Arcade Vintage Boutique

I have always loved vintage for its quality, timeless pieces and individuality. After I completed a Diploma in Fashion Business, I decided to open my first store. It has been my dream job, sourcing and selling these pieces for the last 8 years.

I have just recently had my third child and also started a University degree full time. Juggling 3 young children, a household, a full time Uni degree and a business has become overwhelmingly difficult. I am not able to invest any time into the business anymore and would be heartbroken to see it close for good after investing almost an entire decade into getting it to the point its at now.

I release a new collection each month, so each month there would need to be 40-70 vintage pieces sourced. (the more pieces, the higher the revenue) I organise one photoshoot per month and shoot all the product at once. I then edit the photos, which takes me about a day (can be done by photographer for an extra charge) All items are measured and then loaded online to the shopify store. This usually takes around 1-2 full days. I post about 2-3 stories or posts on Instagram daily. Answer all emails and social media communication. Currently I post all orders out only 2 days a week.

The business takes up about 3 full days per week at the moment.

Arcade Vintage Boutique is a renowned women's online vintage clothing boutique that has featured in many magazines including Elle, Vogue, British Harpers Baazar, Bridal Musings, Polka Dot Bride and White magazine, to name a few. The business is a favourite amongst many influencers and socialites and was first established in 2013 as a physical store and since then there have been a further 3 stores opened. The online store was initially opened in 2017 which quickly turned into the bread and butter of the business. Currently I launch a new collection every month with about 40-70 new vintage pieces. At least half of the collection usually sells out within the first few days after the launch, which is announced to the email mailing list and the social media accounts each month. The social media accounts, which will be included in the sale of the business, play an integral role in sales, therefore I generally post 2-3 Instagram posts or stories everyday. The business has a wonderful following with dozens of repeat customers who buy something every month. It is ready to be taken over, and I am offering 2 months worth of training after the sale, to make sure a seamless transition is executed. After the birth of my third child and studying at University full time, I currently have no time left to invest into the business and would be devastated to close it down after investing almost a decade to get it to the point its at now.

The business is profitable and relatively easy to operate from around the world. This business financed our family for many years especially after I had my first two children and was still able to work from home and be a stay at home mum. It is very flexible and can be as busy or as quiet as you would like it to be.

It could be improved simply by more time being put into the business. I had all three of my children after I started the business so have never been able to invest 100% of my time into the business. The business has the potential to increase the revenue by 4-5 fold if the time and energy is put into it.

I started the business from the ground up, making many mistakes along the way, which in turn means most of the errors have already been made and won't be repeated. Lots of trial and error to get to the point it's at now, however it now has a very strong formula to be extremely profitable and easy to run. The instagram account has over 31,000 followers, all of which were gained organically.

I am currently releasing one collection with about 40 pieces per month. With my current circumstances, this is the most that I am able to do. Before my third child was born I was releasing monthly collections with about 70-80 pieces, and the revenue during that period was double what it currently is. There is definitely potential for the business to grow and for the revenue to double, if the collections are bigger each month. There are dozens of regular clients, most who buy something every month! The potential is there (as the business was making these figures previously) if the effort is made (something I unfortunately currently don't have time for)

No specific skills or knowledge are needed, but a love for vintage and nice aesthetics are definitely going to help sustain and grow the customer base.