Archive for September, 2009

How Koko Bean Can Help Your Baby Clothing Business Thrive in an Economic Recession

September 21st, 2009

Have you found that the down-turn in the economy is slowing the growth of your baby clothing business? Well don’t let it! The article below offers some great suggestions and tips that will help you find success with your baby and childrens’ clothing business.

Article Summary:

Creating your own baby clothing business takes creativity, hard work and the ability to make products that are right for the market. One way to succeed in today’s market is to focus on budget-conscious parents and retailers. This article gives several strategies for meeting the needs of today’s parents and retailers.

Catering Your Baby Clothing Business to the New Budget-Conscious Parent
By Thane Johnson

So you just went into business selling your cute designer baby clothes and even though it looked great on paper, you are really struggling to make sales. Your per-item cost is way too high and your profit margin is way too low. The boutique owners you’ve approached are telling you sales are down and they just don’t have the money to spend on any new inventory. You are running into a wall. So how do you re-invent your business model so that your baby clothing business can succeed in an economic recession?

First, you need to re-invent your product. In our new financially aware society, consumers are spending less and less. Parents are choosing more affordable clothing options for their little ones. A good idea would be to cater your product to the new budget-conscious parent by lowering the retail price. Of course you need to lower your expenses in order to do this. Re-evaluate your per-item costs and where you can save money. Would using a new wholesale clothing supplier help bring costs down? Or perhaps offering white garments only may help to save money. White garments tend to cost less than colored garments when purchasing on a wholesale level. Also research your embellishments and how you can save money. Would heat transfers save money over screen prints? Can you use rhinestones instead of swavorski crystals? Or perhaps you can just use clear crystals instead of colored ones since these tend to cost less. What sacrifices are you willing to make in order to bring costs down for both you and your customer?

Thinking outside the box in tough economic times is always a good idea. You can save on expenses outside of your product, like overhead costs. Opening an internet store, as opposed to an actual retail location, is the best way to save overhead costs. Try utilizing internet websites that allow you to list and sell your garments online for a per-sale fee. Even paying a small monthly fee to set-up an online store through these websites may prove to be well worth it. Your profit margin for retail customers is much higher than wholesale customers, so it is definitely worth having an online avenue to sell your products. Investing in your own website can be costly and risky in hard economic times, so starting off on a well-established website that caters to your baby clothing business can be a great way to save both you and your customers’ money. Just remember to price your clothing competitively since online shoppers are always looking for the best deal.

Parents aren’t the only ones who are watching their wallets in these tough economic times. Business owners are as well, especially retail shop owners. These customers are vital to your custom children’s clothing business and you can’t afford to lose them. You may want to mention to them that you have changed your product so that it is now more affordable for their customers as well as for them. You have budget-conscious parents in mind and therefore wish for your baby clothing to be one of the lower priced items in the store so that the shop owner will have a quick inventory turn-over. If shop owners are still hesitant, offer a net-30 or net-60 payment plan which allows them 30 or 60 days to pay on the invoice. This gives them enough time to sell the product and pay for it with the proceeds instead of paying in advance. If your wholesale customers still insist that they simply do not have the money to purchase your clothing for their store, offer to work out a consignment deal. This way they do not have to pay you up-front for the product. They only pay you when your product sells so they are out no money, usually on a monthly basis. It is a win-win for everyone since you are, in affect, offering to put money in their pocket at no cost to them. How can they say no to this?

Recessions may lead consumers and business owners alike to spend less, but they don’t cause a significant downturn in birth rates. So whether the economy is flourishing or failing, people are still going to have babies. And all babies need clothes. And all parents, no matter how small their budget is, want cute clothes for their precious little ones. So don’t let a slow down in the economy slow you down! Just make sure that your business plan is constantly changing with the times so that you can easily find success no matter what financial crisis we may be in.

