As well as researching the market local to where you’re planning to open your shop, you should also find out as much as you can about your future landlord. Don’t be shy about this. Remember that when you make an offer to lease a shop you will be asked for references and there will be background checks, credit checks and deposits to pay, while you will be provided with no information whatsoever about who your landlord is. Read the rest of this entry »
Opening a shop isn’t everyone’s idea of fun. If you’re taking on the high street then be prepared to deal with an often difficult public, many of whom will have absolutely no interest in buying whatever it is you’re selling. Read the rest of this entry »
When I asked them how many of these things they believed they could make in a day, they hadn’t really worked it out. By my own calculations, I estimated that even if the whole universe conspired to help them on their way, together with Lady Luck shining on them, the most they could possibly manage to make in a week would be 200. Which by their calculations would give them gross earnings (assuming they sold them all) of three hundred and fifty pounds (£1.75 x 200). Read the rest of this entry »
So make sure you allow yourself sufficient time to grow your business to a profitable stage. I met someone recently who told me that they were about to open up their own shop selling something that I believe is already available, indeed is over-supplied on the high street. Read the rest of this entry »
As I said earlier, in my case it took us three whole years before we really saw our Dutch bike shop take off. Although we enjoyed a relatively high level of sales during this time, our start-up costs (including rent, rates, and so on) ate into any potential profit. Read the rest of this entry »
To survive as a traditional retailer, your prices must be competitive. However, if there are already businesses out there offering the same products as you specialise in then be careful. Usually, established retailers will have a regular and loyal customer base, and if the only way you can attract them to your shop is by cheaper prices then you would really be better off not taking on the additional costs and risks that go with a shop. Read the rest of this entry »
Ultimately all products are suitable for traditional retailing. However, as in the case of the independent record shop discussed earlier, even if your product is suited to traditional retailing you must be careful. If the product you intend retailing is already widely available in what has become a fiercely competitive high street retail environment, you stand no chance of success. Read the rest of this entry »
Not every business will be suited to high street traditional retailing.
For example, since writing the first edition of this book the owner of our local record shop advertised his business as up for sale. At the time I was interested in the property, not because I wanted to open a record shop but because the location of his shop was in my view ideally suited for our business. When I approached the owner about taking over the property and not the business, he told me he had already sold it. Read the rest of this entry »
