The modern fashion industry is ultra-competitive. Businesses around the world are all competing with one another to boast the best designs and make their stance on the fashion world. Competition doesn’t always have to be bad news though. Sure, some businesses see them as a threat but with plenty of ideas out there it leaves you room for tons of inspiration.
So with that in mind, this post will explore seven fashion business ideas that your company could look to adopt when looking to grow and expand.
We’ll cover:
Open a Clothing Boutique
A clothing boutique is much more than just a store to sell your amazing products. First of all, they’re a lot smaller and each has their unique style and twist. Which is why they’re perfect for testing the water with your products and stock range. Show off your personal fashion taste through your products and see whether the public like your range too.
Boutiques are a great fashion business idea as they allow you to express your brand and run with it. Not sticking to common themes and putting yourself out there is how you’ll get noticed but are your designs up to the mark? Plus, it’s easy to create a buzz on social media to improve audience reach. Giveaways and competitions are top ways of getting your brand name out there.
You don’t need any qualified skills to branch out into boutiques either. You’ll be dealing with customers face to face, so you’ll need strong interpersonal skills, a strong product and industry knowledge and a smile that will live long in the memory. With these traits, plus a sound idea of running a fashion business, you should be good to go.
Start Your Own Clothing Line
Starting a clothing line is a bold fashion business idea. But if you’re prepared to put the grind in, it’s a choice that can reap the rewards for your business. When you think of clothing lines, it’s normal to automatically think of the giant brands in the industry. However, clothing lines and brands come in all shapes and sizes – so, don’t let that put you off.
Depending on how big you want to grow the business, you can start off small with a relatively cheap budget. As long as you can afford the materials, the right industrial embroidery machine and the necessary marketing efforts, you’re in a good place to start your own clothing manufacturing business and range.
Specialise in Leather Goods
If you’re looking to move your business into a flexible and fun new market, why not take a look at specialising in leather goods? After all, leather is never going to go out of fashion. With bags, jackets, pants, belts and much more continue to dominate throughout the industry. So, you’re never going to be short of demand for your products.
And it doesn’t have to stop at producing leather products too. A lot of businesses find success for repairing leather goods and reselling them. Plus, what better way to show off your creative flair than taking something damaged and turning it into a quality piece that you’re proud to put your brand name to.
Start Your Own Clothing Line
Although the fashion industry is constantly evolving, one thing that can’t be ignored is the staple techniques that help prolong it to where it is now. Embroidery has been popular within the fashion industry for years and it’s easy to see why. Not only is it a durable technique that is proven to last but embroidery gives a nice, professional touch to each garment.
Brands like Gucci, Ralph Lauren and Lacoste are all huge advocates of embroidery techniques on their garments. No one can mistake the little crocodile or the polo player emblems of their respective brands – and a lot of that is thanks to them being embroidered on the majority of their products. Although they brand their clothes in different ways, embroidery is by far the most iconic and memorable.
An embroidered emblem or logo is a favoured approach for a lot of brands. If you want your brand to be portrayed as a regal, classy organisation, then embroidery is the way to go. Other methods, such as screen printing, can cheapen the brand if you’re trying to give off a certain image – and people won’t be drawn into buying products that look cheap.
The machine will be the most expensive part of expanding into the embroidery market. The cost will depend on the demand that you need to meet and how quickly you need to turn orders around. Although a premium price point, industrial embroidery machines are a worthy long-term investment that’ll likely produce great returns for your company.
Start an Online T-Shirt Store From Anywhere
Branching out into different markets doesn’t have to be difficult, nor does it have to incur heavy costs either. Starting an online t-shirt store is another way that you can expand your brand and is perhaps the easiest way too!
You can literally do anything with a t-shirt, anything. It’s a flexible idea too, so, should the trends move quickly and away from your original ideas, it won’t take too much repositioning for you to get back on track and cash in on the latest fashion trends. Plus, the demand is always there for customised or nicely designed t-shirts, therefore, you needn’t worry about a lack of custom or an audience to target.
Online t-shirt businesses have very little overheads, especially with so many on-demand printing services on the modern market. Plus, if you’re successful, you don’t have to just keep it online, you can eventually move into retail and look to expand even further.
Cash In On the Plus-Size Clothing Boom
Plus-size clothes are booming in the modern market, with more people openly wearing them than ever before. Businesses like Jacamo and ASOS have made it easier for plus-size shoppers to find the brands and clothing that they want to wear. So, would it work for your brand?
It’s a market that’s expanding at all times and isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. Plus, you won’t have to change much to your original clothing manufacturing plan. All you’ll need is extra materials, a little bit more time and the correct marketing channels, which proves that it’s an easy way to help grow your business.
Expand into Shoes, Trainers and Boots
Increasing your producing range to feature shoes, trainers and boots doesn’t mean that you need the specific skills to be able to create these from scratch. Securing a contract with a reliable and cost-efficient supplier and modifying the trainers with your own personal touch is a more affordable and business-savvy way of selling these products.
After all, everybody needs something to wear on their feet. Don’t they? And people like to express their fashion taste and style with what footwear they choose to wear. Whether you’re branding up trainers with your own cool logo or a unique design, there’s no limit to what you can produce on your footwear range.
Again, this won’t require too much of a change to your normal process. You’ll need to buy more materials, which are the shoes themselves, and you may need to invest in a machine that allows you to work on different shape materials. Other than that, your talented workforce should be all set to help your business grow effectively.
Choose the Right Embroidery Machine For Your Fashion Business
xpanding your fashion business is a big step for the company – but to do it right you need to make sure that you have everything in place to maximise the chances of success. One of the main things you need to consider is your equipment. Do you have the right equipment in place to move into new markets? And is there scope for growth for when your business grows in size?
If your fashion business actively embroiders garments, you need to make sure that you have the right kind of embroidery machine in place. It’s a big decision, so you mustn’t take it likely. But what are the differences between all the machines and which businesses are they more suited to?
Luckily for you, we’ve put together a free guide that compares single-head and multi-head embroidery machines. Grab your copy today.