- Original Poster
- #1
My reason for posting is 14 months ago I wanted an idea of what buying a convenience store was like but truth be told there wasn't that much information really out there. So here I am 13 months later and here are some of my experiences which I hope people find helpful since I opened my store.
Firstly my food shop has an Aldi over the road, a 'one shop' over the other road with a Post Office and convenience store next to them. 200 yards up the path in the opposite direction is a Londis - so big competition, along with a Cooplands Bakery. That should be a big NO-NO but my convenience store was different, it's a Polish shop! So whatever type of shop you open, make it different from the competition! It HAS to offer what they don't or be cheaper - good luck competing with ALDI for prices!
So getting the shop! Unless you can afford to buy outright you will be leasing the shop so budget for the costs associated with that. Try and negotiate a cheaper rent, and see if you can broker a better deal. A decent Solicitor can quote anything from £1000-£3000 (maybe more down south) for sorting a lease once negotiated, I paid £900 but he was a friend of a friend. Make sure you do this properly with a good Solicitor or it might cost you in the long run!
Once that is sorted you'll probably have 3 months' rent to pay, and insurance as part of the lease. The ICO will demand money from you - probably £40, the letter they send you is like the BBC - threatening and annoying! Want to play a radio in the shop - £200+ a year or face a big fine!
You then have utilities to sort out, these companies are hard work so make sure you're getting a good deal as it could be £100's a month difference! Obviously, always monitor your usage, and save where you can - LCD lighting for example.
BUSINESS RATES: The Government has a website where you can see what you have to pay if anything as you may be below the threshold! Even if you don't have anything to pay you still need to register with the Council Valuation Office or they may bill you! It's a simple form. You also need to register your business with the Council letting them know the nature of your business, this generally involves them coming once a year and inspecting you - they're nice and helpful normally.
Alcohol License: I paid a professional to sort both the personal and address/shop license. That was £600 but saved me the stress so worth it.
Other costs: I made sure we had proper security so I pay £60 a month for a manned alarm and many security cameras - which film in real-time and the footage is stored. We have been lucky and just had one shoplifter target us, he was prosecuted on our camera footage and compensation was paid! Your bins need emptying, we pay £40 a month! Accountant - a MUST HAVE! £120 a month. Card payment machine, £15 plus £70 Processing fees a month! There may be cheaper out there so shop around! Getting fire extinguishers checked and a fire safety certificate for £200! Pest control £70!
Getting a bank account was a pain - that Christmas Covid was still relevant and no businesses were running properly. I use an online bank costs me about £6/7 a month in fees! It can be hard for a new company to get an account set up so prepare for that!
Tobacco - we sell vapes but have stayed away from it as 'foreign' shops have a bad reputation for being dodgy and to me, it wasn't worth the hassle BUT it is a simple form for those that do.
So I have an 80m2 shop, so not massive but surprisingly hard to fill, it costs a LOT to stock a shop properly so expect to spend the first year putting any profits back into stocking new lines and improving the business, we're still doing that now! That includes investment in equipment, drink chillers for example. Auctions are amazing, I got a £4000 drink chiller for £116, works perfectly - obviously, have it checked. Same with a posh Freezer, £300, they're £6000 new. So check out local auction houses, you'll find them online! Honestly stocking a shop costs so much MORE than you will imagine! If you're in for the long haul you will put the money back in - we've gone from £2500 to £6000 a week sales - Not massive but we're still growing!
LOTTERY: Don't expect to be accepted, we were turned down - too many in the area! I am re-applying now!
That brings me to wholesalers/suppliers. Ring them, and they visit. You then check their prices, the secret here is to play them off against each other! We get 70% off some products! ALWAYS use more than ONE supplier! If the prices go up, ring your contact - more often than not they'll offer to match prices with their competitor! If they're late delivering and you're paying staff - they will give you a freebie - I once got £600 worth of bottled water, we sell a lot of that! My point is be firm with them and shop around. Keep looking!
