Do you want to start a bridal shop and want to know the cost? If YES, here is a cost breakdown for opening a bridal shop business and the profit margin/ROI.
Bridal Shops are retail outlets that predominantly retail bridal wear, including wedding gowns, veils and other accessories such as shoes, ties, gloves and jewelry. The stores may also provide alterations such as hemming, taking in or letting out seams, and lengthening or shortening of sleeves.
Some of them also go as far as renting wedding gowns and accessories et al. The Bridal Shops industry has minimal barriers to entry, with low startup capital and no specific licensing requirements.
The majority of bridal shops operate as a one-outlet business and the capital costs of establishing bridal retail outlets are not substantial relative to many other retail industries, such as department stores with chains of outlets all over the country.
On the other hand, the high level of competition and market saturation in a declining industry can prove challenging to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own bridal business. Most players in the bridal shop industry are small to medium sized establishments that cater to the local community.
Estimated Cost Breakdown for Opening a Bridal Shop
Interestingly, you may not need to break the bank to open your bridal shop because you can actually save up to get it done, and these are the key areas you will spend your startup capital;
- The total fee for registering the business in the united states of America – 0.
- Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $3,300.
- Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of the bridal shop in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
- The total cost for hiring Consultant – $2,500.
- The total cost for the purchase of insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
- The cost for payment of rent for 12 months at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of $35,600.
- The cost for shop remodeling (construction of shoe racks, hangers, and shelves) for the show room – $20,000.
- Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
- Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $40,000
- The cost for start-up inventory (stocking with a wide range of wedding gowns and wedding accessories such as shoes, gloves and jewelry, bridesmaid dresses, groom and groomsmen tuxedos and suits, dress and suit accessories, mannequins, sewing machines and other related merchandize) – $60,000
- The cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
- The cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs: $2,500
- The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al): $4,000.
- The cost of launching a website: $600
- The cost for our opening party: $3,000
- Miscellaneous: $2,000
From the rough estimate as listed above, you would need a minimum of two hundred and fifty thousand USD ($250,000) to establish a medium scale but standard bridal shop business in any city in the United States of America. Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all the staff for the first three months of operation.
In Conclusion,
Please note that this is a rough estimate and we usually advise our readers who are interested in opening a bridal shop to have a clear picture of what they want to achieve, go to the market or directly contact sellers of the items they would need to get the real time prices of these items.
Interestingly, if you choose to start making your bridal dresses, you will end up cutting cost of the wedding dresses, but you should also have it in mind that you would need to increase your overhead and machine cost.
This is because you would need to purchase different types of sewing machines, dress making materials, accessories and equipment. The truth is that, if you are a good bargainer, you can get a better deal that will help you beat down the estimated price as listed above.