How to open a children's clothing store from scratch: a proven way to create a successful business. How to open a children's store How to open a children's clothing boutique

The demand for children's clothing remains stable from year to year. Each family invariably spends a part of the budget on kids, because they grow and you need to constantly update their wardrobe.

Therefore, the business project of opening a small shop with an assortment of suits, dresses and panties will be profitable and profitable. Such or a metropolis - good demand will be everywhere.

You do not know how to open a children's clothing store from scratch, and there are many unsolvable questions?

How much money should be invested in this venture?
What difficulties can arise during registration?
What suppliers are best to work with?
How to prepare the best business plan on your own?

Then this article will be useful for you. But first things first.

Before starting your own business, you will need to collect information that will later help you understand the needs of customers and evaluate the profitability of the enterprise.

According to analysts, the structure of spending on children's goods is as follows: 34% falls on clothes, 12% on shoes, 18% on toys and 36% on other goods, including diapers and food.

On the forums of active mothers of the city, in already opened children's departments and centers, you need to find out the following:

the number of such outlets;
their location, range, permanent contingent;
ease of placement of equipment, its variety and quantity;
the level of customer satisfaction: what they like, what causes negative emotions, what is missing in the assortment of goods.

Another way to get information is to get a job as a sales assistant or administrator, and see the situation from the inside. So, you will gain valuable experience before starting your own business, you will be able to avoid common mistakes, you will learn the needs and difficulties of staff. Understanding the nuances profitable sales and the organization of the workflow, you will be able to understand whether the lesson is within your power, you will be able to carry it out, whether it is interesting. If there is no free money, and you have to take out a loan to open a store, then an entrepreneur who has at least minimal experience in this area will be more likely to pay it off and make a profit.

How to attract buyers

Before you open a children's clothing store, you need to clearly understand that there is a lot of competition in this industry. In order for customers to come to you and want to buy, they need to be interested, surprised, encouraged. Find the highlight of your store:

Large selection of seasonal clothing low prices, which you can provide through foreign or domestic suppliers.
The presence of expensive high-quality things from well-known manufacturers that you will not find from competitors.
Bright, memorable environment that children like, the presence of a play area or playground.
The constant supply of new products, fashionable and beautiful accessories that are in demand in a particular period.

Definition of a subspecialty

All outlets that sell things for children from birth to 15 years old are called children's outlets. At the same time, some have a wide range of products for different ages while others specialize in a specific age group.

For instance:

clothes for special occasions and holidays;
accessories and things for newborns;
everything for preschoolers;
school uniform and other things for schoolchildren;
fashion wardrobe for teenagers;
clothing store for all ages.

For a novice entrepreneur, it will be easier and more understandable to sell things for one group. Then you can expand the range, and add new product lines as the business develops.

Variety of offers

For starters, you can try your hand at offering customers clothes for the smallest children. Experts note that it is easiest to choose a wide range for newborns, since fashion does not greatly affect tiny sliders or vests. Moms pay attention mainly to the quality of the material, its naturalness, color, price, and then to the design. Hats and socks for babies do not go out of fashion, and you can always sell these products.

According to the latest statistics, the initial cost of buying everything necessary for the birth of a baby (carriages, cribs, undershirts, diapers, etc.) ranges from $500 to $1,500.

When offering a new wardrobe to preschoolers, try to focus on strength and durability. Boys love comfortable clothes, and for girls, beauty is also important. They, imitating mothers and educators, want to look stylish and original. Therefore, for them, hang dresses, bright sweaters and puffy skirts in the assortment of the store.

Clothing for schoolchildren is similar to adult in details, cut. She must be stylish, as at this age appearance plays an important role in a child's self-esteem. It is necessary to saturate the shelves only with modern novelties, the most popular. However, do not forget about the quality and convenience of things.

Room selection

A suitable place for a children's products store is near a garden, school, art house, clinic, that is, next to any children's institution. The flow of parents meeting the child from lessons or from the garden will pass by your point, and you will receive potential clients.

In hypermarkets, malls, in the children's section, there is also a fairly good location, because the number of buyers there is always large. When deciding on a location, weigh all possible options, because income will depend on how good a choice you make.

The minimum store size is at least 20 m2. You can start with a small area, placing a minimum of equipment on it and choosing a narrow focus. But it is most comfortable to place goods, changing rooms and other equipment on 50 m2.

Of course, the ratio of your financial opportunities and desires, but it should be remembered that in a small room it will be crowded and uncomfortable for buyers.

V good shop there will definitely be a place for two fitting rooms, several islands with a variety of goods, as well as free aisles for customers.

