Hi,  
I am interested to start-up a small Men's Clothing Store (small
meaning no more than 1000 sf. more along the line of a boutique) in
Chicago and would like to find out, how much would the start up cost
be on such a store (from A to Z equipment and such)?

Hello emiliobg-ga:

It was a pleasure to answer such an exciting question. As you are
yourself aware that it is only you who can best accurately predict the
costs of starting a business but I have tried to help in coming out
with the statistics about Men’s clothing businesses, clothing
boutiques and small clothing stores to help you with your research.
Before I provide you with the links and summarize my findings, I again
want to stress that these statistics will only provide a vague idea
but it is your own research that is the best informative resource and
my findings are just a start up guide. Therefore, please clarify if
you have further questions.

The reports and statistics will provide you with a general idea on
what type of equipment, financing and other cost you might occur when
starting up Men’s clothing store.

Following are the results of my research:

PLEASE NOTE! The link to the report or statistic is followed by a
summary of what you will find in that link.

IMPORTANT! www.nypl.org/research/sibl/smallbus/sbguides.htm
** The New York Public library can lend you the book detailing the A-Z
of starting up men’s clothing store. It is called ‘A start up Kit –
Men’s clothing store.

http://www.scorechapter14.org/startcosts.HTML
** Average start up cost of a new clothing store and operating capital
you will need in (6-10) months.

http://www.businessknowhow.com/QandA/startupcosts.htm
** The calculator will help you calculate the cost of a new small
business.

http://www.bizstats.com/
** The most informative stats website for small businesses. 

http://www.bizstats.com/apparel.htm
** BizStats has developed the tables to allow a business to quickly
measure profitability of a start up apparel business of any size
relative to national industry averages. The data has been converted to
percentages to allow common sizing, and presented in a format useful
for small business analysis purposes

http://www.bizstats.com/spf1.htm
** A survey of some clothing store and their sales by per square foot
and sales per gross foot.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,287057-1,00.html
** A detailed topic on the start-up costs and other factors for a
clothing store. Includes an ‘Easy Rule’ to predict your costs.

http://www.cbsc.org/sask/sbis/search/display.cfm?Code=8028&coll=SK_PROVBIS_E
** A guide on how to start up a retail clothing store and what and how
much will you need.

http://www.bizstats.com/clothing.allcorps.htm
** A survey of nationwide clothing & Accessory stores by
Profitability, Operating, Balance Sheet & Financial Ratios National
Averages for all US Corporations.

http://www.bizstats.com/clothing.netcorps.htm
** A survey of nationwide clothing & Accessory stores by
Profitability, Operating, Balance Sheet & Financial Ratios National
Averages for all ***** PROFITABLE ***** US Corporations.


http://www.bizstats.com/clothing.sp.htm
**A survey of nationwide clothing & Accessory stores by Profitability,
Operating, Balance Sheet & Financial Ratios National Averages for all
**Sole Proprietorships**
http://www.bizstats.com/clothing.scorps.htm
** A survey of nationwide clothing & Accessory stores by
Profitability, Operating, Balance Sheet & Financial Ratios National
Averages for all **S** Corporations.
http://www.bizstats.com/clothing.prtns.htm
**A survey of nationwide clothing & Accessory stores by Profitability,
Operating, Balance Sheet & Financial Ratios National Averages for all
**Partnerships & LLC**


http://www.ebc.com.au/product/product.asp?loc=1.35.63  ( AUSTRALIA)
AND download free online summary of the operations and costs.
** A start –up guide to open a Men’s clothing store and details on
what will you need.
----------------------- Download a free comprehensive summary for your
view…. You will have to fill a form. Please select any Australian
state which is required to complete the form.--------------- You can
also buy the full guide.

http://www.cbsc.org/manitoba/index.cfm?name=displaybis&coll=MB_PROVBIS_E&Code=6027
** A short guide on starting a retail business store from CBSC.

http://www.all-business-books.com/book/1891984314/how_success.php
** Buy this book online---‘How to start clothing store- Your step by
step guide to successes.

http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/retailing/article/0,1323,6061_411371,00.html
** You may also want to build a website as online apparel is gaining
in popularity.

OTHER USEFUL LINKS

http://www.census.gov/epcd/ec97/us/US000_44.HTM#N448
** Number of Men’s clothing stores in USA and other statistics.

http://www.sba.gov/starting/indexfaqs.html
** Frequently asked Q & A for start-up businesses from SBA.

http://www.termpapers-on-file.com/busine6.htm
** You can get a sample business plan for a Men’s clothing store in
Manhattan from this website.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/biz/green/19990712f.asp
** A guide on calculating the business costs.

http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol66/clothing2.htm
** Guide on starting a clothing line business.

LINKS THAT MIGHT HELP YOU

http://www.business-survival.com/experts/startup/vancouverbiz.html
** Answer to a question from someone who wants to open a clothing
store in Vancouver.

http://www.extonaustralia.com/category205_1.htm ( AUSTRALIA)
** An Australian business report on how much will you need in order to
start up a Men’s clothing store.

http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/retailing/article/0,,6061_2171361,00.html#table4
** Shopping trends in Women and Men’s clothing comparison.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/cgs022.htm
** Outlook on Clothing & Accessory store industry by US labor Bureau.

http://ebc.com.au/product/product.asp?loc=1,35,27&admin= (AUSTRALIA)
** A start-up kit for opening women’s clothing boutique and a free
Downloadable summary.

Useful Keywords

‘men's clothing store start up costs’
‘starting a men’s clothing store’
‘clothing store startup costs’
‘starting a clothing store’
‘clothing store statistics’
‘Men’s clothing store statistics’

I hope you will find the research helpful. If you are not satisfied,
please clarify.

Thanks for using the Goolge Answers.

I wish you a very good luck on your new venture.

Sincerely,
Leader-ga.

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Request for Answer Clarification by emiliobg-ga on 08 Sep 2003 14:09 PDT

Thank you for your quick response, very helpful links,
However I am interested on such information for Chicago IL (based on
the city)These links are more on the industry (in general) which is
great, I need something more specific to the City of Chicago

Thanx.

Emilio

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Clarification of Answer by leader-ga on 08 Sep 2003 20:31 PDT

Thank you for the clarification. Let me find out what may I find for
the city of Chicago.
Respectfully,
leader-ga.

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Clarification of Answer by leader-ga on 12 Sep 2003 07:38 PDT

Dear emiliobg-ga:

I have done an extensive research on your clarification request but it
seems that the data available for Chicago is very hard to get. The
only conclusive piece of information that I was able to get is from
the Entrepreneur Magazine which states that a clothing store in major
cities may cost up to $40 per square feet.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,287057-4,00.html

There is also a listing of someone selling a profitable business of
Men's clothing store in Chicago downtown area. You may get an idea of
how much do profitable men’s clothing store business costs in downtown
Chicago if you are buying it from someone.

I have send emails to a couple of organizations in order to find the
answer. I hope to get an answer soon. In the mean time I will keep on
trying.

I know it is not enough but I will try to find an answer.

Thanks for your patience.

Sincerely,
leader-ga.

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Clarification of Answer by leader-ga on 12 Sep 2003 07:39 PDT

Sorry! The link for the men's clothing store business is
http://www.businessnation.com/Businesses_for_Sale/Buy_&_Sell/retail_store_for_sale.html
(scroll down to see the listing)

Thanks again.