Attainable brand for a new boutique with no reputation?

[Stylish Pilot]

me and some friends have been throwing the idea of opening a clothing boutique and have finally started doing some leg work. its been a dream for all of us and now were trying to make it a reality.

i know its hard to get bigger designers and labels when your a beginner store with no reputation. but what are some brands that fit the styleforum asthetic (clean simple, not gaudy) that would be easy to stock for someone starting out?

of course i would build a dream list of designers and labels to carry but i know thats not reality.

how difficult would it be to carry A.P.C. denim and some clothes, fred perry, penguin, shades of greige, levi 501 (LVC??), B. son, RRL, and premium denim like KMW, iron heart, PBJ?

even cheaper suiting like Z Zegna.

also the type of clothing would be mid level, not outrageously priced, simple, quality, that has originality and something you don't see every day.

keep in mind we're in little rock arkansas and there are pretty much 2 other mens stores. one is ridiculously expensive suiting (brioni, rl purple label, kiton, zegna) and the other is like a douchebag clubwear store.

thanks in advance.

oh and i post over at styleforum i lurk around alot here just dont post much. love the denim section supermarket and WAYWT

[soonami]

If you plan to carry japanese denim and more progressive fashionable brands you will very quickly go out of business in Arkansas. I know it's a dream of yours, but what is the market for that stuff really like out there? If there's only two other men's stores in your town, then maybe there's a reason for that. It's like trying to sell super premium ice cream in Siberia, the product migth be great, but without a market, then your business will not make it.

I don't intend to be mean, but it sounds like a horrible idea. You might sell a handful of PBJ's (if you can get them at all) when you first open and then won't sell another pair for a year.

[chronoaug]

Yea, your plan doesn't sound like it's gonna work. Even in gainesville, where there are a lot of hipster kids and college kids wanting to be cool, this boutique round here struggles to move men's stuff. Women's stuff moves quicker. If you're gonna do men's only you should do what they do. Have diesel, penguin, and other cheap "cool" brands that you may not like there to make rent, and then have cheaper brands that you like more like corpus, shades of greige, cheap monday, and nudie are all relatively easy to get for smaller boutiques. That's what this place here sells and they still don't sell much men's.

[Stylish Pilot]

i see where you're coming from and the market isn't fantastic out here but there is enough money and well dressed people in little rock to support something like this. there are alot of upscale womens boutiques. alot of large private schools with people in their teens and some college students with daddy's money. i realize we're going to have to carry alot of cheaper, more fashionably safe brands but i woudl also like to carry some nicer brands that would be more marketable to an internet base as well as people locally.

[po_boy_fuuma_hatesbargerz]

i see where you're coming from and the market isn't fantastic out here but there is enough money and well dressed people in little rock to support something like this. there are alot of upscale womens boutiques. alot of large private schools with people in their teens and some college students with daddy's money. i realize we're going to have to carry alot of cheaper, more fashionably safe brands but i woudl also like to carry some nicer brands that would be more marketable to an internet base as well as people locally.

a) You do realize that having a lot of money / well dressed people doesn't necessarily translate to sales of niche Japanese denim, or other brands that are popular here (such as N(Nine), Rick Owens, Ann D. etc) simply because if they have cash, they're going to be buying Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, etc.?

If you're appealing to an Internet base, you have to realize you're entering an extremely crowded, small market. Sites such as contextclothing.com, yoox, cultizm have extremely high-end brands already set up, and brick-and-mortar stores such as Self-Edge, Blackbird, Gamma Player, Seven NY, etc also have legions of loyalty and reputation.

c) Not many people care to keep their jeans for a year without wash, or spend $400 on tops. You would do better to play it safe, but then Sufu woudn't really care about you.

[Stylish Pilot]

carrying japanese denim is just a dream of mine. we would mostly carry sub $150

stuff. assuming we could get them apc, good society, cheap monday, levi capital e, and academi.

[operationjake]

i suggest finding out the demand before jumping in.

survey the fuck out of the targeted demographic and then calculate with that information.

sounds like a noble plan, but as the faithful cynics of superfuture would say or have already said, there needs to be demand and not just supply.

[kiddizkee]

as someone who planned to open a boutique and contacted some labels i can say that the main problem is that you need to order stocks at least 6 months before opening and you need to make next order before even opening and you still dont know what the demand is in your area. it can be smaller than you thought so you lose money or can be bigger and you end up with empty shelves which is bad for business as well. brands have very limited stock you can order on demand.

another problem is to get over what you would like to stock for your personal reasons (taste, image reasons etc) and what would actually sell and be a good business. sometimes you have to "dumb down" with your roster to make money.

the more established and respected brands (apc etc) usually want to know other brands you will stock. they are also interested in the design of the store, where it`s located etc. 9 times out of 10 they want to meet personally in showrooms.

ive decided to wait with my plans until the potential custom base gets bigger in my area. good luck with your idea!.

[rowyerboat]

I work in retail while in college and always moan because we get soooo much shit like Diesel and G-star and asks the buyers why they cant get something a little less euro-trash.We have had YMC,Acne,Jil Sander etc... but all where dropped because even while i live in a capital european city men dont have the balls too step out of their comfort zone.

Its going to be harder on you living in Arkansas.Prepare to stock shit that doesnt fit your aesthetic at all if you want too make money.