Exterior and furnishings

Facade. Children are attracted by everything bright, interesting, unique. Therefore, the appearance of the store should not be boring and gray, small buyers will not even want to go into such a store. Turn the facade and shop windows into the home of cartoon characters. Let them laugh themselves and infect others with happiness. Add a sense of magic to the setting. If you have children and you know which characters they like best, take advantage of this. If you do not trust your own choice, contact the designer. He will offer you a professional design project.
Interior. If the baby with his parents came to you - try to keep him. Place a plasma panel on one of the walls, where fairy tales, children's films and cartoons will be broadcast. While adults get acquainted with the assortment and choose the necessary things, the child will be busy watching and will not be capricious. Make a play area. Let a small sofa, chairs and a drawing table welcome the baby. Maybe there will be a slate and chalk, maybe wax pencils and cardboard - find the best and most cost-effective option. Adults will appreciate the opportunity to calmly choose things while the child is busy. And they will gladly come back to you.
Lighting. It is more pleasant to make purchases in a bright and cozy store, you can better see the goods and prices. Consider multi-level lighting of showcases, racks and the entire area. Bright lighting is another way to grab attention.
window dressing. It has been noticed that updating the wardrobe of mannequins in the windows increases the number of customers. Work on the look of your showcase, place on it popular or new models of things and accessories, do not forget to update them often.
Fitting rooms. In a children's store, the size of the fitting room should be designed for an adult and a child. It is convenient if it has a lot of hooks, a mirror, as well as a high chair or ottoman for the baby. The presence of only one fitting room will create inconvenience, a queue and negatively affect the mood of customers. Better if there are two or three.

Supplier selection

Among manufacturers of children's clothing, products of Chinese, Turkish, Polish and domestic production more often enter the Russian market. Check out the offers of different companies, pay attention to the discount system, read customer reviews on the Web. So it will be easier for you to decide on the most suitable firms.

For example, Chinese suppliers offer the most affordable prices. But note that the quality of the goods will be appropriate. Recently, buyers have become fed up with short-lived and shoddy things, and do not seek to purchase the cheapest. Polish manufacturers position naturalness and durability of products. Many Polish brands are quite popular. You can order the necessary batch of things on the Internet, saving your time.

However, things made in accordance with GOSTs of Russia are in great demand. As a customer, it will be easier for you to work with domestic companies. After all, they provide a full package of required documents, the indicated dimensions fully correspond to the declared ones. In addition, they inspire consumer confidence. You can place an order in several ways, including by phone and online.

Staff

The reputation of your store will be created by attentive, responsive sellers. Therefore, try to spend time not only on finding the appropriate composition, but also on periodic training. It would be nice if the employees had experience with children. After all, these are special buyers who will require patience and feel insincerity.

You can hire two or four salesmen to work in shifts, who will go out one or two, respectively. Also in the hall you need an administrator. You can take on this role or entrust it to an experienced employee.

Nuances of legal registration

The most convenient form of activity is individual entrepreneurship. You, as the owner of a small shop, will not be difficult to cope with the tax liability system. You can choose a special type of taxation, which is not affected by the amount of income and turnover - an imputed tax. It depends on the size of the area, the number of staff and the equipment of the store.

In the trade department you will receive a certificate of entry into a single commercial register. But keep in mind, if you are decorating a room that has not previously been used as a retail space, you will have to take care of this as well. Immediately contact the sales department for permission, as well as Rospotrebnadzor, and fire brigade. It will be a little easier if you rent an area in a hypermarket, where it is a matter of obtaining normative documents administration is in charge.

Approximate amount of investments

To draw up a business plan for a children's clothing store, you need to enter into it all the upcoming purchase costs, as well as monthly expenses. For a school stuff store located in a large mall, with an area of 50 m2, the business plan will have the following points:

Purchase of productsIn assortment500 000

Name of service	Quantity (piece)	Cost, rub.)
Room rental per month	—	50 000
Cash register	1	30 000
Dummy	4	10 000
Hangers, panels with hooks	In assortment	40 000
Fitting room with mirror	2	20 000
Equipment	3 sections	30 000
Signboard	1	5 000
Auto Nozzle	1	27
Installation work on lighting	—	50 000
Children's corner	1	5 000
Fare	—	10 000
Total	—	750 000

The amount of the initial investment will be approximately 750,000 rubles. In this case, the average profit for 1 month will be from 100,000 to 150,000 rubles. The project will pay off in 12-14 months.

When investing in the implementation of a business idea, do not forget about advertising. Otherwise, about a large selection of goods, beautiful design, polite staff, affordable prices will recognize a small circle of potential buyers.

Video continuation. Part 2.

It often happens that parents are even ready to save on themselves in order to buy high quality food, toys and clothes for their children. The sale of products for babies is one of the most promising areas of trade, so it will be interesting for young entrepreneurs to draw up a business plan for a children's store.

The trade margin for children's products is much higher than for adult products. This allows children's stores to have a large income even in times of economic crisis.

Today, various groups of goods for children are sold in separate stores. For example, baby food and hygiene items can be bought in pharmacies, and toys can be bought in stores selling children's toys. It is worth noting that this is somewhat inconvenient for parents. Most often, adults are forced to buy the necessary things in the retail premises that are nearby, while the choice of stores that sell goods of the necessary group is small. Accordingly, it can take a whole day to buy a complete list of what you need. Therefore, it makes sense to open a universal baby store, where all kinds of trade items for babies will be sold. Resourceful businessmen know this, because they have already drawn up a business plan for a children's store.

