A Little Advice on B&M Retail

[OhSoCherished]

Hi There,

I do hope you can offer me some advice.
I have been running an online store for 7 years (OhSoCherished.co.uk) gift books and stationery and things have been going well. I have just bought a new warehouse for the business in the form of an old granary building and dairy building in the country. The old dairy is a lovely old brick barn that I am considering opening up as a Oh So Cherished shop and coffee shop. It will be a destination store with parking!

The problem is i'm so nervous about it . I have never done retail in the form of a B&M store before, I don't no where to start. My main problem is, in this climate is this the most stupid idea??? Has anyone here got a destination shop? Are people still getting in their car for a drive out to a gorgeous store or is online where it's at?

I would love some advice - tell me if you think I'm crazy

Sarah

 

[Thinehost]

OK, it sounds good - but can you see the new premises from the road?? Is it easy to find?? How much marketing will you have to do to bring customers to it??

The important thing with coffee shop, especially in out of the way locations is the quality of the food and the service.

I hope that helps.

Kind regards
Margaret

 

[sarahjohs]

Hi Sarah,

You seem good to go so try and relax. E commerce is ever growing but it is not the only shopping destination yet. You have to try and make your shop as appealing as you probably can and do your best to bring it on par to match the satisfaction someone would have from purchasing online. You may not be able to offer the same prices as an E commerce site but you have to keep people happy in every other way. You'll know what these things are once you open your shop. Good luck

 

[kulture]

As you already have the property, there is no greedy landlord and ever increasing rent to worry about. One of the major costs, and thus risks, is gone.

You may need change of use from the council. You may have increased rates to pay if they re-value the RV upwards.

The biggest threat is to your quality of life. A shop ties you down far mare than you may realise. You are stuck in it (or near it) for 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. Until you do it, you may not realise how limiting a shop can be.

 

[deniser]

I'm not sure that a single shop/coffee shop could work as a destination in itself. Is there anything else nearby that brings people past such as a tourist attraction? It would also need to be on the main road rather than off the beaten track. Parking needs to be very easy. The food needs to be special. I'm thinking somewhere like Daylesford Organic Shop.

We're on a really busy road but it is still difficult to get people to come through the door.

 

[oldoakey]

Why risk it all at this moment in time.

I don't think its wise to open a retail outlet, many are sinking fast and for no reason other than lack of consumer spend and it could well get worse.

If the business can afford to buy a new warehouse then it sounds like its going very well, you could end up putting this in jeopardy and as stated above its a lot more tying and demanding of your time and resources.

Why not use the extra space and start a party plan type of business where agents sell and earn themselves a commission, you get the extra sales without half the hassle and costs.

 

[Hunnie]

Hi,
I think it is a great idea.

As you own the premises (presumably, staff at least, will be there for online orders anyway) a destination shop open to the public should not create too much extra work.

The coffee shop may need more thought.
If the area/location would mean people would stay around after shopping or seek out a coffee shop specifically then fine.

Establishing the coffee shop in it's own right would be extra work, but if you are able to start relatively small scale-to test the concept- that could save too much financial commitment.

Regards
Hunnie

 

[mhall]

We are, in the main, destination shops. There is nothing wrong with the idea, but bear in mind it will take a couple of years for the word to spread unless you want to spend an awful lot of money on advertising and signage. This may make the coffee shop a "phase 2" type of prospect and you might start off with a "showroom" type of shop using the current staff - who will need a crash course in the new concept and what you expect of them. Internet and B&M work well together but they demand very different skills