Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

Profitability isn't a function of the industry or the category. It's more likely a function of your marketing and business plans.

One of the frustrations of folks in the pregnancy/maternity-wear industry is that the market is constantly changing. There is only a limited time during which a customer is interested. That means you are relying on constant new customer acquisition. And the percentage of the population interested is quite limited ... typically less than 0.5% in any month. (Assuming 1.25% annual birth rate and need for maternity clothes starting in 2nd trimester.)

So you need to find and reach those few people who are interested, and then do it again next month, and the month after that, for as long as you're in business. And that means you'll need a relatively large marketing budget and a pricing structure that will allow for those kinds of expenses. You can't count on a large base of repeat customers and a frequent repurchase cycle.

Further, you're selling something to a customer who is likely to be facing other high expenses that are just as important, if not more so. So there may be limited opportunity to up-sell as a way to increase revenue.

Finally, you'll be facing stiff competition from online retailers. Your customers are likely to be very comfortable with online buying -- in the 18-45 age range -- so you will have competition that wasn't nearly so sophisticated a generation ago.

Going into any niche with the sole intention of making a profit raises a number of questions of accountability, customer awareness, repeat sales probability, and business longevity.