Finding a business suit – a smooth journey? Well, not for the moment…
Opportunity: career clothing for women - retailers and tailors take heed
In an ideal world you can find a nice business suit or evening dress that fits you perfectly just when you need it. But that is an ideal world. And the offer on the Bucharest market is far from the ideal one.
Buying a women’s business suit today in Romania is not a smooth and refreshing journey, but rather a tiresome task. Perhaps some of you wouldn’t think it would be that hard. You can go into a mall or a specialized store and be dazzled with options. Oh well, not for me or other petites women. Or for women who like a certain design or bright colors. Or for women who are looking for a peach classic skirt. Or for women who find a perfect model, but not in the right color or don’t have the time to search for weeks to find the right size.
Reality proves that the Romanian market for career clothing, especially for women, is still very limited. We lack variety of choice – few models, few specialized stores. What we do have is demand. Romania has higher percentages of women in management positions than most Western European countries. These women have high income levels, but not the time to spend on a long journey in search of the perfect suit.
‘Career clothing’ stores such as Banana Rebublic can make use of this opportunity and enter the market. Location would not be a problem, as many new shopping centers are being built across the country, and they will offer prime locations in well-selected areas.
There are also opportunities for services that help women select a business suit and provide alterations for a perfect fit. What if I need to buy a red business suit with grey stripes and the right person that could help me is just a dial away from me? A professional, with experience and educated taste in selecting business clothes, with knowledge of the market - in terms of models, colors, sizes, and prices, to which I could describe my tastes, needs, size, budget? I wouldn’t hesitate making that phone call if this person would be able to send me pictures and descriptions of available suits, assist me in the selection process, make sure I get the right fit, purchase the item for me and, after conducting a professional fitting session, take my suit to a professional tailor and make the necessary alterations for a perfect fit. (Most stores in Romania do not offer their own alterations services, so women have to resort to finding a seamstress, with unpredictable results.)
It is essential for this business to create trust and generate good word-of-mouth marketing - which will be spread with every happy career woman wearing well-fitting suits obtained with a minimum of time investment. For most women clothes purchases are a favorite discussion topic, ensuring that the initial happy customers will quickly spread the word.
Written by Laura
November 13th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
[...] On a previous post, I tried to give you an insight on the market for women’s business clothing in Bucharest. Given the fact that these career women don’t have the time to spend entire afternoons going shopping without having any guarantee that they would find what they are looking for, a new opportunity arises. [...]