Originally Posted by El Boccadillo

The reason why the three local retailers have only small clothing and accessory departments is almost certainly because they have found there is relatively little demand - otherwise they would for sure have BIG departments! 130,000 catchment area is nothing - you might see 1% of that - and it'll be shared with three others.

In my experience, relatively few people go into business with a proper business plan - most use it just to convince themselves that they are doing the right thing. They rarely are.....and that is compounded if you have neither a unique idea, or are launching into a very mature and well-served market (which you would be). Then you can only compete on one thing: price.

And before you do ANYTHING, thoroughly research the supply side....ask about size coverage, range coverage, MOQ, lead time, payment terms, warranty, and trading area security.