Opening a boutique

Hi,

Something tells me you are not here yet, I don't think you can get from the airport to a hotel without realizing how overcomplicated everything is around here...
Of course you need a company. You also need an employee with "OKJ" qualification for running a shop (üzletvezető) and on every shift you need at least one OKJ qualified salesperson. Can be the same. Can be you, but you must pay for the qualifications and pass exams in Hungarian.

Not impossible, just complicated. You'll need a lot of help. But you already have us :-)


Regarding the location: who's your target audience?
There are touristy areas, there are malls for teenagers, there's the "körút" with ordinary people, our Soho is the ruin-pub area, and so on.
I know Szentendre better than Budapest: lots of tourists in season, fewer but more wealthy locals all year round.

hi szocske,

thanks for your kind reply.
im here in budapest for 1 and half year. i couldnt find any good information about OKJ qualification...
about my target i have to say that my designs are from the basic everyday cloths to Exotic Artistic dresses.

but i want to start with a small shop in a good place.


thanks again for your help

arghavan wrote:

i couldnt find any good information about OKJ qualification

There is a great deal in Hungarian, such as at: http://www.szakkepesites.hu/

But might I ask if you mean you can not find information in English? If so, then yes, that is more difficult. The OKJ courses teach basic topics about Hungarian business requirements and law (tax law, billing and basic accounting requirements, employee law and rights, etc) as well as in some cases even some basic foreign language (German for example). Each business type has different OKJ course details. So for example, if you want to run a store that serves food you take a different course than if you want to run a clothing store because of different regulations you will be taught (such as food safety regulations). OKJ courses are taught by private companies, but the tests (both written and oral parts) are administered by the government.

Thanks for the information...

If you'd like to start small, I'd recommend teaming up with someone who already runs a similar shop, and just have your designs on display too.

From the top of my head I could hook you up with a (wedding?) dressmaker with a small hidden workshop in the city, probably not ideal...

For inspiration check out this shop instead:

http://eserfashion.com/index.php?page=4&lang=hu&id=4
Károly körút 10

Dear szocske,
thats a really good idea, i already tryed some designer shops, but the problem is that the style of my work is really different than Hungarian designers. that is good as well as bad...) anyway i couldnt find a shop to put my stuff yet. i love wedding dresses and my speciality is wedding dresses and gowns pluse i design and use hand woven textiles for my cloth. here you can check my stuff:facebook.com/EmpurpleStudio

arghavan wrote:

http://www.facebook.com/EmpurpleStudio

I am not in the fashion industry, but I for one am impressed. Do you currently market/partner in other parts of the EU or US?

Dear klsallee,

thank you...and no i dont...

I asked as I think your style may have a market in the West Coast in parts of Northern California and Oregon. Again, I am not in this industry, so it is just an opinion from growing up and living in that region for a number of years.

Your Facebook page stated some of your fabrics originated from Iran, and your designs using such sourced fabric most likely would have to get an import exemption from US Customs; but a US based partner-importer can probably arrange that.

It is just a thought to inquire at the US California/Oregon section of expat-blog.

Hello. If you still need some help regarding your boutique opening in Budapest you may write me to [email protected] and I'll give you some informations and my phone nr. as well to contact me.

Noooo, you don't need any "OKJ" qualificated person at all... (This OKJ-system is only a course, it's not a high-level education... /To tell you the truth, "OKJ" is fake.../ )
You just need a person who has experiences:)
(Or if you are looking fo an educated person,
you have to find someone who has at least a college-or university-level trade qualificiation...)

Well you don't need OKJ, you are just legally required to have one to get and maintain your license. You know, like a certified cash register, a licensed fire extinguisher, and the little framed map with the emergency evacuation routes. You get a fine or get shut down if you don't have one. That's the general rule for shops. There might be an exception for clothes shops, as there is for registered farmers selling their own produce.

OKJ courses are a waste of money.
OKJ certifications are legal requirements for a lot of businesses to artificially boost the revenues of overpriced OKJ diploma mills.