Clothing Line Business Plan [Sample Template]

Are you about starting a clothing line company? If YES, here is a detailed sample clothing line business plan template & FREE feasibility report. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a clothing line.

We have analyzed and drafted a sample clothing line marketing plan backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for clothing line businesses. In this article, we will take it further by providing you an in-depth sample clothing line business plan template.

A Sample Clothing Line Business Plan Template

1. Industry Overview

The fashion industry all over the globe is known as a thriving trade. The clothing line business which happens to be a subset of the industry is also booming as the years go by. There are various clothing labels that abound; some are national brands, whilst the others are international brands.

The fashion industry- especially cloth making business was not as easy as it is now (Years ago). This was because clothes were handmade based on demand by individuals.

In the 20^th century after the invention of sewing machines (industrial sewing machines), it became pretty much easier to produce clothes in tons. Therefore, technology indeed is responsible for opening up the clothing industry to a large extent.

Clothes can now go through factory system of production and still maintain good quality and standard sizes. With that, it is easier for retailers to order and sell clothes at fixed prices in departmental stores and boutiques without stress.

The fashion industry is a creation of the modern age. It is no wonder that fashion style changes at a regular basis and in most cases people go back to the past to re – introduce old fashion. The fashion industry is indeed a rapidly changing industry; fashion trends will always come and go at different seasons.

The bottom line is that successful clothing labels have a thorough grasp of the market and they know how to meet the needs of the consumers, as well as cajole them to accept what they have to offer because they are always flexible and creative

No doubt, a retailer or wholesale distributor can order for diverse sizes of clothes from anywhere in the world, and sell in his or her country without even visiting the production factory. As a matter of fact, clothing line based business is one business that has the capacity to survive regardless of what is happening in the economy of the world.

Economic downturn or even a galloping inflation does not in any way affect the sale of clothes; people can’t do without wearing clothes. From time immemorial, the fashion industry is known to be one of the largest employers of labor (both directly and indirectly) in the united states of America.

Some of the leading labels in the fashion industry are from the United States of America. Although some of these clothing label outsource the production of their clothes to other parts of the world; predominantly countries in Asia just in the bid to cut cost.

Some cities of the world are considered to be main fashion hubs; they dictate what happens in the industry. The cities are Paris, Milan, New York City, and London.

These cities are known to host fashion exhibitions; designers who want to play at the global stage ensure that they exhibit their clothing collections to fashion enthusiasts during fashion week in any of the cities mentioned above. As a fashion designer, once your brand is accepted in any of the fashion capitals of the world, it wouldn’t be too long before you become a globally recognized clothing label – brand.

2. Executive Summary

Classic Label™ Clothing Line™ is an international clothing line that will be located in Huston, Texas. We have been able to secure a large warehouse that will be converted to our production factory. We were able to out rightly buy over the facility with the help of our bank.

Classic Label™ Clothing Line™ will be involved in the production of clothes (casual, corporate, sport clothes et al) that will meet the needs of male, female, young adult and children. Our target is to become one of the leading brands in the fashion industry in the world and we will ensure that every cloth that leaves our factory can favorable compete with the best brands in the industry.

Our workers are going to be selected from a pool of talented dress markers in and around Huston, Texas and we will ensure that we take them through the required trainings that will position them to meet the expectation of the company – Classic Label™ Clothing Line™.

We have put plans in place to build a state of the art clothing line production factory in Huston Texas, which is why we have entered agreement with some manufacturers of sewing machines to produce customized sewing machines for us that will give us the quality of clothes that we want to be known for.

Our factory will be well equipped and we will ensure that we follow the trend in the industry. Classic Label™ Clothing Line™, will manufacture clothes for high end customers and also for low income earner; we want to become one of the people’s choice where ever our clothes are put up for sale.

Aside from mass production of clothes, we will also be engaged in customized production of clothes for customers based on their demands.