Paypoint: I didn't bother but there is another service that does the Health Lottery, which allows all bills to be paid which I plan on signing up with!
Staff: Check the legislation, and speak with your accountant who will sort registering them but they come with a LOT of paperwork! Pensions, training, contracts, paid holidays etc! Just make sure you're getting the right person and you can afford them - trial them on pay and see how they do! Horrible as this sounds but a young woman may end up pregnant (nothing wrong with that) but it could be a cost to the business, same with a young man with paternity leave - factor that into your finances.
So other than running your shop you have orders to do, you will have several! We have a bakery, alcohol warehouse, frozen food specialist, several farm shops, a honey farm, 4 big suppliers, a garden centre and so on! They mostly expect you to order for delivery the next week! So know your stock and what sells! The bread we order for the next day! Only order perishables you know you will sell!
You will have waste, utilise it! I would never sell anything out of date but where safe, like Desperado's alcohol, offer them a free can if they buy something on offer - explain it is out of date first though! It tastes the same! We also put a shelf outside the shop 'free to take' on items just left there, not age restricted obviously! Waste obviously isn't good but buying trends change through the weeks, maybe because of the weather for example! Another example, is we buy full fish, some smoked - if we buy them every week they don't sell, get them every second week they're gone in hours. So learn your customers!
So last points. There is no fruit/veg shop here, we offer that - I mean fresh! No proper Butcher, we have farm fresh meat. We sell 20 huge double Yolk Eggs for a fiver, they're massive (so 40 normal Eggs) and no one sells them around here! We get Honey every September, expensive but probably works out cheaper than ALDI for the size! We even sell jars of Pollen! We just offer different things and some can be expensive but people will pay! Polish Mayo is massively different to ours, same with Ketchup - they fly off the shelves, same with Crisps! So make sure you're different! Our Cheeses, Sausages and fresh meats are second to none - same with our bread products!
Make sure your shop is friendly, my shop is like a community centre, customers stop to chat not only with us but with each other - that is priceless! So get a reputation for being talkative and friendly! I live in Hull and the number of people who run shops that are rude, and manners cost nothing!
Anyway, apologies for the length of this but if I can help one person I will be happy
Firstly my food shop has an Aldi over the road, a 'one shop' over the other road with a Post Office and convenience store next to them. 200 yards up the path in the opposite direction is a Londis - so big competition, along with a Cooplands Bakery. That should be a big NO-NO but my convenience store was different, it's a Polish shop! So whatever type of shop you open, make it different from the competition! It HAS to offer what they don't or be cheaper - good luck competing with ALDI for prices!
So getting the shop! Unless you can afford to buy outright you will be leasing the shop so budget for the costs associated with that. Try and negotiate a cheaper rent, and see if you can broker a better deal. A decent Solicitor can quote anything from £1000-£3000 (maybe more down south) for sorting a lease once negotiated, I paid £900 but he was a friend of a friend. Make sure you do this properly with a good Solicitor or it might cost you in the long run!
Once that is sorted you'll probably have 3 months' rent to pay, and insurance as part of the lease. The ICO will demand money from you - probably £40, the letter they send you is like the BBC - threatening and annoying! Want to play a radio in the shop - £200+ a year or face a big fine!
You then have utilities to sort out, these companies are hard work so make sure you're getting a good deal as it could be £100's a month difference! Obviously, always monitor your usage, and save where you can - LCD lighting for example.
BUSINESS RATES: The Government has a website where you can see what you have to pay if anything as you may be below the threshold! Even if you don't have anything to pay you still need to register with the Council Valuation Office or they may bill you! It's a simple form. You also need to register your business with the Council letting them know the nature of your business, this generally involves them coming once a year and inspecting you - they're nice and helpful normally.
Alcohol License: I paid a professional to sort both the personal and address/shop license. That was £600 but saved me the stress so worth it.
