How to set up a hat shop
Hats have become a fashion trend among young people almost everywhere in the world and setting up a hat shop can be an excellent business option in your city!
Considering this business possibility, I will share with you some tips on how to set up a hat shop, even starting from scratch and with little money!
The best place for a hat shop
If you have the opportunity to rent a commercial point in the center of the city, you should know that this will be one of the best places to set up your store and the reason is that you are in an area where the movement of people is always very big and they tend to see more sales than in any other. Obviously the cost of having your own space in the shopping center of your city can be expensive and if you are willing to start spending some money, you can opt for neighborhoods, with easy access and good visibility, you can also achieve interesting results.
The interior of your own small shop does not have to be big, just enough space to display the hats and install a concierge service, you also need a bathroom, then with this basic structure, you can have your own accessories and hat shop!
How to set up a hat shop?
Despite being a very small shop, compared to other types of shops, it is still important to focus on good internal organization. Therefore, you should organize the hats on the shelves or in showcases, invest in good lighting and air conditioning of the store, put your service office at the end of the store and do not forget to put your most beautiful hats clearly visible in the windows of the front of the store to draw the attention of those who are walking down the street.
In the middle of all this, you need to be in touch with good suppliers as well where you can buy hats in bulk at a very affordable price and resell them in your store.
You can even open a hat shop with very little money, but in any case, you will have to invest in buying some things or some other essential expenses, like renting the work space, buying shelves, windows and a balcony, IT equipment, decorating the shop and buying all your initial hats. Hiring employees may not be necessary because you can work with someone from your family, but if you need to, it would be one employee.
I think your initial cost will be between £20,000 and £90,000 to set up a well organised hat shop with a good positioning in the local market, but it is clear that in some cases you can start with less or invest even more money, as it all depends on the size of your small business.
Setting up a virtual hat shop
Many entrepreneurs bet on the Internet to build their stores and expand sales, so it may be another option for you. All you need is contact with good product suppliers (mainly imported hats), and you will also require a structure to sell online and the knowledge to attract interested people to your store, especially through online advertising.
Even some people choose to start selling on sites like Mercado Libre and only later when they have experience with online sales, set up their own online store.
Requirements to start virtual hat shop
Starting in this type of business is very easy, you simply have to get merchandise and offer it in a space, if you do not have much money you can start your business online, using the tools of social networks to offer your product, dedicated websites or blogs that will help attract a large number of customers and publicize your business at the same time.
If you have enough capital and you want to set up a business, you need to register your business, so that your business is not affected by a bad strategy of setting up or organization, so you should do the registration of trade first of all.
Advantages of having a virtual hat shop
It is a product so exclusive and easy to transport that, it can be offered in a dedicated online store or as a street vendor, even offered on consignment to other businesses that accept this contract model, in modern society everyone at some point will want to buy a hat, which represents a very good percentage of customer acquisition for the business.
If you offer exotic and eye-catching models that attract the public it is very likely that you will be very successful in this business. Furthermore, if you intend to set up a dedicated shop in a shopping centre, this business contrasts by attracting customers.
Tips to start
It is advisable to start at
small, that way you can have total control of your business, it is highly recommended to use the internet, design a dedicated website to make yourself known by creating an attractive name for your business, in this way, you can make a reputation even before acquiring a commercial premise, if you want to have a physical platform.
Offer a variety of hats, colorful and attractive to call the youth, to have a good inventory customers who will come to your space looking for one of its products, it is also recommended to always make advertising strategies and make offers, as the classic two for the price of one.
Success stories of this business
A successful company in this sector is Sombrerería Medrano, which was founded in Madrid in 1832. It is dedicated to the production and sale of hats, and has remained in the competition of the hat market for the last 180 years in its current headquarters, becoming an asset of the old capital and Spain.
The Citysport is another successful and prestigious hat shop, because here you can find all types of hats in all colours, styles and fabrics for today’s women and men, with classic and modern tastes, to wear on all occasions and at all times of the day. They also have other items such as ties, bow ties, hats that protect from the cold, and for the summer, being the perfect complement to protect from high temperatures with an elegant and sophisticated touch.
Problems that can occur
At first it can be hard to attract customers as many business models do, so you may have problems with profit margins at first, however, with effort and patience the first year, the business will gradually increase customer flow.
Because you are working with only one type of product, you are probably turning your back on potential customers who are looking for other types of clothing such as shirts, blouses, ties, scarves, which can be a problem because you will only be interested in buying a hat.
Having a business premises and registration implies paying taxes and declaring business movement which can be very tedious and represents losses that could be above profits at the beginning, not counting the payment of utilities for your business.