How To Start A Clothing Business: 7 Easy Steps (2024)

If you have knowledge and passion for fashion, learning how to start a clothing business is an excellent way to turn your creativity and skills into a lucrative career option. New business owners now find it easier to sell their product lines online and turn profits. You can sell clothes in India through various ways, such as finding wholesalers and collaborators to provide fashionable items to entice customers. 

Starting a clothing brand is a profitable business idea in India, considering the huge textile industry in the country. However, there are still many clothing stores that are not performing well, mainly due to a lack of planning and finance. 

Here is everything you need to know about starting a clothing business in India. When it comes to scaling the business, a low-interest Business Loan can provide the required money to fund the expansion efficiently.

What is a Clothing Business?

A clothing business involves designing, producing, or retailing apparel and accessories. It can range from retailing clothes in stores to operating an online boutique catering to various fashion needs. The industry is run by many people and craftspeople involved in clothes manufacturing, such as embroiders, tailors, seamstresses, etc. The industry is supported by fashion professionals, including models, hair stylists, model agents, make-up artists, photographers, and other non-fashion service providers, making up a larger ecosystem.

The clothing industry is fast-evolving with changing fashion trends and consumer demands. The internet has broadened the scope of starting a clothing brand, allowing business owners to reach target audiences across boundaries.

Steps to Start Clothing Business

 Therefore, learning how to start a clothing line and operate the business successfully is imperative.

Steps	Description
Find Your Niche	Identify a specialized market or area of expertise
Know Your Audience	Understand the demographics and preferences
Create a Marketing Plan	Outline strategies to reach your target audience
Name Your Brand	Choose a brand identity and design assets
Complete Business Reg.	Finalize legal paperwork for business operations
Sourcing	Acquire necessary resources or products
Start Promotion	Initiate marketing efforts to attract customers

Step 1: Find Your Niche

As already mentioned, the clothing industry consists of a myriad of products and services. Therefore, you must pick your niche according to your skills and interests and stick to it. Accordingly, you can learn how to start a clothing business that resonates with your target audience. Although including everything in your product line can be appealing, most successful brands have defined niches to build an identity. For instance, if you have a sense of fashion, you might spend most of your time styling and manufacturing pieces. If you understand the needs of plus-size women better, create a niche in that section.

Step 2: Know Your Audience

Before starting a clothing business, it’s crucial to figure out your ideal customers. Based on the type and style of clothes you make, you can easily visualise who will wear them. However, you must also find where you will sell the items and how you will reach your target customers. Answer the following questions to determine your audience:

• Who are your target customers?
• What types of clothes do they demand?
• Where do they buy?
• How often do they shop?
• Do they expect trendy clothes?
• What’s their average budget?
• What factors influence their demands and decisions?

Answering these questions will let you understand your customers better. Accordingly, you can build your brand and develop products catering to their needs. 

Step 3: Create a Marketing Plan

Once you identify your target audience, work towards reaching them by creating a robust marketing plan. Figure out which channels they use most often and plan your marketing strategy towards that. A few factors that play a crucial role include your target market, competition, distribution channels, marketing strategy, budget, etc. A solid marketing plan will guide you through the product advertising and distribution strategies, significantly impacting your sales.

Step 4: Name Your Brand and Create Brand Assets

It's time to create an identity that represents your clothing brand. These include your brand name, graphics, illustrations, logo, product photography, colour palette, etc. Doing all the branding work yourself seems intimidating. That is why you might need to hire professional designers and developers. Fund their costs with the best loans for business purposes to keep things affordable. Ensure the brand name you choose is catchy and easy to remember. Also, get a domain name to build a separate identity.

Step 5: Complete Your Business Registration

Based on your annual turnover, you must register your clothing business to obtain a 15-digit GST number. Most suppliers and B2B buyers will only do business if your company is GST-registered. Therefore, it's best to stick to the Indian government's taxation rules to increase accessibility and avoid complications. Once you have selected your brand name and assets, register your business in the state. GST and EIN codes let you work with retailers at wholesale pricing in India. The business registration process may vary between states. Find yours to know how to register your clothing brand while complying with the rules and laws.

Step 6: Sourcing

By now, you must have already selected your suppliers, wholesalers, raw material sellers, etc. If you are still on the verge, starting a clothing business becomes easier if you source your products from wholesalers, designers, manufacturers, and sewists. You can also source raw materials from suppliers and hire an in-house team to sew the products. Your final strategy largely depends on your plan to sell online or offline. 

Step 7: Start Promotion

Marketing is a crucial part of learning how to start a clothing business in India. After all, your target audience can only reach you if they know about your existence. Ideally, the marketing process should start even before the launch of the clothing store. It will help create hype and let your business hit the ground from the first day. 

Set up Facebook ads and use influencer marketing to reach your target audience and make an impression. Hosting a giveaway is a good strategy to build an email list before the business goes live. Social media is another lucrative platform to market your business and popularise your brand name to earn customers' trust.

