailers or making a few courtesy calls could help increase the traffic.

I think it may be difficult to come up with an immediate soultion for your problem, but by making a few smart moves you can ensure this situation never arises again.

Customer service should be the name of the game for your business.
Here are a few ideas:

1. Mantain a database of all the customers who shop at your store. It should include their preferred styles, colors and sizes in addition to basics like address, email, telephone numbers etc. Keep them informed of the various promotions at the store by either means.

2. Try and remember the regulars by name and choice of clothing, people feel important when they are recognized. This may bring repeat business as well as great referrals.

3. I would defenitely make a note of the sizes and the clothing items that are best selling and order more of those in the future, It's just like taking customer service calls, you have to know the trends(I'm sure you already do this).

4. Invest in smart advertising, if you are into ladies fashion, try and tie up(something like a link exchange but offline) with spas and others businesses where ladies are majority consumers.

5. Try and enhance the consumer experience at your store. Burn some nice incense, make your store smell great all times, play catchy music etc.

6. Invest in a standout sinage, many times people walk in just by looking at the sinage. If it is just a typical signboard, they will keep walking. Your point of sale needs to be more than visible, it should be shouting!!!!

Please excuse if you feel Ive gone a bit overboard with my suggestions. Always wanted to have my own clothing store, these are just a few of the things I would do.

Wish you all best !!!

 

[collingwood]

how about doing sunday marketing and see weather that can shift stock and at the same time passing the word about the shop.
when is the first break clause?

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

Hi

I opened a clothing shop about 7 months ago and it was doing ok. We were taking an average of about £70 a day but since February we are only taking an avergae of £10 a day.

We are in a small town and it just rains every day. Just lately we are lucky if we get two people in the shop all day.

Prior to February, we had enough money to pay the bills and replenish the stock but now we cant even pay the bills - never mind order new stock.

Most customers comment on when we are getting new stock in yet the store is still quite full which really ****** me off.

I have set up a sale on the winter items to try and sell them off and created a nice window display but there are still not many more customers coming in the shop and I am about £500 short for the bills this month.

I am also a web developer and I have just created a site for the shop but it hasn't had any sales yet.

The lease on the shop is for five years with a two year break option.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could do to either create more sales or get out of the lease.. or any other suggestions..?

Hi

What kind of stock do you carry - is it "high end" stock, designer etc, or more everyday wear.

Your story mirrors exactly that of a friend of mine. Small town, her shop is a childrens clothes shop, i'd be tempted to call it designer, but its really just proper expensive clothes, she's been in business in the same shop for 40 odd years. She too has days where she sells nothing, and she too has stock on every possible wall & ceiling (even in the toilet!!).

Let me know what kind of stock you are selling, and I'll have a think for you.

Kind regards
Sandra

 

[Go Lean or go to China]

Incentivise a local celebrity or pay for a lookalike to frequent your store and spread the news anyway you can. If you cant afford to keep up with the cutting edge of fashion you still got to fool people into thinking you can and have. The same rules apply to the website.