How to Start a Successful Clothing Business in Nigeria
Clothing is one of the three fundamental needs of every human being. There is no arguing to this as no one enjoys moving about naked. Almost everyone is ready to spare his/her last kobo in order to get dressed properly. This underscores the paramount importance of clothing, and the overriding economic significance of clothing business.
Here, I will cover how to start a clothing business for women, men and children. Let’s proceed.
Top 3 Requirements for a Lucrative Clothing Business in Nigeria
There is more to clothing business than just the mere selling of clothes which barely everyone is accustomed to. Have you considered going into, or adding fashion designing, embroidery etc. as part of your clothing business line?
So, decide your success in the clothing industry, you need to understand the significance of branding in the business. This will add another level of lucrativeness to your clothing business.
Additionally, you need to work hard and invest much time and energy in the business. Thirdly, this business is best for people who are fashion enthusiast. That does not mean others can’t do it, but fashion enthusiasts would perhaps, do it better.
Basic Guidelines for Starting a Successful Clothing Business in Nigeria
Write a business plan.
Here, evaluate critically the start-up costs for starting a lucrative clothing business in your area. Also make provisions for your competitors as well as the cost estimates for the first three years of the business. Include also, how you intend to grow and extend your business. If you need a helping hand for this, you may simply contact us.
Specialize in a clothing line
You need to be specific about your target niche and target market. Are you going into children’s wears, men’s’ wears or women’s wears? You must be specific. Or are you going into general, unisex wears?
Also, are you going to be trading on only organic cotton materials or nylon, sisal, flax? Will you be selling custom-made Hawaiian shirts or suits? What exactly is your target market demand? You need to sell according to the immediate market demand, if you must breakthrough faster.
Acquire the appropriate coaching and educational background needed to sketch your clothing line.
This is a function of your level of expertise and knowledge penetration in the industry. Learning never ends, as new knowledge sprouts every day. So, you need to be continuously updated via personal self-developments through studies, researches, symposia, courses etc. your knowledge and experience in textile, design and fashion will go a long way in setting you apart for success in the industry.
Choose a business model for your clothing line.
Choose whether to sell your wares in wholesale only to retailers, sell it by yourself in retail quantiles, combine both or to be a clothes distributor. Your decision will decide whether or not you should get yourself a shop, or whether you should run your clothing business online.
Establish a line sheets and look book for your collection.
A look book or line sheet is a physical portfolio or an online gallery of every piece of clothing from your past, present or future collections. This should include photos of every piece of clothing from your collection, together with their price tags, sizing and fabric content respectively.
Advertise your clothing line.
There are many ways of doing this. For example, you can create a blog or website for your business and incorporate an e-commerce system into it. Offline, you can do fashion shows, trunk shows etc.
Alternatively, you can employ the mass and print media for advertisements. Simply, opt for the means that best suits your budget and location.
