Women outnumber men globally; in fact, someone was joking the other day about how women are competing for men because they are few. Though I might not be sure about that dynamic especially here in Zimbabwe what I do know is that women are way more than men. Just by looking at that detail, you can tell that starting a cosmetic shop is most likely lucrative. That is what I want to look at in this article – a cosmetics shop business idea.
Approaches
“Cosmetics” is a term that refers to a broad and diverse grouping of beauty products. It covers various domains such as skincare, haircare, and so on. Given the broadness and diversity, it means approaches to adopt can be quite a number. For instance, you can choose to focus on wholesale, or retail. You could focus on actually doing cosmetic body treatments coupled with the selling of cosmetic products. Picture a scenario where you start running a salon and barber then you also include the selling of cosmetic products.
Operationally you can choose to rent out a whole room or building. Alternatively, as many people do, you can just rent out space. Strategically you can rent out space in a or close to a say, a salon. This is an overview of some of the approaches but your thrust here is to rent out your own shop. I would recommend that you couple cosmetic body treatments with the selling of cosmetic products. That way you broaden your revenue base.
Market Research
From the beginning, I highlighted how a cosmetics shop is a strategic business here in Zimbabwe. That, however, should not be ammunition for you to be lazy. Nothing must ever take the place of thorough market research. You have to take time to study about the cosmetics industry in Zimbabwe. Start from that general standpoint and subsequently zone in on your intended target location. You have to ascertain the presence of a market need for cosmetic products. Find out how big and distributed the market is. Find out about the type of cosmetic products that people usually look for.
Get to zero in on age distributions so that you get to know the specifics of what people want. The market research also entails getting to know the income levels of your prospective market. This will subsequently help you know what to sell and how to effectively price. I can go and on but never trivialize the immense importance of market research. Globally, the biggest reason why businesses fail is the lack of a market need. That lack of a market need obviously stems from poor market research.
Location And Premises
If you look around you will notice that cosmetics products and services tend to be nucleated at certain hotspots in towns. When you observe such hotspots you will notice some things to note. They are characterised by high vehicle and human traffic. No wonder they are usually close to basic amenities such as shops, banks, offices, and the like.
When looking for a location you must consider those metrics. You might not get an opportunity to get a shop complex at such hotspots but at least find a place that is characterised by high traffic. The reason why that is pertinent is that it makes you visible and easily accessible. Another thing to consider is the pricing of renting a shop. Obviously in the central business district rentals tend to be premium. You would not want a scenario where rentals milk you hard.
Typically your premises can be brick and mortar, as is the case mostly. It is important to know that a cosmetic shop should be alluring thus it should have an open plan architecture. Preferably it should have wall-length windows, or just big windows to clearly show what is inside. It should be spacious and brightly lit such that when you display your products they have a captivating ambience.
Equipment
One of the most important pieces of equipment you will need is glass displays. Depending on your chosen approach your equipment needs will vary. If you are just focusing on selling cosmetic products, glass displays are a must-have. You will also need a point of sale (POS) terminal or terminals. You might also need large mirrors – basically if you can have mirror sets of different sizes that would be good. Earlier I mentioned that a cosmetics shop must be alluring. One way to achieve that is by decorating it with an assortment of lights, flowers, and the like – basically, décor material will come in handy.
If you look out there, here in Zimbabwe, you will notice an interesting trend. So many people are now vendors who specifically focus on just cosmetic products. The other day someone approached me selling body sprays and deodorants. What struck me was that most of their products were priced at just one US dollar. What also struck me is selling cosmetic products is their full-time hustle. The difference here is that they move around on foot selling their stuff. No wonder why starting a cosmetics shop business is bound to be profitable given how many people are surviving on elementary vending of cosmetic products.
