It is certain that Britons are in love with shopping – especially since each spend at least £1000 a year on new clothes, while the fashion industry is worth at least £66 billion a year. Fashion-related businesses also employ over half a million people in the UK, and even downturns in economic prosperity have little or no effect on fashion outlets.
The fashion industry is continuously evolving and innovating, so there is always room on the shelves for something new, exciting and exclusive. Even if you prefer high-end or every day, work clothing or sports outfitting, footwear, lingerie, accessories, or whatever your passion, there is a clothing franchise waiting for you to adopt their brand.
You only have to understand what sells and what doesn’t and create a collection that will fly off the shelves. Whether its women’s fashion, children’s fashion, menswear, sportswear, or even mending services, the fashion industry is an exciting space to grow, develop, and thrive.
Fashion is one industry that is mainly driven by brand. Adopting familiar and recognizable branding is the first step into an existing client base that is ready to spend. Have it in mind that new businesses have to spend enormous amounts to market their new venture. The franchise model provides access to the marketing functions of large organisations, providing world-class advertising and all-important social media penetration.
Remember, that clothing franchises are businesses that have already proven successful, profitable, and sustainable, so they offer an excellent starting point for any new business. Franchising provides a cornucopia of valuable benefits.
Perhaps the most attractive of all the elements of franchising is the benefit gained from the parent company’s track record of long-term profitability. Their financial history is likely to help you gather the collateral you will need to get started.
You also inherit a proven operational model and start your new business with verifiable and inherent sustainability. Franchising offers reliability and stability to new businesses. If you are interested in joining the UK clothing industry, here are top franchise opportunities to consider.
15 Clothing Franchise Opportunities in UK and Their Cost
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Initially London
This is UK’s only full-service bespoke monogramming company offering a full line of classic accessories, gorgeous linens and unique gifts. They use the highest quality products which can then feature an embroidered or etched monogram that customers design themselves on the company website.
Initially London’s mission is to make bespoke monogramming a key feature of British lifestyle and fashion by encouraging creativity, making the bespoke product accessibly priced by offering exceptional customer service and quick delivery.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £17,500
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Suit the City
Suit the City offers made-to-measure suits to customers across the UK. The business, founded in 2007, has now been in operation for more than a decade and has managed to develop real industry expertise, as well as substantial franchising experience. It has also earned a reputation for using the best materials and for being able to work with individuals of all shapes, sizes and builds.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £19,950
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Recognition Express Ltd
Recognition Express is a part of the Bardon Group, the UK’s leading franchisor group that encompasses a variety of franchise brands. Founded in 1979, Recognition Express is a long-running and award-winning franchise that has been highly successful for decades. The business is strictly B2B, and offers a variety of branded promotional products for businesses, schools, and other organizations.
Cost
- £25,000 +VAT
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Noa Noa
Noa Noa is a Danish clothing brand that was founded in 1981 by two brothers with an eye for bohemian-style fashion and a strong business strategy. Leveraging the Scandinavian minimalism that has seen other businesses from the region prosper on the international stage, Noa Noa has slowly but steadily established itself as a franchising empire that spans 20 countries. With more than 60 concept stores and a presence in over 400 multi-brand stores, Noa Noa is now an established name on the fashion scene.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £50,000 – £100,000.
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Under Par & Iron Mountain
This is a very exciting opportunity for someone with drive and enthusiasm. This is a great opportunity to sell to family and friends by building a network of regular customers. This popular clothing brand, ‘Under Par’ is marketed at very affordable prices. This versatile and diverse collection for both men and ladies gives the franchisee a huge profit margin, for a very small investment.
Cost
- On Demand
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Calzedonia
Calzedonia is an Italian lingerie, leg wear and swimwear retailer that has been in existence since 1987. As of 2018, it had more than 2,000 shops across the globe, with a presence in most European markets. It employs around 32,000 staff members and has been organised to make the most of the franchising model. When it was first established in Verona 32 years ago, the plan was to build a fashion empire based on franchising ability to facilitate remarkably rapid expansion. In this, the brand has succeeded.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £100,000
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Air Armor
Air Armor is an ideal business that brings protective clothing and accessories direct to the public. It’s both a business-to-consumer and business-to-business company. In these strange, uncertain times, more and more people are looking for products to help protect themselves from germs and viruses.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £1,000-plus VAT
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Karen Millen
Established by the eponymous Karen Millen in 1981, this franchise began by selling simple, white t-shirts to friends and family. They proved so popular that the business was able to open its first store in 1983 and it hasn’t looked back since. The Karen Millen franchise network is now made up of more than 400 stores in 63 countries, making it an international powerhouse in the fashion industry.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £350,000
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Connectbrand
Connectbrand is a British company that provides all aspects of branded clothing, and they take pride in bringing clients ideas to life and providing a smart, modern approach to this profitable industry.