It is important to open a retail space in which all the necessary goods for children will be sold in the sleeping areas of large Russian cities. The business plan under consideration can be used as a guide for organizing the work of a general children's store, which will sell hygiene items, food, strollers and child seats for cars, clothes, and more.

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What actions implies a business plan for a successful children's store

In order to organize profitable job commercial premises, you must:

perform an analysis of the market in which the store expects to operate;
determine the product that potential customers of the children's store can get;
to consider methods of marketing of the enterprise;
assess the need for resources that are needed to get started;
draw up a budget that will be needed to ensure the operation of the store in the first month and year.

The business plan contains the points that are needed for the successful opening of a retail space for children.

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Performing Market Analysis for Trade Items for Children

An analysis of the market for the sale of goods for children includes the following components:

determination of the target audience of this business;
market segmentation;
assessment of the competitive environment.

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Who is the target audience in the business of selling children's goods

Baby products that are needed every day (food, diapers, and so on) are usually bought by mothers. Larger items (car child seats, strollers) are most often purchased by both parents. Accordingly, the target audience of the retail premises, the business plan of which is described, are young families with children.

It is important to remember that potential buyers can also be friends of parents and relatives who may want to please the child with a small present (if they are visiting) or a full-fledged gift (on the occasion of a birthday).

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Segmentation of the market for the sale of goods for children

A department store that sells children's goods can have a fairly large number of competitors, so it can count on success if it can accurately focus on target market segments. It can be convenient for an entrepreneur to use segmentation by income level, consumption method and consumer attitude to the goods offered.

Buyers can be divided into three segments according to income level:

low income clients
average income;
high income buyers.

Low-income customers can make up a significant part of the target audience of a children's store. Representatives of this segment can be attracted with the help of special offers and discounts, discount programs, the possibility of buying some items (for example, diapers) by the piece.

Middle-income shoppers are the main customers of the children's goods store. High quality service, a wide range of goods provided, the ability to purchase everything you need in one place - these are all the main methods to attract this category of people.

As for attracting buyers with a high level of income, it is worth saying that the level of service provided, the quality of the products offered and the wide range of products play an important role for them.

Speaking about segmentation by the way of consumption, it is worth mentioning that all parents who live in residential areas of the city can be combined into the following segments:

Moms who are on vacation. They are the main buyers. In this case, the business must create conditions for such customers to purchase all consumer goods in the store. This may be affected high speed and quality of service, a wide range of products.
Grandmothers who help mothers look after their children. Such customers will be worried about the cost, so you should make sure that they have the opportunity to purchase everything they need at affordable prices. In addition, people in this segment are only interested in natural products.
Parents who work in the city center, but often buy necessary goods for children on their way home from work. Since representatives of this segment have the opportunity to buy everything they need in the central regions, it is worth making sure that they have a desire to buy baby products in their area.

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Benefits of the General Store for Children's Goods and Required Business Registration

This business plan for a children's store selling all possible types of goods for babies makes it possible to purchase everything you need in one place. All products that are put up for sale in the store can be divided into 2 groups:

a group that consists of everyday items (diapers, food, wipes, and so on);
a group that contains such goods as clothes, children's toys, strollers, car seats and other similar products.

The retail space whose business plan is being considered must be able to provide a high quality of customer service and have many advantages over toys or children's clothing stores.

List of advantages of the general children's store:

the opportunity to purchase all the items that the child will need;
there is an opportunity to buy such large goods as strollers or car seats without leaving your area.
good prices, discount programs and promotions;
guarantee of the quality of baby food products, compliance with all necessary standards for the storage of perishable goods.

A businessman must register as an individual entrepreneur or LLC. In addition, you need to obtain a license to be able to trade in food products and a permit to retail.

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Calculation of the amount of money that will be needed to open and maintain a children's goods store

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Rental of premises for a children's store

To start a children's supermarket, you need a room with an area of 80-90 square meters. m. Of these, about 40-50 square meters. m should be allotted for shopping room, and the rest of the area - for storage rooms. The cost of renting commercial space in large cities of Russia (the business plan does not include Moscow and St. Petersburg) varies significantly, but the average price in residential areas is 600 rubles per sq. m. m. Accordingly, renting the necessary space will cost the business owner approximately 48,000 rubles. monthly or 576,000 rubles. annually.

About how attractive and promising the sphere of children's goods is, market experts speak at almost every conference dedicated to e-commerce. The arguments are very convincing - the market is fragmented, the average check is lower than in the electronics market, and the margin is higher. If you believe only in the bright prospects promised by the speakers, and do not go into details, then the opening of an online store for children's goods looks promising. For such giants as Ulmart or Sotmarket, which have recently opened a trade in children's goods, many problems in this area are not so terrible. But what about those for whom children's goods are the basis of the assortment, and not just a store department?

Maria Sysoikina

Let's figure it out.

1. Goods "ambulance for moms"- baby care products and baby food. The specifics are obvious: diapers, wipes, milk formulas, jars of mashed potatoes and boxes of cereals, as a rule, need to be delivered urgently, “right now, otherwise we have the last diaper left / there is nothing to feed the child”, etc. In addition, a large and well-functioning warehouse is needed to trade such goods - in addition to fast delivery, the buyer must be offered a wide range. Not a single mother will agree, for the sake of urgency, to abruptly switch to diapers of another brand or feed the baby with food from another manufacturer. For the seller, this means having their own delivery service, a large warehouse, and well-established work with suppliers.

