How to open a shoe store

To open a shoe store, you need to register a business, choose KVED codes and a taxation system, find premises, organize fiscalization and inventory accounting, and purchase an initial product range by models and sizes. For a store with an area of 35–60 m², the estimated startup budget is approximately UAH 600,000–1.8 million, with inventory accounting for the largest share of expenses. If the premises do not require major renovation, you should plan approximately 4–8 weeks to prepare for opening.

Is It Worth Opening a Shoe Store?

A shoe store makes sense if you can clearly identify your customer, price segment, and the reason why people should come specifically to your store. You will compete with retail chains, small stores, online stores, marketplaces, and direct sales from manufacturers.

According to the latest study by Deloitte Ukraine, Ukrainians are planning their purchases more carefully and often save specifically on clothing and footwear. At the same time, online purchases in this category are growing. Therefore, price, availability of the required size, the opportunity to try shoes on, clear exchange conditions, product photos, and online sales are important for a new store.

The main feature of the footwear business is the size matrix. One model actually occupies several inventory positions: for example, sizes 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, and 41. If a popular size is sold out, the model may formally still be in stock, but it can no longer be sold to some customers.

The second feature is seasonality. Winter boots, demi-season footwear, sandals, and summer sneakers have different demand periods. At the end of the season, remaining stock has to be sold at a discount or stored until the next season. Therefore, profitability depends not only on the markup but also on how much inventory remains unsold.

For the financial model, it is better to test several gross margin scenarios, for example 35%, 40%, and 45%, instead of using one universal figure. If the store’s fixed expenses are UAH 150,000 per month, then with a gross margin of 40%, revenue of approximately UAH 375,000 is required to cover these expenses. Seasonal discounts, returns, slow-moving inventory, and taxes should also be included in the calculation.

How Much Money Is Needed to Start?

The budget for a shoe store depends primarily on inventory, rent, and the condition of the premises. Below is an estimated model for a standalone store with an area of 35–60 m² without a franchise. This is a planning budget, while specific offers from landlords, suppliers, and contractors should be obtained in your city.

Expense item	Planning estimate	What it depends on
Sole Proprietorship registration through Diia	UAH 0	Independent online registration without intermediaries
Rent and security deposit	UAH 30,000–120,000	City, area, shopping center or street location, number of advance payments
Renovation, lighting, electrical work, signage	UAH 80,000–250,000	Condition of the premises and scope of work
Racks, shelves, mirrors, fitting areas	UAH 40,000–120,000	Area and custom-made furniture
Initial footwear inventory	UAH 300,000–900,000	Number of models, sizes, pairs per size, and purchase price
Computer, checkout equipment, and retail equipment	UAH 25,000–70,000	Existing equipment and selected configuration
Tags, labels, packaging, consumables	UAH 15,000–50,000	Volume of the first batch and labeling format
Advertising launch and setup of online channels	UAH 15,000–50,000	City and selected promotion channels
Reserve for salaries, rent, and operating expenses	UAH 100,000–250,000	Number of employees and financial safety margin
Total	approximately UAH 600,000–1,800,000	The main variable is the volume of initial inventory

It is better to calculate the inventory budget from the bottom up. The formula is simple: number of models × number of sizes × stock depth × purchase price. For example, 60 models × 6 sizes × 1.2 pairs per size × an assumed purchase price of UAH 900 gives approximately UAH 389,000 of initial inventory.

Before signing a lease, prepare a monthly budget: rent, utilities, salaries, Unified Social Contribution (USC), Sole Proprietorship taxes, banking services, advertising, communications, accounting, and inventory replenishment. Set aside a separate cash reserve for the first months of operation.

Step 1. Business Registration

Sole Proprietorship or LLC

For one small store, it is usually sufficient for the owner to consider a Sole Proprietorship. Registration through Diia is free, the application takes about 10 minutes, and the service automatically sends the data to the Unified State Register and the tax authority.

LLC should be considered separately if the business is being opened by several co-owners, ownership shares need to be legally distributed, investors are planned, or the business structure goes beyond the normal activities of one entrepreneur.

Which Single Tax Group to Choose

For retail footwear sales, Group 2 may be suitable if the Sole Proprietorship meets its requirements. The annual income limit is UAH 7,211,598, and up to 10 employees may be employed at the same time. The maximum single tax rate is UAH 1,729.40 per month, and the military levy is UAH 864.70 per month. The specific fixed single tax rate is determined by the local council.

