Opening a boutique in dublin

Cyrus

First off,

I know this is a minefield, the amount of boutiques/shops etc that open and close every week in Dublin is huge. However it is something that my wife and i are keen to explore in the longer term.

She currently has a pretty senior and high stress role in the financial services sector, we are thinking that in the future if we have a family that it might not be an ideal job and we are thinking about her opening a boutique.

We are both accountants so we wont have any issue with the admin side of the business and my wife has been in enough boutiques to have her own ideas on what would drive success.

Where we lack information is whats involved in getting a premises, what would you be paying for retail space off grafton st (say the royal hibernian way or somewhere), how do you go about getting stock etc. Also what can someone realistically expect to make in profit with a reasonably successful store?

Does anyone have any advice or experience of setting up their own retail store?

Bandara

Hi Cyrus

Just a quick point re: your post

I'd disagree that her job isnt suitable if you guys start a family, a year maternity leave with a wage coming in takes some
Beating! Maybe a few years later yes, but deffo use her current employer to fund the wages for a few years at least !

Cyrus

Hammertime wrote: »

Hi Cyrus

Just a quick point re: your post

I'd disagree that her job isnt suitable if you guys start a family, a year maternity leave with a wage coming in takes some
Beating! Maybe a few years later yes, but deffo use her current employer to fund the wages for a few years at least !

good point

thats kind of what i meant, after we (hopefully) have a few kids then this would be something to look into

billybunty

Cyrus wrote: »

First off,

I know this is a minefield, the amount of boutiques/shops etc that open and close every week in Dublin is huge. However it is something that my wife and i are keen to explore in the longer term.

She currently has a pretty senior and high stress role in the financial services sector, we are thinking that in the future if we have a family that it might not be an ideal job and we are thinking about her opening a boutique.

We are both accountants so we wont have any issue with the admin side of the business and my wife has been in enough boutiques to have her own ideas on what would drive success.

Where we lack information is whats involved in getting a premises, what would you be paying for retail space off grafton st (say the royal hibernian way or somewhere), how do you go about getting stock etc. Also what can someone realistically expect to make in profit with a reasonably successful store?

Does anyone have any advice or experience of setting up their own retail store?

For suppliers it will depend on what kind of brands & labels you want to sell.
Fashion city in ballymount would have agents for distribution for most major brands.
But, to open for something diff to offer i would say get googling suppliers/wholesalers/designers, not just here but worldwide.
Another good idea is to google boutiques in random cities around the world& see what brands they carry.
Bearing in mind your looking for something diff&unique i inagine.
For imports outside the eu there is a charge of vat at current rate plus 12%( around) on the lot after vat is added on, so it might be cheaper to find a european agent instead of importing from outside eu.
I know these things as i buy for my kids clothes website.
The other thing to be aware of is certain brands dont like you selling their brand with another, too similar/cost differences/exclusivity etc.
To buy for spring say next year ,2013, books/ranges will go on show around june (look for a trade fair) and purchases/books would close around september.
Same then for other seasons&forward buying.
When you open a bricks and mortar shop think of the time commitment also. Having had a baby myself if my business was not online i would have to employ someone/people to run the shop.
But Your right to look into it now to give you plenty time to plan.
Question tho, would you consider opening small where you live first , make the errors/learning curves small scale.
I presime you are in dublin& little boutiques are hard to come by in the suburbs.
I know your not getting as much passing trade but like anything its word of mouth and building up repuation for that little something diff. Hope this helps

amen

pretty senior and high stress role in the financial services sector,

So running her own business will be less stressful ?

if we have a family

you will loose your maternity benefit. Have to pay someone to run the shop. Who will go to trade shows and check out the new stock ? At first you will want to be in your shop every day it opens.

We are both accountants

what practical experience do either of you have of
A: Working in retail
B: managing/supervising in retail
C: running your own business

the amount of boutiques/shops etc that open and close every week
in Dublin is huge

because people jump into the business without any experience

my wife has been in enough boutiques to have her own ideas on what would drive success.

Ahh yes the I've eaten in McDonalds so how hard can it be to run a McDonalds syndrom.

No offense but your ideas of what drives success and what actually leads to success can be two totally different things. Initially the biggest driver of success is spending the time and effort on getting the business running the way you want and then training staff to run it the way you want (this is the hard bit). You need to watch everything.

you should really go and try and get some part time experience working in a boutique to see what the work is like.

Not trying to put you off just make sure you have your eyes wide open before you jump.

Cyrus

So running her own business will be less stressful ?

Than her current job, yes it will be in most respects

you will loose your maternity benefit. Have to pay someone to run the shop. Who will go to trade shows and check out the new stock ? At first you will want to be in your shop every day it opens.

Obviously

what practical experience do either of you have of
A: Working in retail
B: managing/supervising in retail
C: running your own business

She has worked in retail when she was younger, she manages a team of 15-20 people at the moment, and most people who start their own business have no prior experience, not really experience that you can get without .....yep you guessed it, starting your own business

Also, you are selectively quoting me, i said that as we were accountants at least the admin and record keeping side of things wont be an issue, i never said that it was a qualification to run a store.

I posted looking for help, and advice, your post came across as condescending more than anything, whether you meant it or not.