The Koko Bean Shop is a leader wholesaler of baby clothes. Our bulk baby clothes are popular with people who want wholesale prices on high-quality baby clothes without huge minimum order requirements. Check out our collection of wholesale organic baby clothes Visit the Koko Bean Shop online to see our complete line of wholesale baby clothes.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thane_Johnson
http://EzineArticles.com/?Catering-Your-Baby-Clothing-Business-to-the-New-Budget-Conscious-Parent&id=2670433

How to Make Money Designing and Selling Children’s Clothing

September 12th, 2009

How to Make Money Designing and Selling Children’s Clothing
By Thane Johnson

Many individuals and families these days are looking for way to supplement or replace their income. One option is to start your own business. A children’s clothing business is one option that can be both financially and personally rewarding. This article explains some of the steps to starting your own business selling children’s clothes.

Market Research
Before you even begin to think about children’s clothing designs, sourcing your garments, production, marketing and do a lot of research about children’s clothing businesses. You’ll find that children’s clothing can be an great market to enter because children go through a lot of clothes and parents these days often seek out alternatives to the big box clothing choices. For example, boutique designed children’s clothes and organic baby clothes are two markets that have a huge potential and are not dominated by the big stores.

After you have found some opportunities in the children’s clothing market, make a business plan. Figure out what niche you will fill and how you can make a profit at it. For example, you might want to focus on designed organic baby clothes or unique baby accessories like beanies or burp clothes. Get some basic costs figured out and see if you can make some money under different cost and sales structures.

Source Children’s Clothing Wisely
For most start-up businesses focused on clothing, the option of buying tens of thousands of blank garments from an factory in India or Malaysia is not an option. The upfront costs are huge, importing can be risky and you probably won’t need so many children’s garments right away. That said, you won’t make any money buying your clothes off-the-shelf locally. The cost are too high to make a reasonable profit.

The best option for a new start-up clothing company is to find an importer than can offer wholesale children’s clothes at a near wholesale price. These companies important tens of thousands of garments and only mark up the cost of each garment a little and then re-sell in bulk. Most of the children’s garment wholesalers have minimum orders and some have sample packs. Start small and avoid` getting too much inventory on hand.

Design your Garments
Most communities have many very competent graphic designers who can help you make interesting and unique clothing designs. If you have graphic design skills, all the better, but don’t overlook the need to have great designs for your clothing. A small investment in some professional help at this stage can make or break your business in the long term.

Imprinting your Children’s Clothing Designs
There are two basic ways to imprint designs on children’s clothes: silk screening or heat transfer. Research the method that is most appropriate to your needs. Silk screening can be less expensive in the long run, but the start-up costs are much higher. One option is to outsource your production work-an option that can save a lot of money and time initially.

Marketing your Children’s Clothing
If you are a natural salesperson, get out and make as many contacts as you can where you want to sell your clothes. Trade shows, boutiques, farmers markets, local stores and online are some of the places you might want to sell your clothes. If you’re not a natural salesperson, you might want to hire a salesperson on with part of her salary based on commission. This will reward initiative and keep you employee costs down if it takes some time for you to penetrate your intended markets.

Is a children’s clothing business for you? It’s not easy, for certain, but it can be a great choice for stay-at-home parents or for those who want to find additional income.

The Koko Bean Shop is a leader in providing children’s clothing businesses with affordable wholesale organic baby clothes. We also offer a large selection of traditional wholesale baby clothes.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thane_Johnson
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Make-Money-Designing-and-Selling-Childrens-Clothing&id=2856198

Blank Baby Onesie Sale! Save 20% Off Our Already Low Wholesale Prices!

September 3rd, 2009

Koko Bean September Special - Rainbow Onesie Sale

Koko Bean September Special - Rainbow Onesie Sale

Koko Bean Wholesale Baby Apparel is excited to offer our newest special to all our customers! We currently are running a special through the month of  September that allows you to save 20% off our already low wholesale baby clothing prices. We are bringing our Hawaii rainbows to your boutique for our “Rainbow Onesie Sale”.  Take advantage of our deeply discounted onesies with a bulk purchase on blank baby onesies. You will receive 126 blank onesies, 18 per color, 42 per size, at a low price of $2.75/pc.  All our onesies are 100% cotton and made in India. We discreetly hide our tag inside the onesie which allows you to place your own tag on the garment for all your customers to see! All garments have a small, generic sizing tag at the top which makes no reference to Koko Bean. Please see more details at http://kokobeanshop.com/onesie-rainbow-sale-p-128.html?cPath=32_