A bridal boutique is a retail outlet that retails different types and sizes of bridal wear, including wedding gowns, veils, and accessories such as shoes, gloves, jewelry, etc. Some bridal boutiques also provide alterations, such as hemming, taking in or letting out seams, and lengthening or shortening sleeves.
Some of them also go as far as renting wedding gowns and wedding accessories. The bridal boutique business is very profitable. Statistics show that in the United States, the wedding industry generates over 60 billion dollars each year.
The global bridal gowns market was valued at over US$ 39 billion in 2020. It is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 7.01 percent from 2021 to 2031. Please note that the bridal wear market potential growth difference will be USD 13.5 billion from 2021 to 2026. In this article, we will help you with the estimated cost of starting a bridal boutique business in your city.
The Estimated Cost of Starting a Bridal Boutique Business
When it comes to starting a standard bridal boutique business, one is expected to spend the bulk of the start-up capital on leasing a store in an ideal location, stocking a wide range of wedding gowns, veils, and accessories such as shoes, gloves, and jewelry, and equipping the facility.
These are the key areas where you are expected to spend your start-up capital when opening a bridal boutique;
- The Total Fee for Registering the Business in the United States of America – $750.
- Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines, and other software) – $3,300.
- Marketing expenses for the grand opening of the boutique – $3,580.
- 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 foot in the total amount of $53,300.
- The cost for facility remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) – $5,000.
- Other start-up expenses like stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
- Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $20,000
- The cost for equipping the bridal boutique – $45,000
- The cost for start-up inventory (wedding gowns, veils, shoes, ties, gloves, and jewelry from different brands) – $65,000
- Storage hardware (bins, rack, shelves, jewelry case) – $3,720
- The cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $3,750
- The cost for purchasing furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound systems, tables and chairs et al): $4,000.
- The cost of Launching a website: $600
- The cost for our opening party: $3,000
- Miscellaneous: $5,000
From the rough estimate above, you would need a minimum of two hundred and fourteen thousand two hundred and thirty USD ($214,230) to establish a medium–scale but standard bridal boutique business in any city in the United States of America.
Please note that this is a rough estimate and we usually advise our readers to go to the market or directly contact suppliers of the types and brands of wedding gowns, veils, shoes, ties, gloves, and jewelry they want to retail in their boutique to get the real-time prices of these items.
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. Having said that, here are some of the factors that will influence the cost of opening a bridal boutique business in the United States of America.
Factors That Can Influence the Cost of Opening a Bridal Boutique Business in the United States
Table of Content
- The Choice of Location
- 2. The Required Licenses and Permits
- 3. The Type of Facility
- 4. The Size of the Bridal Boutique Business
- 6. The Cost of Furnishing and Equipping the Boutique
- 7. The Cost for Insurance
- 8. The Cost for Registering the Business
- 9. Source of Your Supplies
- 10. Cost of Recruiting and Training Your Staff
- 11. The Cost of Purchasing and Customizing Uniforms
- 12. The Cost for Grand Opening of the Bridal Boutique Business
The Choice of Location
A major factor that will determine the cost of opening a bridal boutique business in the United States of America is your location. In business, location is a key part of what determines the success of a business. There are business consultants and realtors who are specialized in helping people choose an ideal location for their business; a location that will guarantee profitability and breakeven within the shortest time frame.
For example, renting or leasing a store in a location that is off the city center or major road will be less expensive when compared to renting or leasing a boutique facility in a highbrow area.
2. The Required Licenses and Permits
In the United States of America, you cannot open a bridal boutique business without first applying for mandatory licenses and permits. You would need an operational license, building license, zonal permits, signage permits, and reseller permits amongst others that may be unique to different cities and states. These licenses and permits cost money and it will influence the overall cost of opening the bridal boutique business.
To get the overall cost of licensing and permits associated with opening a new bridal boutique business in the United States, we will advise that you reach out to your city government. You also need to consider state and federal requirements.
3. The Type of Facility
The type of facility you want to operate your bridal boutique business from is also a major factor that will determine the overall cost of opening a bridal boutique business in the United States of America. As regards the facility, you have the options of renting, leasing or designing and constructing your boutique facility from the scratch.
With renting and leasing a shop facility, you will spend some money to modify the facility to fit into what you have in mind, but there is a limit to how far you can go and it will be dependent on what the landlord of the facility wants.
