How to Start a Readymade Garment Business in India

Introduction

The garment business is one of the most flourishing businesses in the world. Clothes are not just a necessity anymore. They are a status symbol. People want to wear clothes that showcase their personality. The textiles and apparel industry contributes 5% to India’s GDP. In a developing country like India, the potential of a readymade garment business is limitless. If you are looking for ideas on ‘how to start a garment business’, you have come to the right place. Here is a complete guide on how to start a readymade clothes business.

Readymade Garments Business Plan

A business plan contains your vision, objectives, and the ways to achieve these goals. It is a blueprint of the business that considers marketing, operations, and finances. This document will also help you get a loan from the bank and get investors on board. Before you start working on your business plan, you need to research a lot. First, ask yourself the following questions:

• What sort of garments would be the most feasible and profitable?
• How much capital can you invest in the business?
• How much capital can you raise from the bank or other sources?
• If you don’t have collateral, how do you get a business loan without collateral?
• How will you market your products?
• When do you expect to start generating profits?

The questions mentioned above are just some examples to get you started. The basic idea is that you need a clear plan on what you intend to do and how you should go about it.

Tips for a Garments Business

• Do your research – Before you start any business, you need to do the groundwork. You should talk to the popular garment manufacturers as well as retailers when starting. Figuring out what the local market likes, what does not sell, what is in demand but is not available, etc., is crucial. You can also check if there are products that began trending recently and have a great future in the market. The early-movers advantage can help you generate profits quickly.
• Choose your business model – First, you can choose whether you want to be a manufacturer or a retailer. If you want to manufacture, there are many ways to go about it:
  • Custom manufacturing: You will have to create designs, a brand, and manufacture new products. Everything has to be done from scratch. This way of manufacturing has risks, but the rewards are high.
  • On-Demand: In this type of manufacturing, you can take orders from businesses, franchises, etc., and the buyer will tell you how much and what to make. This one carries significantly less risk. However, it is tough to get orders when you are starting.
  • Outsource Manufacturing: In this type of manufacturing, you can outsource all the work to other manufacturers, slap on your brand label, and sell it on the market.

If you want to go the retail way, there are two ways to do it. You can take a franchise or sell clothes of various brands by purchasing them from wholesalers.

• Get the requisite capital –

The first and foremost thing you need when starting a business is capital. So figure out how much you would need to start your garment business. Next, know how much you can invest in the industry. Do not go all out and invest all your money in the business.

Try to get small business loans from banks or NBFCs such as flex loans by presenting your business plan. Banks would need collateral to finance your venture. There are great NBFCs such as FlexiLoans that offer collateral-free business loans. Moreover, you can get an online business loan from the comfort of your home. The interest rate for business loans in India is relatively moderate as the Government wants to incentivize businesses. Lastly, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can get MSME business loans at cheap rates.

• Start Small

You do not need to go all guns blazing. At the outset, you can research the local market and find out the most popular items. If you are opening a franchise, you can keep a limited stock of the popular items. Once you establish your business, you can then gradually expand your business. The same goes for a manufacturing enterprise. Start small to go big. Apply for business loans online to start your business.

• Pick a good location for a readymade garments shop

If you are opening a readymade garments shop, location is everything. Customers will not go out of their way to come to your shop unless you already have a strong presence in the market. The best thing is to start a shop in a popular location where there are other garments shops. Customers love choices, and they shop in areas where they have lots of shops to choose from. One more aspect of this is to rent or lease a shop that is not disputed. You do not want to get entangled in legal disputes when starting.

• Invest in infrastructure

The facade and interior of your shop can make a big difference. The facade should be such that people would want to go in after seeing it. Not only that, the interior of a garments shop is of the essence. The lighting and the mirrors in the shop should be placed in ways that show people’s flattering side. They would then associate the feeling of looking good with your shop and visit again.

• Fulfil legal obligations

At the outset, you will need to fulfil any legal obligations such as getting a GST number, rent/lease agreement for the shop, getting the requisite permissions from the municipal corporation, etc. Ensure that you do not skip these formalities, as this can result in hefty fines or even shop closure.

• Focus on marketing

There’s no point in establishing a great store and excellent products if people do not know about them. When you are starting, you need to invest in social media marketing as well as offline marketing. Moreover, have incentives for customers such as Buy One Get One or Flat 50% Off, etc. Run paid promotions on social media. You can even target people based on their age, location, shopping preferences, etc.

Social media marketing can get you the highest return on investment as you can market to your target audience directly. If you want to start your brand, you should have a website as well. Build your website well, and you can generate sales from all over India. People look for fresh designs as they are bored of generic designs from known brands. After establishing your presence, you can also build an app and sell your creations. These days, you do not need to shell out big bucks to have a good app. In the internet age, all you need is good products, fresh designs, and a great online presence to generate substantial revenue.

• Create innovative designs

There are hundreds of thousands of garment manufacturing businesses in India. You need to provide quality and fresh designs to stand out, especially if you intend to attract the youth. To do that, you will need to hire someone who can create good designs on Photoshop or other platforms. You can also go old school by hiring local artisans and get designs from them. Today, old-school designs are making a comeback as people want to embrace traditional clothing.

How to Start a Garment Shop in India – Readymade Garments Franchise in India

There are low-cost clothing franchises in India, such as FabIndia, Raymond, Kaira, etc. With high-cost franchises, there are many requirements such as the minimum number of staff, outlets in posh areas, capital requirements, etc. You can go for low-cost options if you have limited capital. Apply for a business loan if you want to extend your capital.

Garment Business in India – Profit

Garment business profits will be generated gradually. Now that we understand how to start your garment business, we can discuss profits. When you start a business, it will take you considerable time to start generating profits. The readymade garment business is the same. You need to be patient. Do good work and establish your presence in the market, and you will start generating handsome profits gradually.

Conclusion

The readymade garment business is a promising venture to pursue in India. You can generate substantial profits by researching well and working smartly. Focus on key aspects such as getting the requisite capital, choosing the right business idea, establishing your business with stellar marketing, etc. To get capital, you can approach banks or NBFCs for MSME loans for new businesses.

The readymade garments business is just like any other business at its core. You have to be patient and follow the tips shared in this article to succeed. There’s a high chance that you will start earning well from your garment business. What are you waiting for? Get started on your dream venture right away.