Group 3 has a higher income limit — UAH 10,091,049, and the number of employees is not restricted by the rules of this group. The single tax rate is 5% of income or 3% for a VAT payer, while the military levy is 1% of income.

The minimum USC for a Sole Proprietorship is UAH 1,902.34 per month unless the entrepreneur has a statutory exemption from payment. Before registration, check which system corresponds to your projected turnover, number of employees, and other types of business activity.

Which KVED Codes Are Required

For a specialized store, the main code is KVED 47.72 «Retail sale of footwear and leather goods in specialized stores». The description of the current code can be checked in the State Statistics Service classifier.

If you are simultaneously launching an online store, wholesale sales, or another line of business, add a KVED code corresponding to the actual activity. From January 1, 2027, the new NACE 2.1-UA classification will be introduced, so after the transition the correspondence of the codes should be checked again.

How to Submit Documents

Online registration requires a qualified electronic signature (QES) or another electronic signing method available in Diia. Specify the KVED codes in the application and choose the taxation system. The Sole Proprietorship registration record appears in the Unified State Register within two business days.

After registering the Sole Proprietorship, open a business bank account, verify your registration as a single tax payer, and prepare the store’s business unit for registration with the tax authority.

Step 2. Permits and Licenses

No separate industry-specific license is required for ordinary retail sales of new footwear. The main requirements concern the premises, product labeling, fiscalization, and consumer rights.

Footwear sold to consumers must comply with the Technical Regulation on Labeling. The label must indicate the materials of three components: the upper, lining and insole, and outsole. The packaging of the pair must contain information on use, care, and warranty obligations.

If you purchase goods from a Ukrainian supplier or official importer, check invoices, supplier details, and the correctness of labeling before accepting a large batch. If you import footwear yourself, your responsibilities as an importer are broader, so this scenario should be reviewed separately.

Before renting premises, check the fire safety declaration. If the owner has already registered it for the property, the tenant under a civil-law agreement does not need to submit the declaration again. In other cases provided by law, the declaration is submitted through the State Emergency Service or an Administrative Service Center. The service is free, and registration takes up to five business days. The conditions are provided on the Fire Safety Declaration page in Diia.

Step 3. Premises

For a shoe store, target customer traffic, storefront visibility, and the ability to try on footwear comfortably are important. An area of 35–60 m² may be sufficient for a small store if warehouse inventory is organized separately from the sales floor.

Before renting, count the number of people near the premises several times on weekdays and weekends, in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Also look at exactly who passes by. A large flow of people has little value if it does not correspond to your target audience.

In the lease agreement, check the term, rent review procedure, deposit, utilities, right to install signage, operating hours, repairs, early termination, and liability of the parties. For a shopping center, separately clarify marketing and operating fees.

After signing the lease agreement, submit Form 20-OPP. The State Tax Service requires notification of the store within 10 business days from the date of the document on the basis of which the taxable object arose. The form can be submitted through the State Tax Service Electronic Cabinet.

Provide sufficient lighting, full-length mirrors, a bench or poufs for trying on footwear, and a place where customers can put their personal belongings on the sales floor. In the warehouse, arrange boxes so that the salesperson can quickly find the required model and size.

Step 4. Checkout and Fiscalization

A Sole Proprietorship in the second, third, or fourth group that accepts cash or card payments in the store must use an ECR or pECR. The State Tax Service also classifies certain payments through payment services as settlement transactions. Current fiscalization rules are provided on the State Tax Service website.

ECR — a separate hardware cash register. pECR — a software cash register that runs on a compatible device. For a regular store, the choice depends on the available equipment, number of checkout points, operating mode, and owner’s requirements.

Before registering a pECR, the store must be reported to the tax authority as a business unit. A cashier’s QES or another prescribed mechanism for signing fiscal documents is also required.

If a pECR is connected to Torgsoft, the cashier records the sale in the inventory management system, while a separate additional feature is used to work with the pECR. This links the product transaction to fiscalization and reduces the number of separate manual actions.

Failure to process a settlement through an ECR or pECR, issuing a receipt for an incomplete amount, or failing to provide the required receipt is subject to financial penalties: 100% of the value of the goods for the first violation and 150% for each subsequent violation.

Step 5. Retail Store Equipment

A small shoe store needs a checkout computer or laptop, barcode scanner, label printer, cashless payment solution, and tagging equipment. Some equipment can be reused if it is compatible with the selected system.

• Zebra LI 2208 wired scanner is suitable for a fixed checkout point where the salesperson scans goods directly next to the computer.
• Netum W6 X wireless scanner allows you to work with goods away from the checkout point, including during receiving or stock checks.
• Xprinter XP 235B label printer is required if the store prints its own barcodes, prices, or product labels.
• Arrow 9S tagging gun is used to attach tags to goods where this method does not damage the product.
• 50 mm tag fasteners are used to attach individual tags to goods or packaging.

If you accept cash, provide a cash drawer. A receipt printer may be required for printing paper receipts from a pECR. For cashless payments, choose a bank terminal, payment application, or another legally permitted method of accepting payments.

For a store with open display of expensive goods, anti-theft equipment can be installed. Before purchasing a scanner, printer, or other equipment, check the compatibility of the specific model with Torgsoft.

Step 6. Inventory and Money Accounting

In a shoe store, it is not enough to know that five pairs of a certain model remain in stock. You need to see the stock balance by size: for example, size 36 — one pair, 37 — two, 38 — zero, 39 — one, 40 — one.

For each item, it is advisable to record the model, SKU, brand or manufacturer, size, color, season, purchase price, and retail price. If the manufacturer has already applied a suitable barcode, it can be used. For goods without a convenient code, the store prints its own labels.

In Torgsoft, when receiving a size-based model into stock, you can use a size range: after entering the first item, only the size is changed for subsequent sizes of the same model, while common characteristics and prices remain unchanged. The software also supports printing tags and labels, inventory counts, and analysis of sales by size.

The daily accounting cycle consists of receiving goods, sales, returns, transfers between the store and warehouse, write-offs, and inventory counts. Each transaction should be recorded in the system immediately. If a salesperson gives a pair to a customer but the sale remains only in memory or a notebook, the recorded stock balance stops matching the actual balance.

Control money separately: cash and cashless payments, refunds to customers, store expenses, and settlements with suppliers. Product and financial accounting should describe the same business transaction.

Step 7. Suppliers and Product Range

A footwear supplier should be evaluated based on the goods, documents, and terms of future cooperation. Before the first order, request a price list, minimum order quantity, available size range, delivery times, rules for handling defects and returns, and product documents.

Suppliers can be found among Ukrainian manufacturers, official importers and distributors, at industry exhibitions, through recommendations from other entrepreneurs, and directly from brand manufacturers. The first large order should be placed only after checking samples, documents, and labeling.

Build the initial product range around a specific customer. A women’s urban footwear store requires one structure of models and sizes, while a children’s or sports footwear store requires another. Trying to sell everything at once increases the amount of capital required and creates small residual stocks in every category.

When purchasing, calculate not only the number of models but also the size depth. A model available in ten colors but without a popular size often ties up money in inventory without making it possible to complete a sale.

After the first months of operation, compare sales by models, sizes, seasons, and suppliers. Base the next purchase on the store’s actual demand. This gradually reduces the share of goods that have to be sold at a significant discount at the end of the season.

Step 8. Staff

For a small store, determine how many salespeople should work on the sales floor at the same time. During quiet periods, one salesperson may be sufficient for one small store, while a second employee may be required during peak customer traffic. Set the schedule according to the actual workload.

An employee may start work only after the employment relationship has been formalized and a notification has been submitted to the State Tax Service. Personal income tax of 18% and military levy of 5% are withheld from the accrued salary, while the employer additionally pays USC of 22%.

For example, if one salesperson’s accrued salary is UAH 25,000, the employer’s additional USC is UAH 5,500. For two employees, the payroll and USC in this example would total UAH 61,000 per month. Determine the actual salesperson salary based on vacancies in your city and the selected motivation system.

Before the first shift, the salesperson should know how to find a model and size, process a sale, accept payment, process a return, check the receipt, and correctly work with goods from the warehouse.

Step 9. Launch and First Sales

One week before opening, the store should operate in test mode. Receive all goods into stock, check prices and barcodes, print the required tags, arrange boxes using a clear system, and conduct a trial inventory count.

At the checkout, test cash and cashless sales, the fiscal receipt, product returns, and shift closing. The salesperson should complete the entire scenario before the first real customer arrives.

Prepare exchange and return rules. Quality non-food footwear may be exchanged within 14 days under the conditions established by law, provided that the goods have not been used and their marketable condition has been preserved. Seasonal footwear also has specific rules for calculating the warranty period: separate seasonal periods are established for winter, spring-autumn, and summer footwear. Details are provided by the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection.

If you plan online sales, prepare model photos, a size chart, material descriptions, current stock balances, and payment and delivery methods before opening. For footwear, it is especially important not to show customers a size that is actually no longer available.

Common Startup Mistakes

1. Too broad a product range. The entrepreneur buys many different models in small quantities and ends up with a store that appears to have a lot of goods but constantly lacks the required size.
2. Renting without checking customer traffic. The decision is based on attractive renovation or the overall number of people without checking whether the right target audience actually passes by the store.
3. Investing the entire budget in goods. After purchasing inventory, there is no reserve left for rent, salaries, advertising, and reordering models that start selling well.
4. Markup set without a financial model. The price is copied from competitors without considering purchase price, rent, salaries, seasonal discounts, and remaining inventory.
5. Models are recorded without sizes. The owner sees the total number of pairs but does not understand which sizes are already sold out and what needs to be reordered.
6. No defined return procedure. Salespeople respond differently to identical customer requests, while the movement of goods and money is recorded inconsistently.
7. Sales and inventory are managed separately. The checkout system, inventory spreadsheet, and online sales operate in different systems, so actual availability gradually diverges from accounting data.

Opening Checklist

1. Define the store format, target customer, and price segment.
2. Calculate the startup budget and reserve for the first months.
3. Prepare a preliminary product matrix by models, seasons, and sizes.
4. Find suppliers and obtain purchasing terms and product documents.
5. Check customer traffic at several premises.
6. Check the lease agreement and the property’s fire safety declaration.
7. Register a Sole Proprietorship or legal entity.
8. Add KVED 47.72 and other KVED codes corresponding to actual business activities.
9. Choose a taxation system and open a business bank account.
10. Submit Form 20-OPP.
11. Register an ECR or pECR and configure cashless payments.
12. Purchase and test checkout and retail equipment.
13. Create product cards, sizes, prices, and barcodes.
14. Receive the initial batch into stock and label the goods.
15. Formalize employment and train employees to handle sales, returns, and checkout operations.
16. Conduct a test sale, return, payment, and inventory count.
17. Prepare exchange rules, warranty information, and customer information.
18. Launch store pages and online sales if they are part of the business model.

Questions and Answers

?How much does it cost to open a small shoe store?

For a store with an area of approximately 35–60 m², the estimated model gives a budget of around UAH 600,000–1.8 million. The largest expense is inventory. The amount can be significantly reduced if you already have premises, furniture, or equipment, or if the store launches with a small product matrix.

?How much footwear should be purchased for opening?

There is no universal quantity. Calculate inventory using the formula models × sizes × number of pairs per size, then multiply it by the purchase price. Having sufficient depth of popular sizes is more important than formally showing customers hundreds of models.

?Which KVED code is required for a shoe store?

The main KVED code for a specialized store is 47.72 «Retail sale of footwear and leather goods in specialized stores». Add separate codes for other sales channels or types of business activity.

?Is a license required to sell footwear?

No separate industry-specific license is required for ordinary retail sale of new footwear. You must comply with requirements for labeling, consumer protection, premises, and fiscalization of sales.

?Which Sole Proprietorship group should be chosen for a shoe store?

Group 2 may be suitable for a store that stays within the established income limit and has no more than 10 employees. Group 3 has a higher income limit and does not restrict the number of employees under the group rules. Make the final choice based on projected turnover and all types of business activity.

?Does a shoe store need a pECR?

If a Sole Proprietorship in Group 2 or Group 3 accepts cash, cards, or other settlement payments, the sale must be fiscalized through an ECR or pECR. Exceptions depend on the payment method and other conditions, so the payment scheme should be checked before launching the checkout system.

?Can footwear be returned if the size does not fit?

The customer has the right to exchange goods of proper quality within 14 days under the conditions established by law, including if the footwear has not been used and its marketable condition has been preserved. For defective goods, warranty and consumer protection rules apply.

?How should footwear seasonality be taken into account?

Divide the product range by season and analyze sales and remaining inventory before each season ends. This gives you time to stop reordering slow-moving models, reorder popular sizes, and determine which remaining stock will have to be carried over to the next season.

Where to Start with Automation

Before purchasing equipment, run through your own accounting scenario: receive one model in several sizes into stock, print a label, process a sale, return, and inventory count. This will show you which product characteristics, workplaces, and equipment your store actually needs. The Torgsoft demo version works for 30 days. Equipment for checkout and labeling is available in the retail equipment section.

The amounts, rates, limits, and requirements are stated as of August 2026. Tax legislation changes: before registration and submitting documents, check the current values on the State Tax Service website.