We are quite aware that there are some clients such as sporting clubs, political parties, schools, churches and organizations that would need quality customized clothes for specific purposes and we are well prepared to deliver as requested.

Classic Label™ Clothing Line™ is owned by a group of investors with same investment ideology. One of the owners of the company who is also going to become the chief executive officer / President of the organization is Dr. Sydney Wilberforce; he is a fashion enthusiast.

Dr. Wilberforce has Degree in Fashion Designing and also an MBA from Harvard. He is well respected in the fashion industry, prior to starting Classic Label™ Clothing Line™; he was the creative director in one of the world’s leading fashion label that is based in New York City.

3. Our Products and Services

Classic Label™ Clothing Line™ was established with the aim of producing quality and highly fashionable clothes for men, women, young adults and children. We know that quality is a key factor that will help us sell our brand which is why we have but in place a competent quality assurance team that will ensure that all our clothes meet and even surpass our customers’ expectations.

We will work hard to ensure that Classic Label™ Clothing Line is not just accepted nationally in the united states of America, but also in other parts of the world. Here is a list of our products;

Men’s corporate Shirts
Men’s Casual Shirts
Women’s corporate dress
Women’s casual dress
Pants
Shots
Jackets (male, female, adults and children)
Sport shirts
Children’s clothes
Uniforms
Robes
Winter clothes

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

Our vision is to establish a clothing line whose brand will not only be accepted in the United States of America, but also in other parts of the world.
Our mission is to establish a clothing line that will make available a wide range of clothes for male, female, young adults and children; a clothing label that will favorably with international clothing labels like Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Gap, Mango and Calvin Kline et al at the global stage.

Our Business Structure

Classic Label™ Clothing Line™ is a clothing line that want to start small, but grow big in order to compete favorably with leading clothing brands in the fashion industry both in the United States and on a global stage. We are aware of the importance of building a solid business structure that can support the picture of the kind of business we want to own.

Although Classic Label™ Clothing Line™ will start operation from a single factory in Houston, Texas, but we have a bigger picture; we want to grow to the level where we will build factories in Thailand and China. Our clothing brand is going to be specifically designed to penetrate the world’s fashion industry.

At Classic Label™ Clothing Line™, we will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, hardworking, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stake holders (the owners, workforce, and customers).

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our senior management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more. In view of the above, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

Chief Executive Officer (Owner)
General Manager
Human Resources and Admin Manager
Sales and Marketing Executive
Accountant
Fashion Designers
Quality Control Officer
Tailors
Factory Worker

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO:

Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
Responsible for providing direction for the business
Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
Evaluates the success of the organization

General Manager:

Develops strategic plan by studying technological and financial opportunities; presenting assumptions; recommending objectives.
Accomplishes subsidiary objectives by establishing plans, budgets, and results measurements; allocating resources; reviewing progress; making mid-course corrections.
Coordinates efforts by establishing procurement, production, marketing, field, and technical services policies and practices; coordinating actions with corporate staff.
Builds company image by collaborating with customers, government, community organizations, and employees; enforcing ethical business practices.
Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
Responsible for recruitment
Responsible for payment of salaries
Maintains quality service by establishing and enforcing organization standards.
Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops; reviewing professional publications; establishing personal networks; benchmarking state-of-the-art practices; participating in professional societies.
Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.
Responsible for managing the daily activities in the factory
Responsible for supervising all the employees
Responsible for planning sales, monitoring inventory, selecting the merchandise, and writing and pricing orders to vendors
Ensures that the organization operates within stipulated budget.

Human Resources and Admin Manager

Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
Carries out staff induction for new team members
Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
Oversees the smooth running of the daily office activities.

