Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2012 and describes the shop’s first six months after opening in December 2011, including its prices of €15–100; the business may have changed since.
Coming back once again to clothing businesses, today our example is four women entrepreneurs in their thirties who decided to start their own business in one of the toughest sectors during the crisis. Most of them were unemployed, so they had no alternative but to start a business, although, truth be told, it was a dream they all shared and only dared to pursue once they had met.
When it feels as if everything has already been invented, the best way to innovate and be original is to go back to the past to rescue customs or products and bring them into today’s market. That was the idea behind The SuitCase, a vintage fashion shop where customers can find clothes, headpieces, accessories and jewellery from the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s. They design the pieces themselves, so even though they buy more expensive fabrics, they can keep costs down by cutting out the middlemen.
The way they have set up the company is surprising: there are four entrepreneurs and each of them is registered separately as self-employed (autónoma, in the Spanish system), so that no one has to carry the others’ salaries and they can all pay their own social security contributions. It also draws a clear line on profits, although the shop is in the names of all four.
In an interview with RTVE, they explained that financially it is not easy to start this kind of business during a recession, but it was the best time to fulfil their dream. They explained that to compete in this market you have to adapt your prices to the current situation, which is why their shop offers products ranging from €15 to €100.
See also: Goldenpoint, a clothing and accessories franchise in expansion
The shop opened in December 2011. Six months on, these four young entrepreneurs are delighted with the business, as they are building a steady customer base. They started with a small Blogger blog and have already managed to appear in several major media outlets.
The secret of their early success: passion for fashion, hard work, dedication, originality and innovation.
One problem the company may face in the future is that there are “four partners”: sometimes it’s hard enough for two to get along… Even so, we congratulate them on their initiative and wish them the best of luck.
Further reading
Featured image: Elisa.rolle, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
