One-Stop Shopping

By Rhee Gold

In-studio boutiques offer parents convenience and school owners a boost in income.

Dancewear sales are big business in dance schools. In a recent Goldrush survey of 300 dance school owners, we discovered that close to 58 percent of them offer some sort of dancewear for sale to their clientele, and they see profits of 10 to 50 percent of the retail cost of the items they stock. Selling dancewear can help jumpstart the cash flow at the beginning of the school year, a lean time for many studios.

Another primary reason school owners sell dancewear and shoes is to make it easy to implement a dress code for their students (see Dress for Success, page 36). They note that a dress code eliminates the issue of whether to allow the risqué outfits that many young people like to wear in class.

The market

 According to the survey’s respondents, the biggest buyers of in-house dancewear are the recreational students who take class one to two hours per week. Only a small percentage of school retailers offer dancewear (especially shoes) for advanced students; those who don’t sell it themselves send their intensive dancers to local stores or online sites to get what they need. Many school owners say that those who purchase their dancewear in-house appreciate the service—it’s one-stop shopping for lessons and dancewear. Others mention that it is hard to compete with big discounters like Wal-Mart and Target.

The goods

Most schools carry the standard black, scoop-neck leotard as well as pink or suntan tights, while others offer certain colors for specific age levels (preschool dancers in pink leotards, 7- to 9-year-olds in burgundy, 10- to 12-year-olds in blue, and so on). Some send the leotards out to be imprinted or embroidered with the school logo, making them a marketing tool. Most schools also carry basic tap, ballet, jazz, and acro/gym shoes. Many respondents stated that they do not carry pointe shoes because of the intricate fitting process necessary; they leave that to the experts. Others don’t want to get into fitting tap or jazz shoes for the advanced dancers.

How to get started
The process of establishing an inventory and setting up an area for sales should be started long before the season begins. If your school opens in September, investigating your options at the start of the summer will give you time to compare costs and stock up on enough inventory to begin your season. Some dancewear wholesalers allow retailers to purchase an inventory and return any unused products; others may not. Play it safe and don’t over-order the fi rst time. Placing additional orders is less expensive than having a huge inventory that may take a couple of years to sell. But it’s a delicate balance—if you’re selling dancewear so that you can implement your dress code, or if there isn’t a dancewear outlet near your school, you must have enough stock at the start of the school year to accommodate all the students who want to buy it from you. Knowing the turnaround time of the companies who supply your inventory is crucial to calculating how much stock you should have up front.

Package deals

Another growing trend in studio sales is the studio kit or “preferred program” offered by some wholesalers. School owners can specify that the required leotard, tights, and shoes be packaged together; some companies include a free dance bag that contains all the items ordered. Some of the companies that provide this type of program refund a percentage of the sales to the school owner; others offer them credit toward their own future orders of dancewear or costumes. It’s a win–win situation for both the school owner and the dancewear company.

Some wholesale companies make life especially easy for school owners by offering sizing kits for various shoe styles. These consist of a single shoe of each size in each style (called a “size run”), which allows instructors to fi t their students properly before ordering. The kits are offered at very low prices; only a minimal investment is required to get started with these products.

Get the word out

A few of our respondents said they advertise their dancewear sales in their brochures, ads, and on their websites. That way they can bring in sales from students who attend other schools in the area. If you do this, be sure that your employees do not try to solicit students from other schools to enroll in yours. Better to have those students come to you for supplies than to lose them as customers because their schools feel insecure about sending them to you.

If you decide to give dancewear sales a go, take stock after two years—was it profitable and pleasurable? Was it something you should have done years ago, or the worst idea you’ve ever had? You’ll never know until you try. Still, getting into retail isn’t for everyone, so consider the pros and cons (see sidebar) and make the decision that’s right for you.   

DANCEWEAR SALES PROS AND CONS 

Should you sell dancewear at your studio? The answer might be yes for the following reasons: 

 • It’s convenient for your clientele— they can register for class and go home with the dancewear needed to start the season. 

• You’ll be assured that students will comply with your dress code. 

• It creates an additional source of profit for your school. 

• It creates a marketing opportunity if you have your dancewear embroidered with the school logo or if you sell jackets/sweatshirts/T-shirts with the logo on them. 

• It may increase impulse purchases of warm-ups and T-shirts (more likely to happen if people are buying dancewear anyway).

Then again, the answer might be no. You may choose not to sell dancewear at your school if you don’t want to deal with 

 • maintaining inventory and managing a retail operation;

• having to keep the inventory in a secure place to minimize pilfering; 

• placing orders at busy times of the year;

• problems with out-of-stock items from your distributor (less of an issue with companies that specialize in studio dancewear programs); 

• returning incorrect orders; 

• competing with online dancewear distributors; 

• possible bad blood with local dancewear stores because you’re taking business away from them; 

• potential security issues that come with keeping more cash in the studio (for change and following sales).