2. Children's clothing and footwear. Here, the specifics are close to the clothing and footwear market as a whole - pronounced seasonality and the need for careful selection of the assortment, the buyer's commitment to a particular brand.

Demand for children's clothes and shoes is always stable - children grow up quickly, they have to change clothes and shoes almost every season. But on the other hand, a child is unlikely to buy several pairs of shoes for different outfits, as adults do.

3. Toys and games. Toys are more often bought for holidays, for example, under New Year or graduation from kindergarten. But there are probably no obvious declines, except for the general summer one. Toys are bought constantly, for older children “consumables” are regularly purchased: pencils, paints, applications, etc. This segment is characterized by a wide assortment and a small average bill.

A fourth category could be singled out - children's furniture and strollers. But there is no special “children's” specificity there, the sphere is akin to selling furniture or any other large-sized goods. Purchases are likely one-time. You will have to have a large warehouse, or increase the delivery time by bringing the purchase from the supplier's warehouse.

We talked about the features of each category of goods and the “children's” market as a whole with people who have achieved success in their respective fields. Our current experts:

Shahin Musaev, founder and head of the pampik.com online store (sale of children's ambulance goods)
Alexandra Brovchuk, founder and head of the online store kinderly.ru (clothes and shoes for children)
Konstantin Bocharsky, founder and head of the online toy store toyzez.ru

So, let's figure out what you will need to pay attention to first.

Who buys baby products

Our experts are unanimous - children's goods are bought by mothers. Even if a man is indicated as the recipient, in 9 cases out of 10 the order was made by a woman.

Shahin Musaev: “Even when a man places an order, it often happens that a woman stands behind him and dictates to him what, how and where to buy :)”.

Alexandra Brovchuk: “Almost all orders are for women. Even a man is indicated as the recipient, most likely, the order was still made by a woman. For example, there is a situation when you need to agree on an order, we call a man, and he answers: “No, no, no, call my wife, coordinate everything with her, and just bring it to me.”

Konstantin Bocharsky: “Moms are the vast majority. Dads are rare. Single cases. More often they act as "couriers" - to come, pick up what the wife said :). But at the same time, for example, there are quite a lot of men among subscribers to our educational-creative-game project "Children's Cookbook". Somewhere around 70% and 30% probably. Those. in fact, the proportion of men who take an active and interested position on "children's issues" is quite large. But the planning and implementation of purchases is usually delegated to the wife..

Knowing your target audience, you can take into account many subtleties in advance in communicating with her. Sellers of children's goods agree: mothers are a demanding audience. It is extremely important to them good service and price. They are quite receptive to discounts and promotions.

First of all, keep in mind that mothers (especially mothers of very young children) have a lot of different concerns, so you need to be sympathetic to the fact that a mother can behave very emotionally, she can order something, and then say that she did not order it at all and / or ordered the wrong thing. It is really VERY important for mom that, for example, the pot is exactly pink, and not yellow, blue, green, or even light / dark pink.

Buyers of children's goods, primarily clothing and footwear, are very price sensitive. Children grow up fast, you have to buy clothes all the time, but at the same time you want things to be of high quality, but not too expensive.

Alexandra Brovchuk notes that for mothers who have very young children (toddlers, preschoolers), the issue of time is very important. For example, delivery and fitting (if we are talking about clothes and shoes) must be carried out in a strictly specified period of time when the child is not sleeping, not in kindergarten, not for a walk, etc.

But in matters of games and entertainment, mothers are the best buyers.

Konstantin Bocharsky is pleased with the communication with them: “Moms - at least the ones we deal with - are very sensible buyers)) We are very comfortable with them. As a rule, they have a rather serious level of understanding of what they need, understanding of what the child needs, deep knowledge of the issues of upbringing, nutrition, child development, etc. In this sense, it is very convenient to communicate with them: the dialogue immediately goes to the “expert level” ” .

When to buy baby products

If you still decide to sell goods from the "ambulance" group - diapers, food, etc. You don't have to worry about seasonality. The demand for such goods is constant.

But with the rest of the goods it is more difficult. An obvious decline in sales occurs in the summer - it starts around the May holidays, when many families leave for summer cottages or resorts. Sales are going on, but it is extremely difficult to grow during these months. If the store cannot provide some unique service, for example, delivery to the country, then it will be difficult to sell in the summer months. The decline ends by August, when the purchases of things for school and kindergarten begin actively.

Seasonality is especially pronounced in children's clothing and footwear.

Alexandra Brovchuk identifies 4 seasonal "waves".

first wave created by those who buy things in advance: school uniform in May, winter clothes in August, and outfits for new year holidays- In November.

Second wave- the most powerful when the first burst of weather happened. For example, everyone knows that the first thaw occurs in late February - early March, and the first significant cooling occurs in early October. Then for a while the weather returns to its former course, but, nevertheless, just then everyone rushes to buy seasonal clothes.

third wave comes with the end of the season.