Connectbrand has been established to bring a wealth of knowledge within this industry together, and their awareness is second to none with decades of history and an utter desire to lead this industry with new and innovative marketing ideas. Note that the company’s main objective is to bring a face to face approach which gives the personnel whilst eliminating the worry that clients have of how do I get my logo onto my chosen garments.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £3,995 + VAT
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Ulla Popken
Ulla Popken is an international franchise that focuses mainly on women’s fashion for those who require a larger size. While it boasts more than 300 stores across Europe, the company also operates an online shopping portal that constitutes a significant portion of its business.
The brand releases at least 10 collections every year and the franchising team offers considerable support to investors who do wish to launch a new Ulla Popken franchise. As franchise costs vary significantly depending on the location and size of a store, would-be Ulla Popken franchisees need to contact the franchisor for accurate investment figures.
Cost
- On Demand
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Top Stitch
This is a UK based tailoring franchise that provides clothing alteration services for clients. It offers a vast range of alteration and clothing repair options, helping customers to enjoy a new lease of life from garments that no longer fit or feel in style.
The company also specialises in providing alteration services for special occasion wear, such as bridal and bridesmaid dresses. The brand was founded in 2010 is and has gained the respect of customers for providing a high quality and reliable service. The brand regularly works with premium designer labels and customers can feel reassured that valuable items of clothing will be handled and adjusted well.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £47, 500
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Ann Summers
Ann Summers is an iconic multinational retailer of daring, provocative lingerie and sex toys. Known for their liberated attitude towards sexual experimentation and satisfaction, the Ann Summers brand is synonymous with fun, fantasy and, of course, their biggest hit, the Rampant Rabbit.
Starting life as a single-sex shop in Marble Arch, London in 1970, the company was named after the owner’s secretary (and mistress), Annice Summers. The original store was purchased by brothers David and Ralph Gold in 1971, and the shop became a formidable brand selling sex toys and lingerie on the high street.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £120,000
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River Island
River Island is a well renowned fashion brand, with over 60 years’ experience in the fashion retail industry. As one of the most popular high street brands in the UK, River Island is known for providing stylish fashion in line with the latest trends, with both quality and affordability.
The brand is popular especially for offering great options for going-out looks for men and women, as well as a great range of accessories to complement a style. In recent years, the brand has also expanded into children’s wear, providing stylish options for fashion-conscious children and parents. The brand also has its own homeware line, with a variety of items including furnishing, accessories, fragrances and more.
Cost
- On Demand
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The Zip Yard
The Zip Yard was established in 2005 as a garment alteration service and has grown across the UK and Ireland as a successful franchise due to high demand among customers for cost-effective tailoring services. The Zip Yard carries out a variety of services from repairs and sizing adjustments to more bespoke tailoring and changes, and offers fast and cost-efficient services for everyday and special occasion wear.
Note that the Zip Yard offers a range of technical services to customers, including re-sizing and restyling existing clothing, carrying out repairs and mending, replacing zips and fastening on clothing, and also working on more complicated services, such as repairs and modifications on soft furnishing, curtains, and leather.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £38,500
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Bright Eyes
Bright Eyes Hats is a wonderful and innovative new product brought to you by the Bright Eyes Clothing Company. Bright Eyes Hats is just the first in the line of LED clothing products being brought to market. Bright Eyes franchisees will be able to gain from a whole range of clothing products integrating LED lights, so children and adults can be seen in the dark.
The brand has now added new kids shoes with light-up laces to its product range which are now available to all franchisees. The Bright Eyes Clothing Company is also expanding its range of animal designs of its winter beanie hats and has designs ready to launch for a range of summer animal caps with LED lights.
Cost
- Franchise Investment: £1,200
To invest in clothing franchise opportunities, you more or less need access to considerable funds. The profits and level of support of clothing retail franchises tend to be high, but so does the capital needed to invest. Just like other franchise opportunities though, it may be easier to secure funding through banks or other lenders, since franchises are considered less risky than independent business ownership.