Even the edgier boutiques here cant afford to stock much menswear(talkin Julian Red,Unconditional,Gaspard Yurkievich)but make a killin on womenswear.

Womenswear is the way too go , unless you live in a 'fashion forward'(i hate this phrase,sorry)city.

[Arcane]

A bunch of good points have already been made but I have one more thing to add.

If you manage to get some well known brands with general appeal like for example penguin and fred perry you might be able to mix it up with unknown designers you find good or that delivers good quality clothing for a decent price. If said unknown designer is good enough and just lacking market exposure this could also open up for some online business. Finding designers like this will of course be time consuming.

The price range will also be important in a small market like this. What you need is some good cheap basics that'll sell, like for example Cheap Monday, and some more expensive choices which you'll have to choose based on your market. Stocking high end denim might not be your best bet as there's already superior online stores like BiG and Selfedge.

My two cents anyway

[josephr]

keep in mind that there are a lot of small designers you haven't heard of with smaller price points than these big brands. they will also have smaller minimums, and hopefully if some of them are manufacturing in the US they will have some styles for immediate delivery or with a short lead time. men's only in little rock does sound a little crazy tho.

best thing to do is make friends with somebody to owns a store like the one you want to do but in a different market and beg for advice.

[conan.]

They tell me dont get high, and I should try to make a living,

I tell em' imma hustler and I'd rather make killin'

[Stylish Pilot]

keep in mind that there are a lot of small designers you haven't heard of with smaller price points than these big brands. they will also have smaller minimums, and hopefully if some of them are manufacturing in the US they will have some styles for immediate delivery or with a short lead time. men's only in little rock does sound a little crazy tho.

best thing to do is make friends with somebody to owns a store like the one you want to do but in a different market and beg for advice.

thank you guys for all the advice.

i've been trying to look around for smaller up-in-coming brands that have a tad lower price points like shades of greige but i'm not really finding a whole lot.

keep the brands coming.

[conan.]

do u have a uo in ur town? if not just stock uo shit so money make a killin!

[Stylish Pilot]

dont have a UO in our area

[conan.]

then just do that wtf such easy plan u didnt even have to make thrad,... stock cheap flannels, ironic 'vintage' tees, mayb have a 'vintage' cluthe section take from thrift and markup high, get vice to give u supply and give that shit to kids all over town n they will wanna b cool

[Icarus]

Cassette Playa

[hola123]

in my opinion, the thing you want to be most careful with is the price range of the clothes. for example, band of outsiders is an all around good brand, and its look can appeal to a wide range of people, but the prices scare people away. thus, you don't want to alienate your customer by carrying a lot of brands that are significantly more than they're willing to pay.

my suggestion is to carry brands in attainable price ranges. or, in better words, carry mostly reasonably priced clothes, and save just a little room for labels that might not move as quickly, yet will provide your store with a good reputation.

for example, you could get some basics from brands like ymc, and then carry some crazy phillip lim shit that might not move too quickly, yet will still cater to an in-the-know customer.

[po_boy_fuuma_hatesbargerz]

ymc scares me away occasionally...

[fuhq]

the internet was invented for a reason. instant infinite customer base

[Mbrand]

in my opinion, the thing you want to be most careful with is the price range of the clothes. for example, band of outsiders is an all around good brand, and its look can appeal to a wide range of people, but the prices scare people away. thus, you don't want to alienate your customer by carrying a lot of brands that are significantly more than they're willing to pay.

my suggestion is to carry brands in attainable price ranges. or, in better words, carry mostly reasonably priced clothes, and save just a little room for labels that might not move as quickly, yet will provide your store with a good reputation.

for example, you could get some basics from brands like ymc, and then carry some crazy phillip lim shit that might not move too quickly, yet will still cater to an in-the-know customer.

Stocking brands w/ different pricepoints is a good idea as long as you maintain the brand harmony in your shop. It means no zegna & apc on the same racks. It's important to have a strong concept.

[ericdw]

dont have a UO in our area

urban basically does exactly what you want to do. They can do it cheaper than anyone, and already have established rep. And they've decided not to enter your market. That should tell you something.

[Stylish Pilot]

Stocking brands w/ different pricepoints is a good idea as long as you maintain the brand harmony in your shop. It means no zegna & apc on the same racks. It's important to have a strong concept.

which is what we will be discussing next time we get together. whether we want to be like a smaller urban outfitters or go a tad more upscale. alot of it depends on what part of little rock we can find a storefront in.

[Stylish Pilot]

bump it up.

[Lel]

Set up a good website and online shop and you can make some money through the internetz

[Stylish Pilot]

Set up a good website and online shop and you can make some money through the internetz

i had planning on going the blackbird route and just setting up a blog, listing sizes, measurements, and prices. and just doing phone and email orders because a full fledged website would be pretty expensive. don't know enough about it to design one.

[an88]

how hard is it to setup an internet store with APC/b son/raf and the like contracts?

i'd imagine they're rather exclusive with who they license their stuff to, and would probably require a brick and mortar establishment , if only to prove that youre somewhat serious about the venture

[adidassler]

urban basically does exactly what you want to do. They can do it cheaper than anyone, and already have established rep. And they've decided not to enter your market. That should tell you something.

+1... but good luck!