Last, fourth wave, comes at the end of the season, when the first discounts appear. Discounts, however, do not work for all clothes. For example, there are goods that are always needed. For example, winter overalls are necessary for all children, while parents try to buy a quality item, even if it is quite expensive. And very often expensive seasonal clothes are purchased for the next year, for growth, but at a good discount. Therefore, as soon as sales begin, such goods are simply swept out of stores.

How to serve customers the right way

Mothers are very meticulous and picky buyers. Before making a purchase, they must definitely find out the smallest details about the product, find a suitable price, choose Better conditions delivery.

Provide the most complete range. And it's not just about diapers or food. If mom put nine items in the basket, and the tenth was not in the right color, you risk being left alone with an abandoned basket. And the buyer will find everything that was required on the site of your competitors.

Moms want to know everything, and if you organize a regularly updated section on the store website with useful information (tips, stories, product stories) - you will easily get a good percentage of regular customers.

Do not forget about the detailed descriptions of the goods - the mean lines about "reliability and quality" from the manufacturer are unlikely to convince such a sophisticated buyer as mom.

Be prepared for constant phone calls - you will have to hire intelligent, calm and polite sales assistants who can tell their mothers about all your goods for a long time, if necessary, run to the warehouse, measure, weigh, compare, tell about the composition and materials, and , of course, they will be able to distinguish a shade of fuchsia from just pink.

Take care of delivery. This is important, first of all, for emergency goods. According to Shahin Musaev, urgent delivery is important not only for diapers and food. “Sun protection, mosquito repellent and swim diapers often need to be delivered before departure to the train station or airport. A delay in delivery in such cases is tantamount to canceling the order.

Other groups of goods can wait, unless, of course, they are bought for a gift - after all, they also like to order gifts at the very last moment.

This is confirmed by Konstantin Bocharsky: "We didn't feel great demand for urgent deliveries. But recently, nevertheless, they launched express delivery in Moscow (during the day, sometimes within a few hours) and saw that if there is such an opportunity, people use it willingly. In a hectic metropolis, the problem of planning is a common thing. If something went wrong, you have to "plug holes". For this, express delivery comes in very handy.”

In the case of clothing and footwear, there is no such urgency. Although, Alexandra Brovchuk notes that there are situations when you need it right now, for example, when the weather changes dramatically. “If parents didn’t take care of it in time, then, for example, when the snow melts sharply, when there is mud and “porridge” on the street, many people want to buy rubber boots right now. But in general, people are ready to wait until tomorrow.”

Now almost all clothing and footwear stores offer fitting. Of course, you should not offer the entire range for trying on, you should somehow limit the number of clothes / shoes delivered in the order. You can offer a choice of either two pairs of different sizes, or two different models

How to compete

Given the growing interest in the children's goods market, primarily from large online hypermarkets, as well as from experienced entrepreneurs, and just a few moms and dads who are business-savvy and decide to open their own shop, you will have to take care of your place in the sun.

If you cannot compete with the big players in price or assortment, then in the battle for the buyer, your main weapon is service.

Shahin Musaev: " It seems to me that the easiest way is to make the purchase for moms as simple and clear as possible, they really have enough worries without you. That's why I vote for the service. Prices, of course, matter (mothers try to save money), but as our experience shows, they are not paramount.”

Alexandra Brovchuk shares her experience: “We compete with large stores like Wildberries, which have been actively catching up on children's assortment lately, with a more thorough approach to the buyer. Our prices are about the same, but we cannot provide express delivery for all orders. But on the other hand, unlike any large store, we can provide a very good level of advice: we do not have many orders, but nevertheless we receive about 10-15 requests per day with requests to measure such and such sandals, look at some details, clarify why two similar products from different manufacturers have a significant difference in price. Although we carefully describe each product, indicate information about the composition of the product, all kinds of specifics, people still ask for more details about something. ”

Alexandra believes that the task of creating good content must be streamed. This is especially true for new products that are just entering the market. For example, Kuoma shoes are the same from year to year, and it probably doesn't make sense to feel and describe each shoe anew every time. But new brands of clothing brands in the kinlerly.ru store are carefully studied by managers. They already know what to pay attention to: model, style, fabric composition, fastener fastening, etc.

“Often the manufacturers themselves provide us with less information than we ourselves receive by studying the product, and then post it on the website in the product card”- says Alexandra.

In large stores, this is not the case - they will answer the call with standard phrases from the description, then they will send it to the purchasing department, then they will offer to leave a message and it will not end with anything.

But in the toy trade, the situation is slightly different. According to Konstantin Bocharsky, for a long time this market was the most defragmented - devoid of giants (on the scale of other industries). Now these voids are quickly filling up - large players from other sectors are entering the market, "oldies" are growing. For now main strategy the market remains scaling up. Moreover, it also becomes a survival strategy. It's getting harder and harder to compete for traffic, and for a number of reasons, it gets easier the larger the business. " In this sense, the market will soon be divided into the camp of "monsters of rock" and "bizarre animals" Konstantin believes. "Monsters" will divide the market, and a lot of cute projects that implement exotic ideas in narrow niches will run a business at the level of self-employment and hobby. After that, apparently, the moment will come when both of them will start looking for new tools of struggle. Maybe it will be Additional services, events, own production, offline activity, education, etc. While these processes, if they are guessed, are extremely weakly expressed».