Its just something that we are looking into and wont be rushed into, largely because it would be a significant financial risk so its a decision that cant be taken lightly.

Mrs W

Cyrus wrote: »

So running her own business will be less stressful ?

Than her current job, yes it will be in most respects

you will loose your maternity benefit. Have to pay someone to run the shop. Who will go to trade shows and check out the new stock ? At first you will want to be in your shop every day it opens.

Obviously

what practical experience do either of you have of
A: Working in retail
B: managing/supervising in retail
C: running your own business

She has worked in retail when she was younger, she manages a team of 15-20 people at the moment, and most people who start their own business have no prior experience, not really experience that you can get without .....yep you guessed it, starting your own business

Also, you are selectively quoting me, i said that as we were accountants at least the admin and record keeping side of things wont be an issue, i never said that it was a qualification to run a store.

I posted looking for help, and advice, your post came across as condescending more than anything, whether you meant it or not.

Its just something that we are looking into and wont be rushed into, largely because it would be a significant financial risk so its a decision that cant be taken lightly.

I work in clothing wholesale and we also have a number of stores around the country.

I would strongly advise you not to do it, I have many customers who are doing it a long time and still can't make it work. There are a good few well known boutiques that won't last past the end of the year either.

The biggest shows are Pure in London, bread and butter is in Spain I think and there's Paris shows too, it's mostly the same brands at each.
In Dublin city centre you will probably have a hard time getting a good brand that doesn't already have a supplier there, they will also look for minimum orders that could be hard to justify when your only starting off.

Good luck with it!

Cyrus

amen wrote: »

So running her own business will be less stressful ?


you will loose your maternity benefit. Have to pay someone to run the shop. Who will go to trade shows and check out the new stock ? At first you will want to be in your shop every day it opens.


what practical experience do either of you have of
A: Working in retail
B: managing/supervising in retail
C: running your own business



because people jump into the business without any experience



Ahh yes the I've eaten in McDonalds so how hard can it be to run a McDonalds syndrom.

No offense but your ideas of what drives success and what actually leads to success can be two totally different things. Initially the biggest driver of success is spending the time and effort on getting the business running the way you want and then training staff to run it the way you want (this is the hard bit). You need to watch everything.

you should really go and try and get some part time experience working in a boutique to see what the work is like.

Not trying to put you off just make sure you have your eyes wide open before you jump.

Mrs W wrote: »

I work in clothing wholesale and we also have a number of stores around the country.

I would strongly advise you not to do it, I have many customers who are doing it a long time and still can't make it work. There are a good few well known boutiques that won't last past the end of the year either.

The biggest shows are Pure in London, bread and butter is in Spain I think and there's Paris shows too, it's mostly the same brands at each.
In Dublin city centre you will probably have a hard time getting a good brand that doesn't already have a supplier there, they will also look for minimum orders that could be hard to justify when your only starting off.

Good luck with it!

thank you, that is interesting and useful information

inspired38

There is some great advice already here. Even though running your own business may not be stressful, what you can lose initially is time. And then that causes stress!

But given that you are considering this as an option for the future, take the time to learn as much as you can about this type of business - I see a lot of newer boutiques capturing social media very well and engaging with their clients in a better way.

Your customers will keep coming back to you if they know you, they like you and they trust you and also if you know what they will want.

Also, for a business like this to succeed, you need a genuine interest in it - otherwise you will come across as insincere.

In addition, when you do open the boutique, take the time to get the best team and look after them well but do not tolerate mediocrity because it will cost you a fortune.

Regards

shangri la

What would be unique about your boutique?

amen

your post came across as condescending more than anything, whether you meant it or not.

that was not my intent. More to make sure you look before you leap.

she manages a team of 15-20 people

Who are most likely professionals working in a professional environment. Its a lot different managing a team in a retail environment.

Its just something that we are looking into and wont be rushed into, largely because it would be a significant financial risk so its a decision that cant be taken lightly

thats the bit to be careful of. If for instance your business failed and your had a judgement against her for debts could she continue to practice/work as an accountant?

antoinolachtnai

I really think that running a boutique will be a lot more stressful than a corporate job. You can literally burn through all your savings in a single year in a small business if you make a few bad mistakes, and that is what makes it really stressful. Everybody has their own idea about stress though.

Don't underestimate how professional the clothes business is. There are people working in this business who have degrees in related fields, and have been working at it for years. They are massively qualified, maybe as qualified as you and your wife are in your fields. Some of them work for large groups and have the benefit of capital and large-scale buying power. Even for them, it is a really tough, sometimes rough business.

If you and your wife have accounting skills, it would be a lot less stressful to set up some sort of accounting operation focused on the needs of small businesses. It would take a while to take off, but you and your wife could mostly work at it from home and even in the worst situation you couldn't lose your shirt at it.

If you do really want to go this route, my suggestion would be to take over an existing boutique rather than trying to establish a new site.

But think hard about it. Is this really a business, or is it a lifestyle choice you would like to make. It is perfectly acceptable to run a boutique as a lifestyle choice rather than a business, maybe a quarter of boutiques are run on this basis, but you need to have the money to pay for this lifestyle (i.e., do not expect it to make a profit or even pay a wage).