Estimated Costing to Start a Clothing Business

The estimated cost to start a clothing business can vary widely depending on various factors like scale, location, sourcing, branding, and more. Here's a rough breakdown:

Inventory and Production Costs: This involves sourcing materials, manufacturing, and initial inventory. Costs can range significantly based on the type of clothing you're creating, quality, and quantity. (Estimated cost: 5-10 Lakh)

Branding and Design: Creating a brand identity, designing logos, tags, and other brand-related assets can have varied costs depending on whether you hire professionals or do it yourself. (Estimated cost: 3-5 Lakh)

Business Registration and Licensing: Fees for registering your business legally and obtaining necessary permits and licenses. (Estimated cost:1-2 Lakh)

Marketing and Promotion: Budget for advertising, promotions, and marketing campaigns to launch your clothing line and reach your target audience. (Estimated cost: 5-10 Lakh)

E-commerce or Retail Space Costs: If you plan to sell online, consider costs related to website development, hosting, and e-commerce platform fees. For physical stores, factor in rent, utilities, and interior setup. (Estimated cost: 2-3 Lakh)

Operational Expenses: Including employee salaries (if applicable), packaging, shipping, and other day-to-day running costs. (Estimated cost: 2-4 Lakh)

The initial investment for a clothing business could start from 30-40 Lakhs for a small-scale operation and go up significantly for larger productions or high-end brands. It's essential to research and plan meticulously based on your specific business model and goals.

Different Types of Cloth for Business

Types of Cloth Businesses	Description
Retail Clothing Stores	These include various formats like department stores, boutiques, fast-fashion chains, and luxury brands
Online Clothing Retailers	E-commerce platforms providing convenience and accessibility
Custom Clothing Shops	Providing a personalized and unique experience
Athletic Wear Brands	Specializing in sports and activewear, meeting the growing demand for functional clothing
Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Clothing Brands	brands focus on using sustainable materials and ethical production practices in their clothing lines

Different Types of Clothing Businesses

Different types of clothing business models are available, each customized to meet various needs, Find accompanied by estimated startup costing.

Types of Clothing Business	Estimated Cost	Description
Retailers	15-20 Lakh	These businesses sell clothing directly to consumers through physical stores or online platforms.
Wholesalers	20-25 Lakh	They sell clothing items in bulk quantities to retailers or other businesses rather than to individual customers.
Manufacturers	30-40 Lakh	Companies involved in the production of clothing items, often in large quantities, which are then sold to retailers or wholesalers.
Distributors	10-15 Lakh	Businesses that facilitate the movement of clothing items from manufacturers to retailers or wholesalers

How Does a Business Loan Help to Start a Clothing Business?

Now that you know how to start a clothing line in India, the next step is to arrange the required finances for its expansion. Here’s how a low-interest Business Loan can help scale a clothing business:

• Cover the Expansion Cost: After starting a clothing business, you will need more space, skilled professionals, and advanced equipment to scale the business operations. You can get the required funding by liquidating your savings or assets. However, an unsecured Business Loan from Hero FinCorp can provide quick funds of up to Rs 40 lakh to execute your expansion plan.
• Growth and Expansion: Whether you want to expand your product line or open a new retail store, a Business Loan can provide financial support to achieve those goals.
• Marketing: Hiring a competent marketing company and creating a robust marketing plan needs finance that you can quickly obtain from a Business Loan. By reaching your target customers, you can make an impact and turn visitors into potential customers.

How to Apply for a Business Loan Without Any Hassle?

After gaining information about how to start a clothing brand in India and knowing how Business Loans help expand your business, it’s crucial to understand the procedure for applying for the best Business Loans. These are the steps to follow:

• Visit the Hero FinCorp website
• Reach their Business Loan application page.
• Fill out the necessary details about yourself and your business. 
• Upload scanned copies of the required documents.
• Enter your loan requirement.
• After verification, you will get a loan offer with the loan amount, interest rate, and tenure.
• Accept the loan offer to get disbursal directly into your bank account within a few hours.

Conclusion 

Starting a clothing business is an excellent way to merge your creativity with a business idea. It allows you to turn your passion into a profitable business. On top of that, Hero FinCorp provides the best Business Loans to expand your business presence. These loans come at competitive interest rates starting at 14%, flexible repayment tenure of up to 60 months. The best part is you can use them for any purpose you want to achieve your business goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How Much Does It Cost to Start a Clothing Business?

Starting a clothing business usually costs around Rs. 5-10 Lakh, including space, inventory, staff, operating costs, etc. However, the cost increases with the business size and scope.

2. Are Clothing Businesses Profitable?

Yes, the clothing business is a profitable idea owing to the high demand for trendy clothes. However, the profit margin depends on the company's size, pricing strategy, production costs, etc.

3. Do You Need a License to Start a Clothing Business?

Your clothing business must be registered. If you plan to establish a shop, you will also need a Shop and Establishment license from your state government.

4. What happens if I don't have business registration proof?

Without business registration proof, your clothing business may face legal issues, miss out on financial benefits, and lose credibility with customers and suppliers.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog is based on the research. While we strive to maintain accurate and up-to-date pricing, fluctuations in production costs, market conditions, or other unforeseen circumstances may impact the final pricing of our products. Hero Fincorp bears no responsibility for any variations in pricing and reserves the right to adjust prices as necessary without liability.