Sales and Marketing Manager

Manages external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
Models demographic information and analyzes the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases

Accountant / Cashier:

Receives payments on behalf of the organization
Issues receipt to customers
Prepares financial report at the end of every working week
Handles all financial transaction on behalf of the company
Interfaces with the organization’s banks
Responsible for payment of tax, levies and utility bills
Any other duty as assigned by the CEO / store manager

Fashion Designers

Responsible for designing clothes to meet the latest trend
Stays abreast with the dynamics of the clothing line industry
Researches and advice the organization on style, size and other trendy fashion statements

Quality Control Officer

Ensures that all the clothes in our production line meets the required quality before they are released in the market
Makes certain that production and manufacturing lines perform efficiently, coordinate employee efforts, and facilitate communications between management and production departments.
Devises ways of improving the manufacturing process to ensure higher-quality goods
Ensures that manufacturing production lines run smoothly and generate a consistently suitable output for their employers
Ensures that the organization work in line with international best practices
Handles any other responsibility as assigned by the general manager

Tailors

Responsible for sewing clothes as instructed by the supervisor / fashion designer
Responsible for cutting clothing materials to fit the expected design and size
Handles any other duty as assigned by the general manager

Factory Workers:

Responsible for ironing and packaging of clothes
Responsible for movement of equipment and raw materials as required
Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
Cleans both the interior and exterior of the factory
Any other duty as assigned by the restaurant manager

6. SWOT Analysis

Classic Label™ Clothing Line™ intends to build a clothing line business that will manufacture clothes for men, women, young adult and children. We will be based in Huston, Texas, but we will not restrict the sale of our clothes to the U.S alone, we will sell our product in other parts of the world.

In other to achieve this in a highly competitive industry like the fashion industry, we must ensure that we critically look through our strength, our weaknesses, the opportunities available in the industry and the threats that we will are likely going to face.

Because of the nature of business we are involved in and the brand we want to build, we are able to hire the services of an HR and Business consultant with bias in fashion and retailing to help us conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and to help us create a Business model that will help us achieve our business goals and objectives. This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for Classic Label™ Clothing Line™ Clothing Line;

Strength:

Perhaps one of our strongest points of strength could be attributed to the quality of employees and the latest machines and equipment that we have in our production factory. Our chief executive officer will be bring is wealth of experience to the table and that is indeed a huge positive for Classic Label™ Clothing Line.

Weakness:

A major weakness that may count against us is the fact that we are a new clothing line company and we don’t have the financial capacity to compete with multi – billion dollars fashion label like Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Gap, Mango and Calvin Kline et al when it comes to controlling the market.

Opportunities:

One thing is certain, whether good or bad, people will always look for clothes to wear; the opportunity for clothing line to sell their clothes is massive and we hope to leverage on these opportunities.

Threat:

Just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing power. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new clothing line who may want to adopt same business model like us.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Trends

Presently, the fashion industry relies more on mass market sales for them to make the kind of income that will sustain the business.

The mass market take care of a wide range of customers that cuts across both the rich and the poor. Most of the new clothing brands that are trying to catch – up with the market ensures that they produce ready-to-wear clothes using trends set by leading fashion label.

What they do is that, they see the direction of the trend as established by renowned fashion brand before producing their own versions of the original look – by making use of cheaper fabrics and simpler production processes which can easily be done by machine.

They can comfortably sell such product at a cheaper price to the masses who can’t afford to buy the original which is often way too expensive for the common man.

Clothing line and fashion designers now leverage on the runway – fashion expo to promote and attract market their products. Any fashion designer who is recognized in Paris, Milan, New York City, or London can comfortably become a global recognize fashion label.

8. Our Target Market

No doubt the clothing line industry has the widest range of customers; everybody on planet earth wears clothes howbeit different designs, quality and style. In view of that, we have created strategies that will enable us reach out to people that cut across different classes in the society; we will produce clothes for male, female, young adults and children.