What else to remember

So, if you still decide to open an online store for children's goods, once again listen to the advice of our experts.

Alexandra Brovchuk:

There is an obvious difficulty in children's clothing - inventory. Purchase cycles last a year, we ordered in the winter what we get in the summer, and we will sell in the fall and next winter. With such a long procurement cycle, the ability to plan is important, experience with prepayments, etc. is required.

It’s easier with toys, but, nevertheless, the market is quite developed, and in order to buy from you, you need to invest in marketing and promotion.

To compete with the same range that is everywhere, you need to put a lot of money and effort. Such projects do not start to make a profit right away.

Start working on a niche. Perhaps you will not have huge turnovers, but there will be good margins, you will be able to compete.

For example, there is baby transport- scooters, children's rollers. There are many Chinese products that are sold everywhere. There are brands that are more expensive, but not much better quality. And there are not so many products, you can sell the full line and all related products - and make good money on it.

Shahin Musaev:

In no case should you open an online store for children's goods :). Especially if you are sure that it is very simple, and you know everything. I'm not kidding.
Do not try to sell EVERYTHING at once in the hope that you will increase your chances of selling at least something. Please don't be the 1001 store that just uploaded the price lists of all the suppliers they could get their hands on.
Answer the questions for yourself:

Wrong answers: simply, low prices, do not know.

Konstantin Bocharsky:

Any person who thinks about what he needs to do when entering this market will come up with a couple of dozen fair theses on the go. For example, finding your niche, your audience, a good understanding of the product, avoiding direct competition, service and the constant struggle for trust and loyalty, the high quality of everything - from the website to personal communication. But what really is a "weapon of victory" ... I myself would like to know for sure :)
For several years of our work, we diligently moved away from direct and stupid competition, nevertheless, not forgetting to build up our muscles. I think we will continue to follow this strategy in the future. So far, practice shows that the market can be taken by scale and professionalism (in order to act quickly and immediately correctly). The hypothesis that the market can be taken by some kind of perpendicular idea seems sound, but so far there are no clear examples of such victories, as it seems to me.

Chief Editor"Pro-rake".
Author of articles and editor of the DigitalWorkplace.ru project.
In the past - a programmer, PR, freelance journalist, editor of the PC World magazine.
Winner of the Online Retail Media Awards 2014 in the nomination "Best Journalist. Online Media/News Agencies".

Children's products are very popular. A parent wants to give their child the very best. He puts the needs of the baby first. Mothers are ready to spend large amounts of money on their child. Goods for children are necessary for all families, regardless of their social status and position in society. Demand creates supply. It is for this reason that more and more entrepreneurs will think about how to open a children's goods store?

How to open a children's goods store?

Children's stores are establishments that sell goods for children aged 0 to 15 years. Having decided to open a children's goods store, an entrepreneur must first decide on the format. There are stores that specialize in the sale of:

clothes for children of any age;
accessories for children;
clothes for the little ones;
clothes for children of primary school age;
supplies and accessories for the school;
school attendance forms;
clothes for teenagers;
sports equipment and costumes for children;
clothes for holidays and carnival costumes;
clothes for girls;
clothes for boys.

A store can sell one line of goods for children, or it can serve as a platform for the sale of several types of products.

Having decided on the format of the store, the entrepreneur must conduct a market analysis. You should start by studying your competitors. It is necessary to find out how many similar stores are already operating in the district. In addition, the entrepreneur must think about how he can attract potential customers to his institution. Visiting local online forums for parents will help in resolving this issue. They will allow you to communicate directly with potential customers, ask them what is missing in the area and what goods for children they would like to purchase for their children. Here you can find out about financial situation potential customers and form an idea of the price level.

To evaluate the business from the inside, to understand all its nuances and pitfalls, you can work for some time as a seller or administrator in a competitor's establishment specializing in the sale of children's clothing.

Ownership choice and taxation

Having decided to open a children's store, the entrepreneur must choose the form of ownership. Suitable for registration as individual entrepreneur. The form of ownership is subject to fewer taxes and does not require complex reporting.

Then there is the choice of taxation. This is where UTII comes in handy. Quantity Money, which will have to be paid to the state, do not depend on the amount of profit received in the process of trade and the amount goods sold. The amount of the tax is calculated based on the physical characteristics of the children's clothing store. These include:

the area of the territory on which the sale of products is carried out;
the number of employees;
number of shop equipment.

Portfolio of documents

permission from SES;
permission from the fire department;
permission from Rospotrebnadzor.

In the case when the premises are rented in the building of the shopping center, and it is not registered as a retail space, obtaining a permit for the sale of goods from Trade Department the city should deal with the administration of the center.

A store specializing in the sale of children's goods must be entered in the Unified Trade Register. The entrepreneur is issued a certificate confirming this, which will be valid for 3 years.

Choosing a store location

The level of profit depends on the choice of the location of the future store

The premises for a children's goods store should not be less than 20 m. Optimal size the area is considered to be from 50 to 100 square meters. regardless of size storage facilities. The store should be located near children's institutions. This will increase the number of visitors to the point. Suitable for placement in a shopping center. The street where the building is located must be passable. It is better to refuse a location in a residential area.

You should choose a room located at a distance from competitors. If this is not possible, you can organize a store selling children's goods next to a similar institution. But in this case, the business owner will have to offer visitors something that the competitor does not have. Perhaps he will be able to find a supplier who sells products at low prices. This will allow the entrepreneur to reduce the cost of goods without losing profits. An extensive assortment that surpasses the list of competitor's products can also be a decisive factor for potential customers when choosing a store selling children's goods.

Having chosen the premises, the entrepreneur will have to carry out repairs in it. The design should be dominated by bright colors. They will attract the attention of young visitors. The interior must be original. You can place images of popular cartoon characters.

To make the interior attractive and bright, you should hire professional designer. He will be able to organically bring to life all the ideas of the business owner for the sale of children's goods or offer his own ideas.

Necessary equipment

The children's store does not require specialized equipment. For its normal functioning, you will need:

racks for clothes;
racks;
cash register;
showcases for displaying goods.

The equipment must fit into the overall interior of the store and match its design. Shelves should be bright.

Despite the small list, there should be a lot of equipment. Often the purchases of visitors are spontaneous. For this reason, the goods must be presented in a full range, and this will require a sufficient number of racks and display cases. Over time, you can equip a children's play area and place TVs in fitting rooms, allowing you to pass the time while waiting. This will significantly increase the rating of the store in the eyes of buyers.

Store staff

At first, for the normal functioning of a children's clothing store, you will need:

accountant;
manager;
1-2 sellers;
cleaning woman.

All staff must be issued sanitary books. In their absence, it will not be possible to sell baby food, if any. Vendors must work in shifts. All staff must be able to communicate with children, be polite and friendly.

The administrator is responsible for coordinating the operation of the store. His position can be held by the business owner himself.

Store assortment

The range of products depends on the area outlet. If an adult store requires about 4 sizes of clothes of the same style, from a children's store there should be about 14. The average children's store should have:

strollers;
Kids toys;
child care products;
car seats;
children's clothing and footwear.

For a store to be popular, it must have at least 30 various kinds one group of goods. For this reason, the entrepreneur will need to find a large number of suppliers.

A children's store can specialize in something 1. This makes it much easier to present a wide range of products.

Point of Sale Suppliers

The most popular suppliers who sell products on Russian market children's goods are considered:

Russia;
Turkey;
China;
Poland.

The products of Russian manufacturers are of high quality. It complies with GOSTs. Suppliers from Russia have the necessary package of documents confirming the quality and safety for children. In cooperation with them, there will be less problems with delivery. They sell products at a cost acceptable to consumers of all social strata. Russian manufacturers inspire more confidence among parents.

The prices of Chinese clothes are lower, but the quality will also be low. When cooperating with foreign suppliers, there may be a problem with the delivery of products. However, their product will help diversify the range and attract additional customers.

With suppliers from other countries, you can establish cooperation through the Internet.

Advertising

A children's goods store must have a prominent outdoor sign. There should be a showcase in which the best samples of products are exhibited. For regular customers there should be a system of discounts and bonuses.

One of the popular innovations is the discount provided to the buyer on the birthday of the child.

television advertising;
advertisements in print media;
radio announcements;
distribution of advertising booklets;
creation of a website and store page in social networks.

Business costs and payback

The amount of investments depends on the planned level of the establishment and location. It will take about 1.5 million rubles to open a children's goods store.

Costs of opening a children's goods store (average):

Table. Capital investments

The average monthly net profit is at the level of about 250 thousand rubles. With this level of income, the business is able to pay off in 6 months.

When receiving discount cards that accumulate bonuses or discounts, visitors should be asked to fill out a questionnaire. Buyers must include an email address and residential address. This will build a client base. By e-mail You can report new arrivals of goods to the store. Perhaps something will interest the buyer. However, don't send too often. Constant spam only causes irritation on the part of customers.

How to organize a business on children's goods?

Selling children's goods is a business that will always develop. Regardless of the political and economic situation in the country, parents are always involved in raising children, investing a lot of time and effort into it. In order for a child to grow up in a comfortable environment, he needs a large variety of goods.
That is why the demand for children's goods will always be, which means it is profitable to sell them.

Features of the business selling children's goods

The children's goods market today is one of the most dynamically developing. Evidence of this is companies operating in completely different formats. These can be hypermarkets, departments in large shopping centers, shops in residential areas, network points, fairs, and even shops that work only via the Internet. As a rule, each type has its own clients.

Chain stores and hypermarkets cater to the needs of middle- and high-income customers. Small shops and specialty fairs are more economical outlets.
It is also possible to distinguish universal outlets and stores specializing in certain groups of goods (toys, goods for newborns, clothing, stores for expectant mothers).