Let us assume that you want to construct your boutique facility from the scratch. It means that you will buy the land or property, bring up your design, and construct and equip the boutique facility. With that, you will agree that you are going to spend way more when compared to people who just rent or lease a boutique facility.
4. The Size of the Bridal Boutique Business
Another very important factor that will determine the cost of opening a bridal boutique business in the United States of America is the size of the business. Of course, the larger the business, the larger the budget to get it up and running especially as it relates to furnishing and equipping the facility.
Aside from the cost of furnishing and equipping the facility, it will also cost you more to hire and pay employees. For example, a few employees can man a bridal boutique business that is in a 10 by 10 facility while it will take about a dozen employees to man a bridal boutique business that is in a 20 by 20 facility.
5. The Cost for Branding, Promotion, and Marketing of the Business
The cost of branding, promoting, and marketing the bridal boutique business is yet another key factor that will determine the overall cost of opening a bridal boutique business in the United States of America. Trust me, if you want to win a fair share of the available market in your city, and the online market, then you must be willing to pay for effective branding, promotion, and marketing for your new bridal boutique business.
It is not cheap to come by an expert in branding, promotion, and marketing that will help you compete with brands that are already determining the market direction of the bridal boutique business in your city. So, if you add the cost of paying a branding and marketing expert, it will surely increase the cost of opening your bridal boutique business.
6. The Cost of Furnishing and Equipping the Boutique
Another factor that will determine the cost of opening a bridal boutique business is the cost of furnishing and equipping the store. Before you can open a bridal boutique, you should budget items such as storage hardware (bins, rack, shelves, case), shopping baskets and trolleys,
Flat Screen TVs, sound system, Satellite dish and decoder, furniture (table, and stools), telephones, filing cabinets, store equipment (cash register, POS machines, security, CCTV, ventilation, signage), and security and fire alarms and prevention gadgets amongst others. All these will cost money and will influence the overall cost of opening your bridal boutique business.
7. The Cost for Insurance
The cost of paying for insurance policy cover is yet another important factor that will determine the overall cost of opening a bridal boutique business in the United States of America. Interestingly, in the United States, you can’t operate a business without having some of the basic insurance policy covers that are required by the industry you want to operate from.
Thus, it is imperative to create a budget for insurance policy cover and perhaps consult an insurance broker to guide you in choosing the best and most appropriate insurance policies for your bridal boutique business.
8. The Cost for Registering the Business
The cost of registering the bridal boutique business is yet another cost that will influence the overall cost of opening a bridal boutique business in the United States of America. Although the cost of registering a business is affordable, it will no doubt add to the overall cost of opening a bridal boutique business in the United States of America.
9. Source of Your Supplies
Another major factor that will determine the cost of opening a bridal boutique business in the United States of America is the source of your supplies. If you get your supplies from a cheaper source, then it will help bring down the cost of starting the business.
If you can build a robust business relationship with some of the leading wedding gowns and accessories suppliers, then you would have succeeded in cutting down the cost of your supplies. You can even get your supplies on credit.
10. Cost of Recruiting and Training Your Staff
The fact that you are opening your bridal boutique business as a new business means that you are expected to recruit and train your staff. The training will help you sell the corporate culture of your organization to the new employees. As expected, it will cost you money to hire expert trainers that will help you bring your new hires up to speed and that will add to the overall cost of opening a bridal boutique business.
11. The Cost of Purchasing and Customizing Uniforms
Another factor that will determine the overall cost of opening a bridal boutique business in the United States is the cost of the purchase and customizing of uniforms. As expected, sales boys and sales girls, front desk/payment attendants, and security personnel all wear different uniforms.
These uniforms will cost you money which is why it must be part of your budget if you are looking towards opening a bridal boutique business in the United States of America.
12. The Cost for Grand Opening of the Bridal Boutique Business
You will agree that in recent times, no bridal boutique business opens its door for business without first organizing an opening party to officially launch the business. This means that the cost of the grand opening of the bridal boutique business is part of the factors that will determine the overall cost of opening the business.
You can choose to do a soft opening if you are operating on a low budget or you can go for a grand opening party. The bottom line is that it is a cost that must be part of your budget.
In Conclusion,
Please note that there are other factors not listed above that will surely influence the overall cost of opening your bridal boutique business which is why we will advise that you work with a result-driven business consultant to give you the needed guide and info as it relates to the unique factors in your location.