We have conducted our market research and survey and we will ensure that our clothing label is well accepted in the marketplace. These are the different group of people that we will be producing clothes for;

Male
Female
Young Adult
Children
Corporate Executives
Expectant mothers
Sports Men and Women (sport clubs)
Students
Churches (Customized church robes)
Para Military organizations (Uniforms)

Our Competitive Advantage

Our competitive advantage as a clothing line company is the fact that we are going to produce clothes for a wide range of people. As such; we will produce clothes for both the rich and the poor.

Another competitive advantage for Classic Label™ Clothing Line is the quality and wealth of experience of its management team. The management team comprises of professionals who have worked with some of the leading international brands in the fashion industry.

Our latest machines and equipment also counts towards our advantage especially when it comes to competing with clothing line within the same category that we operate. The quality of every clothes that comes out of our production line must be certified ok before they are released to the market.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Sources of Income

Men’s corporate Shirts
Men’s Casual Shirts
Women’s corporate dress
Women’s casual dress
Pants
Shots
Jackets (male, female, adults and children)
Sport shirts
Children’s clothes
Uniforms
Robes
Winter Clothes

10. Sales Forecast

It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies, market survey and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field. It is important to state that people buy clothes for different purposes and clothes sell all through the calendar year.

If it is winter, the demand for winter clothes will increase and if it is summer, the demand for summer clothes will increase. Below are the sales projections that we were able to come up with for the first three years of operations;

First Year-: $ 1,000,000
Second Year-: $1,500,000
Third Year-: $2,500,000

N.B: This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the clothing line (fashion) industry and with the assumption that there wouldn’t be any major economic downturn, as well as any clothing line that will adopt our unique business model. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Since we are a new clothing line who wants to take on the international market, we have decided to model some of the leading international clothing manufacturing brand.

We will ensure that we interact with our target market (customers) and sample their opinions to know what they want before mass – producing clothes. It is easier to penetrate the market when what you produce is exactly what the people have always wanted.

The fashion industry is indeed a very competitive industry; thus, all clothing coy must ensure that they are always on their toes and in touch with the trend, if indeed they want to continue to be in business. We are aware of this, which is why we hired business consultant with a bias for marketing and sales to help us craft a winning marketing and sales strategy.

In summary, Classic Label™ Clothing Line will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to promote and sale our clothes;

Introduce our clothing label by sending introductory letters to churches, schools, paramilitary, and other establishment that wears uniforms
Attend fashion expos in the U.S and in other parts of the world
Organize our own fashion show; in order for us to display our designs / clothes
Advertise our clothing label in newspapers, TV and radio stations
Canvass that celebrities to wear and help us promote our clothing label
List our business on yellow pages ads
Leverage on the internet to promote our business
Direct marketing
Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Publicity and advertising in the fashion public industry involves being in touch with the organizations target market and being very creative and proactive. No doubt the media plays a very big role when it comes to helping a clothing label gain international significance.

The social media also plays an important role in modern day fashion publicity and advertisement; it gives fashion brands the ability to reach out to a wider range of customers all over the world within a short period of time and of course at a very cheaper price.

Any fashion label that wants to take on the market must be deliberate when it comes to building brand awareness and credibility. Most often than not, big – time clothing labels ensure that they create great hype whenever they are about to release any unique design from their stable.

Social media, such as blogs, micro blogs, podcasts, photo and video sharing sites are some of the tools fashion designers leverage on to promote their labels.

Some of the preferred social media platforms that are used in the fashion industry are Instagram, Tumblr, WordPress, Facebook, twitter, YouTube and other sharing sites. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise People’s Choice Retail Store;

Place adverts on both print (newspapers and fashion magazines) and electronic (radio and TV) media platforms
Sponsor relevant community programs like school fashion shows et al
Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Tumblr, WordPress, Facebook, twitter, YouTube and other sharing sites.et al to promote our brand
Attend local and intentional fashion expos
Organize our own fashion shows
Promote our clothing label on our own official websites and online fashion community
Build relationship with celebrities especially in the entertainment industry and sports to endorse of clothing label.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Classic Label™ Clothing Line will ensure that we design and manufactured products that will meet the financial capacity of different classes of people in different parts of the world. The prices for all our clothes will be affordable and at the same time competitive with what is obtainable in the fashion cum clothing line industry.