Opening a children's store

To open a children's goods store, it is necessary to analyze the market and decide on the type of point - whether it will be a general store or a highly specialized one. Further documents are registered. This process can drag on for several months, in parallel, you can look after the premises for the store.

Ideally, this should be a separate building or room with a separate entrance from the street. You can consider renting space in a walkable shopping center. Since parents with children will often come to the store, it is worth considering the possibility of lifting a baby stroller into the trading floor. This will significantly increase the number of visitors, and therefore buyers.

Another important factor is transport accessibility. It should be convenient to come to the store on public transport(here an important factor is the presence of a stop nearby) or park the car in a convenient place.

If necessary, the premises should be renovated. It is better to choose colors that are bright, forcing children to stop and stay longer in the store. In addition, the store can be divided into zones using color. The more zones, the more interesting. In addition, if the area allows, you can allocate a small play area where the kids can spend time while the parents are shopping.

Staff should be selected taking into account the specifics of the store. A very important quality for the seller is the ability and desire to communicate with children.

An equally important step in opening a children's store is an advertising policy. First of all, the store should have a bright, memorable sign. At the entrance, you can place several pavement signs, if possible, regularly change the information there. Advertising on the Internet, on television, as well as in specialized institutions is great for children's stores. Don't forget that the best advertisement was and still is word of mouth.

When compiling the store's working hours, one should take into account the fact that many visitors will make purchases in the evening or on weekends. Optimal time work until 9 pm on weekdays. You can close a little early on weekends. The longer the store is open, the more potential buyers will be able to get there.

What are the best baby products to sell?

If opportunities do not allow opening a hypermarket, you can limit yourself to a small assortment of children's goods. In order to determine the specifics of the outlet, you should study the range of stores operating in the area. So, in a residential area it is not advisable to open a second store that sells goods of the same direction in the same price range. And next to the hypermarket, you should not open a small shop - the profit will be much less than expected.

For example, near the maternity hospital, it is best to open stores with goods for newborns. They can sell cribs, strollers, walkers, diapers, clothes for the smallest, as well as toys, cosmetic and hygiene items and various related products - dishes, bottles, nipples. If the area allows, you can allocate space for water, juices and baby food. Such a zone is appropriate in the forehead store, regardless of location.

In the shops in the sleeping areas, you can make a large assortment of clothes or toys. They also sell well stationery or art supplies.

Stores selling everything for expectant mothers are very popular. There may be not only clothes for pregnant women, but also goods that will be required in the first year of a baby's life.

Specialty stores parents of inquisitive children will be attracted to creativity, and shops with active games will appeal to parents whose children lead an active lifestyle.

How to organize the sale of children's goods?

It's no secret that the internet has become a big part of our lives these days. And if earlier the purchase of goods through the global network was perceived as something risky, today there is nothing unusual in this. On the Internet you can order food, furniture, household appliances, clothing, sporting goods. Children's products are no exception.

The bulk of buyers- young parents aged 25 to 40 with an average income. Surely, many of them are fluent in a computer and can arrange the delivery of the necessary goods.

Selling children's goods through an online store significantly reduces the costs of the seller. There is no need to rent space, hire a large staff. In addition, storage costs are significantly reduced.

At the same time, to promote a web page, you will need to invest a certain amount of money so that the site compares favorably with competitors. It will be necessary to resolve the issue with payment and delivery. If self-delivery is possible, it will be necessary to rent a small office space. If the client will arrange the delivery of the order, the help of a courier will be required.

Ideally, you can combine selling at a stationary point and through an online store. In this way, you can significantly increase the number of potential customers.

Rental of children's goods

A relatively new, but already in-demand service is the rental of goods.

For this type of activity, both goods that are in seasonal demand, and goods that are suitable only for a certain age are suitable.

Enough profitable business- Hire of New Year's and festive costumes. As a rule, the baby can wear it only once, so the item remains in good condition. To organize rental services, you will need to purchase costumes for different ages. Great place to find potential clients - schools as well as institutions additional education where Christmas trees and festive events are held. As a rule, clients of such companies become permanent and recommend the company to their friends.

Another product that will be in demand for rental is car seats. Such an accessory is useful for a trip for a few days. In addition, some models of car seats are suitable for use for a short time (a month or two). Therefore, it is more expedient to rent them than to buy new ones.

In addition, you can rent sports goods, toys, clothes and even books.

In order to make the right assortment of the future rental point, you should study the assortment of nearby stores. Ideally, you should come there as a buyer and find out what is in great demand, what is missing from the target audience.

Very important service, which should be provided to your customers - the possibility of redemption. If the child really liked the toy, the parents should be able to buy it. This will generate most of the income from the business.

Another interesting service- the possibility for customers to hand over their belongings. Perhaps this service will not bring a lot of profit, but in this way you can significantly increase customer loyalty.

Another business idea for children's goods

If you have a pedagogical education or by hiring such employees, you can organize a center for leisure with children. This may be a small room with a play area where buyers can leave the child under the supervision of a caregiver for several hours. The service can be used regularly or as needed. The main thing is that adults feel confident in this center and can safely leave the kids there.

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