This section of the forum is for discussing the business and finance issues of the t-shirt industry. Which business structure to use (sole proprietor, LLC, S Corp, etc), how to handle billing, where to register your business and get the proper licensing, etc.
I'm writing a business plan and having difficulty estimating the total number of t-shirt sales per day/week/month.
If a shop is located in a very busy area (such as a mall or busy shopping street), how many t-shirts is it likely to sell per day per week? Assume the shop has a wide selection (40-50 differnt designs) and sells relatively expensive t-shirts.
Is it unreasonable to expect to sell over 250 per week?
Re: estimating Volume of sales for a business plan
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick S
If a shop is located in a very busy area (such as a mall or busy shopping street), how many t-shirts is it likely to sell per day per week? Assume the shop has a wide selection (40-50 differnt designs) and sells relatively expensive t-shirts.
Is it unreasonable to expect to sell over 250 per week?
The numbers sound high. The simplest way to get the answer is to buy yourself a cheap clicker counter, find yourself a comfortable seat and click every time a person exits the store carrying a bag.
Re: estimating Volume of sales for a business plan
i suggest a different perspective....find out all your costs and overhead expenses etc... then find out how many shirts you need to sell to break even, and how many more you need to sell to get a resonable "take home" profit. then you have a real target and then figure out if those targets are realistic.
Re: estimating Volume of sales for a business plan
My calculations tell me that i need to sell an average of around 140 per week to break even (mainly due to very expensive rent). How likely is it that i can sell that amount and more, week in, week out?
Last edited by Nick S; November 1st, 2007 at 10:10 AM.
Re: estimating Volume of sales for a business plan
Hi Nick. Where is your store located, is it in a mall? The number doesn't sound too unlikely, but it will take alot of work. I would divide the total by the number of days you are open, just for the sake of making it easier to reach your goal. Ie, instead of saying to yourself that you have to sell 140 shirts this week, just set aside that you have to sell at least 20 a day (assuming you are open 7 days.) To me, it just takes a bit of the pressure off, and makes you feel great every time you make a sale and edge closer to your final goal.
I was wondering, you said the line was relatively expensive, how much are you expecting to set your retail price at? Would it be at all possible to up the price by just a couple dollars to cut your required sales, or would that push you above the ceiling sales price for the market?
Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, but I have considered locating inside a local mall here for a couple years, and I had to ask myself the same questions. .The trouble is, it just didn't seem to me that I would be able to move enough product to make any money. Break even, yes, but show a profit? Not even close.
Is your store going to be located in a tourist-driven area, or is it mostly populated by local clientele?
Re: estimating Volume of sales for a business plan
ok, this may be way up there but assuming you are renting in a high traffic mall with lots of chain stores selling lots of t-shirts.
You will need 1-2 racks always full of t-shirts marked on special because you want to bring clients into your store etc. to compete.
This means the racks-fill at least ......300 shirts or so/week. This would be the specials only. Then you would sell your other higher ticket items that no one else stocks.
Re: estimating Volume of sales for a business plan
There are a few things to consider about a mall type location. As you pointed out the rent is pretty steep. (I ran my tee shirt and embroidery business in a mall for 4 plus years. We are no longer there) One reason, the traffic is extremely seasonal. November and December were great. Jan and Feb could typically be 20 to 25 % of Nov Dec sales. If you have the staff and equipment to handle dec., there will be a lot of idle time in January. My new location is seasonal, but not nearly as severe.
The people who own enclosed malls are not building new ones. New shopping is "lifestyle centers" Shopping patterns are changing and mall traffic is dropping in all but the A malls. If you lock into a 3 or more year lease, you may be in trouble. (long lease is another issue)
Build out plans in a mall have to be approved by the mall. This can make it much more expensive to install cabinets, displays, etc. Be sure you know what the requirements are before you committ.
Location is key to getting the sales numbers you need. Selling 20 to 25 shirts per day on average seems very ambitious for a start-up year, even in an excellent location.
Re: estimating Volume of sales for a business plan
Quote:
Originally Posted by karlking85
Hi Nick. Where is your store located, is it in a mall? The number doesn't sound too unlikely, but it will take alot of work. I would divide the total by the number of days you are open, just for the sake of making it easier to reach your goal. Ie, instead of saying to yourself that you have to sell 140 shirts this week, just set aside that you have to sell at least 20 a day (assuming you are open 7 days.) To me, it just takes a bit of the pressure off, and makes you feel great every time you make a sale and edge closer to your final goal.
I was wondering, you said the line was relatively expensive, how much are you expecting to set your retail price at? Would it be at all possible to up the price by just a couple dollars to cut your required sales, or would that push you above the ceiling sales price for the market?
Is your store going to be located in a tourist-driven area, or is it mostly populated by local clientele?
The store would be in a very busy shopping area, but not a mall. Passing traffic is very high and the location is popular with my target market. The area also has the added benefit of being popular amongst tourists, both national and foreign. Prices are already quite high, so can't up them unfortunately.
estimating Volume of sales for a business plan 
