How to Start a Tuxedo Rental Business

Have you ever thought it would be fun to learn how to start a tuxedo rental business? If so, why put it off any longer? Even in a down economy, a tuxedo rental business can thrive. In fact, this is even more so the case, as many men do not want to invest in purchasing a tuxedo that they will rarely wear.

There are a number of occasions where a tuxedo is required attire. Proms, weddings, and awards banquets are a few of the most popular events that call for tuxedos.

You can really thrive with a tuxedo rental business, if you provide a good selection, fair pricing, and outstanding customer service.

What You’ll Need to Succeed

In addition to your pricing and selection, people will often choose your tuxedo rental business based on your location. You want to find a good retail location that is easy to find, very accessible, with plenty of parking, and preferably visibility from the street.

Your location will need room to store, clean, and press tuxedos, and you’ll need a station for seamstress or tailor, as well as dressing rooms and a front counter area. The better tuxedo rental shops also have small private rooms with a table and chairs where the tux professionals can consult with customers.

Once you have secured a location, you will need to stock it with plenty of varieties of tuxedos, in a wide selection of colors and sizes. In addition to the tuxedos themselves, you’ll also need shoes and accessories to go along with them, like ties, cuff links, and hats.

Another option if you have a tight startup budget it to form relationships with suppliers and work with a catalog rather than “live” merchandise. This is not as good for your customers, as they will have to come back to see the tuxedo when it arrives, but you can certainly make a good business of this model in the beginning.

An important consideration when thinking about how to start a tuxedo rental business is staffing. You need to be good at finding and hiring great help, and managing them well. Your staff members will be your front line to your customers, so the way they interact with people will be crucial. You’ll want to find personable, friendly people who like working with customers to find exactly what they are looking for.
Another consideration is your pricing. You don’t want to be priced too high, but you want your shop to be profitable, and studies show that people will pay more for great service and selection. So it is almost never necessary to compete on price alone.

When starting a tuxedo rental store, you will need to have some money put aside for advertising. Throw a grand opening with some great specials, and get the word out any way you can. If you have the budget for it, radio and TV ads are great, or you could put a large color ad in your local newspaper.

Getting people in the door is the hardest part of learning how to start a tuxedo rental business, but once you do that, your service, selection, and extra touches will have them coming back for more and telling all their friends!

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