Payment Options

Our payment policy is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that will be available in every of our outlets where our clothes will be sold;

Payment by cash
Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
Payment via online bank transfer (online payment portal)
Payment via Mobile money
Payment by cash

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our payment plans without any itches.

Machines, Tools and Equipment to Start a Clothing Line

These are the machines, equipment and tools that we would need to start our clothing line business;

Industrial machines
Pattern makers for crafting designs.
Women and men dress forms used for garment building.
Scissors
Hole punchers
Straight and curved rulers
Pencils
Measuring tapes
Notchers for marking seams.
Pins
Slopers
Dotted pattern paper.
Sewing machine needles
Hand sewing needles.
Threads
Sketching books.
Drapings tools.
Dressmaking Stick pins
Muslin
Style tapes
Fabric shears
Soft lead pencil
Marking pen
Pattern plotter.
Pattern making software.
Computer
CAD tools for designs
Digital drawing tools
Digitizer board for pattern scanning.
Heat transfer machines for T-shirts.
Print tables.
Racks
Slat wall
Mannequins
Hangers
Labels and Tags.
Packaging materials
Industrial pressing irons
Supply of fabrics

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

This are the key areas where we will spend our start – up capital;

The Total Fee for Registering the Business in Houston , Texas – $750.
Legal expenses for obtaining licenses (Health department license and business license) and permits (Fire department permit, Air and water pollution control permit, and Sign permit et al) – $4,500.
Budget for publicity and advertisement of our brand – $50,000
Cost for hiring Consultant – $2,000.
Insurance (general liability, theft, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $30,800 .
Cost of accounting software, CRM software and Payroll Software – $3,000
Cost for leasing facility for our production factory – $70,000.
Cost for facility remodeling – $50,000.
Cost for purchasing initial supply of fabrics, racks, hangers and packaging materials – ($100,000)
Phone and Utilities (gas, sewer, water and electric) deposits – ($3,500).
Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $40,000
The cost for Start-up inventory – $15,000
Cost for sewing machines and other sewing equipment and tools – $250,000
The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Printers, Telephone, vacuum cleaner, tables and chairs et al) – $30,000.
The cost of Launching a Website – $600
The cost for our grand opening party – $5,500
Miscellaneous supplies – $10,000

We would need an estimate of $2million to successfully launch our clothing line business in Houston, Texas.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for Classic Label™ Clothing Line

Classic Label is a private business that is solely owned and financed by Bob Wesley and family. They do not intend to welcome any external business partners which is why he has decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital to 3 major sources. These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

The Chief Executive Officer who happens to be the lead partner will contribute 20 percent of the start – up capital from his personal savings and other sources
30% of the capital will be generated from partners and investors
50% of the capital will be sourced from banks as a loan facility

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If any of these factors is missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

Classic Label™ Clothing Line will ensure that all the factors listed above are reinforced on a regular basis and also we will engage in continuous capacity building of our workforce.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our senior management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more. This will enable us secure their loyalty and services for a long period of time.

We will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that employee welfare is well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner.

Check List / Milestone

Business Name Availability Check: Completed
Business Registration: Completed
Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
Application for business license and permit licenses (Health department license and business license, Fire department permit, Air and water pollution control permit, and Sign permit et al): Completed
Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
Acquiring facility and remodeling the facility: In Progress
Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
Generating capital from business partners / investors: Completed
Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
writing of business plan: Completed
Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
Recruitment of employees: In Progress
Purchase of sewing machines and sewing equipment / tools: In Progress
Purchase of furniture and gadgets (Printers, Telephone, vacuum cleaner, tables and chairs et al): In progress
Creating Official Website for the Company: Completed
Creating Awareness for the business both online and in the neighborhood: In Progress
Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress