irrationalmusings

Children's clothing and toys store

12

How to choose an assortment for a children's clothing store

Of course, perhaps the most important issue for the owners of children’s clothing stores is the creation of an optimal assortment that will help attract customers and will meet their tastes and needs. This issue is particularly acute for entrepreneurs, because often the area of such points turns out to be modest, and funds are limited. As a rule, about half of the amount of investment in the store is spent on the purchase of goods for sale. That is why it is important to do everything right at the stage of forming the initial assortment – any mistake will cause a significant material blow to the business.

Before purchasing children’s clothing, every entrepreneur should go to the nearest stores and carefully study their product range. What brands do they sell? What is their pricing policy? What is the ratio of things of different seasons? How do they lay out the goods? You don’t just need to collect information by answering all of the above questions, you also need to analyze all the data about your direct competitors. Compare the number of customers and the features of the assortment, and determine the winning and losing strategies. Moreover, you should look for flaws in the points of your business rivals and try to avoid them in your own business – so you will give yourself a big head start even at the start of the activity.

Of course, the breadth and depth of the assortment will also be influenced by the format of the store (breadth is the number of product names, for example, shorts, skirts, trousers, etc., while depth is the number of brands represented for each name). If you open a small store with an area of up to 50 square meters, you should not order 10 different brands for different names, then if you open a large point, you can afford such a variety

However, in general, when forming the assortment, the owners of such outlets should follow the following recommendations: All products should be as relevant as possible for representatives of your target audience; The presented models should be trending, that is, correspond to the main trends of children’s fashion (often parents buy exactly what the child likes), but at the same time correspond to the general orientation of the point, because your customers will come to you for certain products; If the goods are supplied to you by several companies, make sure that their products are well combined with each other; If the area of your store allows you to supplement the main assortment with additional products, be sure to do it. This will have a positive effect on the amount of the average check; Choose clothes so that your customers have the opportunity to combine them, create unique and fashionable sets; Don’t get too carried away with ordering models from the same product group, hoping that the customer will definitely like something. This will only complicate the selection process for the buyer, who is unlikely to decide and buy something in your store; It should also be remembered that the residual product does not sell well, while seasonal collections presented in all sizes are perfectly bought; Carefully choose outerwear, because it brings most of the profit; Pay attention not only to the appearance of the product, but also to how it sits on the child. For example, even if the dress is very beautiful on a hanger, but it will be uncomfortable or just won’t sit, moms definitely won’t buy it for their daughters. Ask suppliers for photos of specific models on the child. Do not act at random, you must clearly understand why they will buy these clothes from you. Study fashion trends, pay attention to what children wear, see what their parents buy the