Other costs: I made sure we had proper security so I pay £60 a month for a manned alarm and many security cameras - which film in real-time and the footage is stored. We have been lucky and just had one shoplifter target us, he was prosecuted on our camera footage and compensation was paid! Your bins need emptying, we pay £40 a month! Accountant - a MUST HAVE! £120 a month. Card payment machine, £15 plus £70 Processing fees a month! There may be cheaper out there so shop around! Getting fire extinguishers checked and a fire safety certificate for £200! Pest control £70!
Getting a bank account was a pain - that Christmas Covid was still relevant and no businesses were running properly. I use an online bank costs me about £6/7 a month in fees! It can be hard for a new company to get an account set up so prepare for that!
Tobacco - we sell vapes but have stayed away from it as 'foreign' shops have a bad reputation for being dodgy and to me, it wasn't worth the hassle BUT it is a simple form for those that do.
So I have an 80m2 shop, so not massive but surprisingly hard to fill, it costs a LOT to stock a shop properly so expect to spend the first year putting any profits back into stocking new lines and improving the business, we're still doing that now! That includes investment in equipment, drink chillers for example. Auctions are amazing, I got a £4000 drink chiller for £116, works perfectly - obviously, have it checked. Same with a posh Freezer, £300, they're £6000 new. So check out local auction houses, you'll find them online! Honestly stocking a shop costs so much MORE than you will imagine! If you're in for the long haul you will put the money back in - we've gone from £2500 to £6000 a week sales - Not massive but we're still growing!
LOTTERY: Don't expect to be accepted, we were turned down - too many in the area! I am re-applying now!
That brings me to wholesalers/suppliers. Ring them, and they visit. You then check their prices, the secret here is to play them off against each other! We get 70% off some products! ALWAYS use more than ONE supplier! If the prices go up, ring your contact - more often than not they'll offer to match prices with their competitor! If they're late delivering and you're paying staff - they will give you a freebie - I once got £600 worth of bottled water, we sell a lot of that! My point is be firm with them and shop around. Keep looking!
Paypoint: I didn't bother but there is another service that does the Health Lottery, which allows all bills to be paid which I plan on signing up with!
Staff: Check the legislation, and speak with your accountant who will sort registering them but they come with a LOT of paperwork! Pensions, training, contracts, paid holidays etc! Just make sure you're getting the right person and you can afford them - trial them on pay and see how they do! Horrible as this sounds but a young woman may end up pregnant (nothing wrong with that) but it could be a cost to the business, same with a young man with paternity leave - factor that into your finances.
So other than running your shop you have orders to do, you will have several! We have a bakery, alcohol warehouse, frozen food specialist, several farm shops, a honey farm, 4 big suppliers, a garden centre and so on! They mostly expect you to order for delivery the next week! So know your stock and what sells! The bread we order for the next day! Only order perishables you know you will sell!
You will have waste, utilise it! I would never sell anything out of date but where safe, like Desperado's alcohol, offer them a free can if they buy something on offer - explain it is out of date first though! It tastes the same! We also put a shelf outside the shop 'free to take' on items just left there, not age restricted obviously! Waste obviously isn't good but buying trends change through the weeks, maybe because of the weather for example! Another example, is we buy full fish, some smoked - if we buy them every week they don't sell, get them every second week they're gone in hours. So learn your customers!
So last points. There is no fruit/veg shop here, we offer that - I mean fresh! No proper Butcher, we have farm fresh meat. We sell 20 huge double Yolk Eggs for a fiver, they're massive (so 40 normal Eggs) and no one sells them around here! We get Honey every September, expensive but probably works out cheaper than ALDI for the size! We even sell jars of Pollen! We just offer different things and some can be expensive but people will pay! Polish Mayo is massively different to ours, same with Ketchup - they fly off the shelves, same with Crisps! So make sure you're different! Our Cheeses, Sausages and fresh meats are second to none - same with our bread products!
Make sure your shop is friendly, my shop is like a community centre, customers stop to chat not only with us but with each other - that is priceless! So get a reputation for being talkative and friendly! I live in Hull and the number of people who run shops that are rude, and manners cost nothing!
Anyway, apologies for the length of this but if I can help one person I will be happy
