Starting a Uniform Store

Almost all businesses and schools have prescribed uniforms. That is how big your market is. The challenge now is how you can make your mark in this industry.

First and foremost when you start planning to have your own uniform store, you should be clear right at the beginning whether you intend to design or only supply uniforms. Depending on your decision, you can now determine your startup cost, personnel to hire and marketing activities.

You can choose which segment of the market you want to focus on in the beginning. This article will help you look at both work uniforms and school uniforms store.

A Work Uniform Store

A work uniform store will cater to a wide range of industries – overalls for janitorial, heavy industrial, mechanical, automotive and engineering jobs, scrubs and laboratory coats for medical professionals, service uniforms for fast food crew and retail vendors, suits for corporate employees to name some.

You can also offer embroidery services to attach company logos, company tagline, nametags, or other important information that the customer wants to put in the uniform.

This is a convenient business because you do not need to lease expensive store space in the malls or shopping centers. You may find a nice outlet in a strip mall, industrial or retail park or operate from your own house.

You can run your work uniform store by selling and delivering uniforms directly to company offices or over the Internet. Many companies are giving the job orders for their uniforms to a specific supplier. Once you get an account, you can create loyalty from that company as long as you satisfy their standards and delivery dates.

Initial startup cost for this business is minimal. You do not need to put up a large inventory since companies typically have their own unique designs. The inventory of uniforms that you will be carrying is for new employees who came in after the initial order and several standard types of uniforms you can use as an example for prospective clients.

When looking for prospective clients, contact local companies to find out who is “shopping” for a new supplier. Once you determine those who are not satisfied with their current supplier, ask how you can bid on a contract. Find out what their current service level agreement is so you can include a new service like pickup and drop-off or uniform rental.

You will need to search for uniform distributors or hire your own sewing staff to fulfill the orders that you will acquire. If you decide to offer embroidery services, you will need to find a third-party for that or buy your own equipment and add an embroiderer in your staff.

A School Uniform Store

Schools promote specific school uniforms to prevent disparity and gang behavior. This can mean a steady source of clients for you.

The biggest concern in a school uniform store is stocking. You may be faced with the challenge of putting up with your stock since you will be servicing different schools, or grades, even sizes and concepts.

The way to address this is to encourage the schools to place advance bookings. The school may not be able to do this carefully so be the one to make adjustments. Send your client regular reminders to get orders especially before a new school year or session starts.

Parents tend to buy their kids a new set of uniform and other school supplies when their kids join a new school or the old school uniform is already unusable. Since school children grow fast, this is an opportunity for you to increase your business every time a new session starts.

You can market your business through online advertising especially since most parents do online search prior to buying anything. You can also get an exclusive contract with the school so that all uniforms will be ordered through your store.

Like a work uniform store, schools also require school logos and student nametags sewed into the uniform so you may also offer embroidery as an added service.