Featured Listing: Established Shopify Store Selling Vintage Inspired Clothing

About the business

Tell us a little about yourself. What’s your background? How did you start the business?

I started blogging about vintage and retro underwear and clothing a few years before starting my shop. The blog quickly became popular and many of my followers emailed me to tell me they struggled to get queen sized clothing, underwear and stockings. I quickly realised that there weren’t many brands that offered this style of garments in queen sizes, especially not in Australia. I decided to have my own pieces made, ensuring that every piece was of high quality and ‘road tested’ by myself.

As an eCommerce business, where are your products made?

Hosiery (plus sizes & variety of custom skin tones): Germany
Underwear (partially custom up to 4XL): UK
Corsetry (custom & plus sizes): Thailand
Accessories: China & India
Apparel (custom & plus sizes): China
Footwear (custom & sizes 6-14): China

How have you marketed the product and where are your customers originating from?

Most of my customers found me organically or through word of mouth on social media, mostly Instagram. I pay for Facebook and Instagram ads and spend about $750AUD a month on these ads. Roughly 60% of my customers are from Australia, 25% from the US and then the other 15% from the rest of the world (mostly UK, Canada and New Zealand).

Is the asset on your listing owner-operated, how much time does it take to run the business, who else is needed on the team, and what is automated?

Other than the marketing agency that runs my ads, I spend 7 hours max on the business per week. Nobody else works in the business.

What does someone need to do to continue operating the business in its current form?

Simply invest in the product range and increase skin tones in the stockings range. It’s honestly that simple.

Growing the business

Can you list a few opportunities for a potential new owner to continue growing the business?

Work with popular retro influencers, expand the skin tones, release new collections every month or so.

What has been the evolution of this asset since its launch?

I started reselling other brands then realised that I didn’t always like their designs, size range and price points so I gradually phased all other brands out. My very first products were my queen size stockings, then suspender belts and then it grew to be glamorous gowns and accessories.

How does this business make money? What are the current revenue streams?

Selling products.

What marketing channels are most profitable for the business?

Instagram and Facebook ads as well as EDMs and automated flows.

How does the business currently acquire customers and what is your breakdown for marketing costs?

I spent $1000 AUD on the marketing agency and $750 AUD on ads per month.

How big is your current team? How many people does it take to run this business?

Just me 🙂

What’s the reason for selling your business on Flippa?

I have a full-time job that doesn’t allow me to invest the time needed to grow the business anymore.