You’re a fashionista who can’t seem to get away from the allure of shopping, the glossy pages of fashion magazines, and the ultra-polished blogs of the influencer who have been invited to fashion week, right?
Have you been creating your own clothes for a long now and have chosen to launch your own clothing line as a result? There’s good news: you’ve found the right guide.
You will discover several suggestions on how to launch your firm and get started with the development of your brand. Every stage of your entrepreneurial idea, from the market analysis to developing a business plan, including the description of the concept and commercial positioning to selecting the appropriate legal structure, will be reviewed with you. Don’t try to figure things out on your own.
Before You Begin, Do A Market Research Study.
A thorough clothing brand market research is the first phase in the process of developing a clothing brand, and it is used to determine whether or not there is a market for your proposed brand. To do so, you’ll need to look into the state of the apparel sector in Europe and France, which will take some time. Pay attention, in particular, to the trend of turnover in the industry. Consider if the rise or reduction in turnover is due to a volume impact (i.e., more and more, or less and less, of things sold) and/or a value effect (i.e., higher and higher prices) (of items sold more and more, or less and less, expensive).
Are You Also Interested In The Following?
When it comes to purchasing behavior, which is purchasing what? What is the frequency? What kind of budget do you have? Is it better to shop on the internet or in stores? Which categories seem to be the most promising in terms of current trends?
How have brand and distributor tactics changed in response to changes in their respective competitive environments? Is there a tendency for the competition to get more intense? Which tactics seem to be the most successful?
Finally, take a close look at your direct and indirect rivals to determine their strengths and weaknesses. Consider this: If you start a clothing business that is focused on street-wear, street-wear companies will be your primary competition. Also competing will be the ready-to-wear brands that include a few street-wear things in their ranges. Also competing will be loan brands. Traditional rivals who will act as your indirect opponents (because a person always has the choice between dressing in street-wear or in a radically different way).
You should be able to answer the following questions at the conclusion of your market research:
- Who are your normal consumers going to be? (age, budget, expectations regarding clothes, purchasing behavior)
- Who will be your rivals, and how will you distinguish yourself from them in order to get a foothold in the market?
- Choose the distribution plan that will be used to advertise your clothing.
A Sector That Is Experiencing Difficulties
Sadly, the textile industry has been in decline for a number of years. Production fell by more than 3% at the start of 2017, continuing a trend that began in 2016. However, the turnover of the garment industries climbed by 1.8 percent during the first quarter of 2017 as compared to the same time the previous year. Despite this, the garment market has been in decline for the last nine consecutive years.
Opportunities Exist In Certain Segments.
However, the apparel industry is quite diverse, and not all sorts of retailers are impacted in the same manner by the current economic downturn. With this mass-market production of quality items that are all in all very relative, the independents (who together with multi-brands account for more than half the clothing sector) find themselves in an awkward position and often have few collections, sometimes without ever holding a sale, all while maintaining that they offer reasonable prices all year round.
Retail vs. E-Commerce: The Major Upheaval in the World of Distribution Channels
In conclusion, it would be impossible not to acknowledge the huge transformation represented by the expansion of e-commerce in this market analysis. For a little more than 15 years, the latter has had a significant negative impact on physical trade. In 2016, the number of active e-commerce sites climbed by 12 percent, reaching 200,000, which is 10 times more than it was ten years earlier, according to the Internet Retailer.
Despite the fact that e-commerce is taking away market share from traditional commerce, isn’t this a hint that the industry is in desperate need of a makeover? According to the report: Textile clothing: the ambition to win the new industrial revolution, this is the case at least.
The Notion Chosen Was To Establish A Presence In The Clothes Sector.
The results of the market research will allow for the consolidation of your chosen positioning, or for the redefining of your chosen positioning if the results reveal that it is a specialized market that is clearly in decline. In any case, you’ll need to define the following terms precisely:
- Your desired kind and style of apparel is as follows. For example, street-wear, women’s tailor-made, and men’s shirt specialty are all possible options.
- The number of collections you want to release each year, as well as the manner in which you intend to create the outfits (yourself or with a designer).
- For the fabrication of garments, with which suppliers do you want to collaborate.
Conclusion
Also important is the definition of all ancillary aspects that will help to the creation of the brand identity in great detail. Consider, for example, the history of your company’s brand. Whether it’s your true narrative or a completely made-up one, it is up to you to conceive the story that buyers would like to hear and that would best represent your clothing line.