Internet Shop, but in europe or not ?

[Mr. T]

Hi there

I have a couple of factory connections in Thailand where i can manufacture jeans, women and children clothes and i was thinking of selling it on the internet instead of selling it to shops which then resell it, any comments or suggestions about that ?

Second i live in Denmark which is a quite small country so by only selling in Denmark either over the internet or to shops, may not give me the amount of costumers i am hoping for... But what if i choose to sell to scandinavia only ? Or should i just try and see if i can get a market in europe ?

And last which currency would be to prefer, if i am choosing europe ? (we still have danish krones here in denmark ;-)

This is my first time, so i really appreciate any suggestions and experience!

Thank you!
Thomas

[blackhatontherocks]

Europe -> Euro.
And yes, you should sell within the entire region. But focus on a market where you're able to speak the language first.

If you can sell stuff online yourself, go for it, you can most likely still sell this stuff on ebay pretty well.

[tbone2345]

dude selling retail online is a lot different to selling to retail stores

online retail is not all its cracked up to be, consider the cost of:
-inventory in multiple styles and sizes
-inability to dump slow moving inventory in bulk
-seasonal changes & fashion changes/obsolecence
-the I'll go next door to save 20 cents mentality in retail
-overheads, sure a retail store has overheads but an online store does too, what is your overhead vs. profit vs. time cost in both scenarios
-returns due to poor choice or wrong size

imo you'd be better off selling to retail stores, they buy in bulk, you deal with business people and you'll be able to dump slow moving stock to a factory or discount outlet much more easily than selling online

also consider that most people buy clothes from a store unless they're chasing a specific model/size/brand and they cant get it locally, clothes purchases more have an emotional aspect than many other purchases, they're not as much of a commodity purchase as other goods and as such are probably much harder to sell online - do you know of any solely online clothing department stores?

/my 2 cents anyway

[Susanna]

I totally agree! I looked into creating a women's clothing line and it's EXPENSIVE for the ROI. Work up a couple of samples and then talk to buyers at retail stores.

I know the Danish speak great English, don't limit yourself to Denmark only; however, talk to chains that are international, like H&M, although they might not give you much profit. Nordstrom might be a great option if your clothes are edgy enough.

[Mr. T]

Thanks a lot for the replies :-)

So i will try to go for the retail shops instead, but should i go for the small, medium or the big shops ?

And let's say i have one shop in one city, which is interested in buying can i then sell to other shop's in the same city as well ?

So the way to consult them would be to go there with the examples and ask if they are interested in selling these items right ? Should i put a label in the clothes with my brand name or the buyers shop's name ?

And do i need a map with pictures of models wearing the clothes as well ?

And it is important with a homepage, if i wanna sell to the retail shops ?

Last one :-) Any suggestions on how to test this one, other than just go to the shops and see if they are interested ?

Sorry for all the questions, but i am new in here :-) Really appreciate the replies a lot!

Thank You Very Much!
Thomas