Questions about location for Kitchen Showroom.

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A

Aduk2k

  • #1
    Hi

    Ive seen a similar post regarding setting up a kitchen showroom, however that post was more to do with advice on if he should setup or not.

    Ive sort of already decided that i want to setup but id like advice on positioning of it.

    My idea (although anybody can offer advice) is to have a showroom to display kitchens/bedrooms and granite worktops and maybe bathrooms. Im not sure on the best route for positioning though.

    I intend to have a showroom for customers to see, but i intend to manufacturer all my own carcasses and also my own granite worktops. I already do this on a small scale and have all suppliers and equipment already so i know what im doing in that area.

    Id like to target trade customers and also retail.

    If i go for a highstreet prime position showroom then im not going to be able to have a workshop attached and the rent will be expensive. I would have to just have the showroom and buy in everthing, or have a seperate workshop however i wouldnt be able to man both myself. I would prefer to have both on one site.

    If i go for a unit in the middle of a industrial state or in the middle of nowhere ill get no passing trade. the rent would be cheaper and i could get a workshop and showroom together. i would have to spend a lot more on advertising though as i couldnt rely on any passing trade.

    Or i could go for something in the middle which im thinking might be best. A decent size place placed in quite a good location on a main road but its is big enough to have a showroom and workshop. this insnt exactly a really busy main road but it does have quite a bit of passing traffic, its right next to the motorway and has a few car dealers on the same road. This place im looking at is a part of a mill on the road so i get roadside frontage for my sign on the building. This place im looking at is actually cheap too.

    So what advice can anybody offer?
    Cheap unit in the middle of nowhere and concentrare on advertising. the location doesnt really matter?
    Something in the middle so you get on a main road but not exactly busy through traffic location?
    A prime spot and a busy main road. Location is key?


    Also, how much of business would people attribute to passing trade?

    I know a guy who setup a small retail bathroom showroom right on a busy main road. It is tiny and he put the sign up on the showroom and before he had even setup the showroom he had customers knocking on the door so he just opened it before it was finished. He said he gets a lot of his custom from passing trade.
     
    W

    Willself

  • #3
    Personally!:eek: I would go the 3rd. Option or Middle Way!!:D When i sold

    Kitchens many years ago!:)lol..We never had showrooms!!:pIt was ALL

    Tele-Marketing!! We sold purely from a DEMO"Kit!! and wonderful pictures!

    But!! always believed that What you are striving to achieve is the WAY!!

    One concern i would have!! Do you know some QUALITY Kitchen Fitters
    etc, more so, if they are fitting Granite work tops!!:plol

    While the Trade might purchase Cabinets..etc!! The general Public are

    "SOLD" on a fully fitted kitchen including Oven , Hob & Extractor!! etc
     
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    A

    Aduk2k

  • #7
    thanks for replies so far.
    fitting and trades people aspect of things isnt a problem.

    if the location doesnt really matter then all leads must come from advertising and so im assuming quite a lot of time and money needs spending on this side of things. newspapers, leaflet drops etc etc.

    if its quite a good location, would a good amount of passing trade give you business? i would assume it would make a big difference and far less money and time would need to be spent on advertising to get the same amount of business?

    if the same amount of time and money was put into advertising a good location setup as it was for a not so good location setup i would assume you would get far more business at the better location?

    this doesnt have to apply to kitchen showrooms etc but has anybody setup in a good location and not really done much advertising and received a lot of custom?

    thanks
     
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    L

    Lee Jones Jnr

  • #8
    A kitchen is not like a bar of chocolate, it is not an impulse buy. Both our shops are well known locally simply because they have been in the same location for 12 and 15 years each, but they are both old factories which are not near any other retailers. I advise choosing somewhere big, cheap and dry and if it happens to also be warm that's a bonus, at the moment every single customer through my doors points out the cold, but when I tell them the shop can be warm OR cheap they are happy to wear a coat!
    For kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms location is not that important as long as your not out in the sticks, and as time goes by you will get more and more business by referral. I'd say comfortably half of my customers are sent in by a friend or relation.
     
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    A

    Aduk2k

  • #10
    thanks for advice.
    i know customers dont just walk in and buy a kitchen on an impulse buy, but if you are in a good spot customers actually see your business and if they want a kitchen they will probably call in, or remember you for when they want one. you dont have to get them to find you, they see you when they pass you.

    on the other hand, if you are on a business centre or mill etc, you need to actually get the customer to come to you via advertising because they wouldnt normally know you was there.

    this is what im getting at anyway, i thought it would make a huge different but maybe im wrong?

    i kind of have a few options available to me.
    i may be able to have some spare space in a friends unit. this is on an industrial estate and doesnt really have any through traffic. there is a road in front of it where an A board could be put up but its not that busy.

    Or i could go for a place on a decent busy road (not a major main road) which would get a good amount of through traffic. its actually not a bad price either. there is a carpet factory shop, gym, car garages etc on the same road. ive spoken to the carpet place who has been there 2 months and he has not done any advertising apart from a few leaflet drops he has done himself and he got 20 customers through the door on saturday. he previously had a place in the middle of nowhere and didnt do very well with it. now i know its not the same as kitchens, but his position is working for him.

    i supose the position is like a huge advertising banner, you have just got to decide if the cost of it is worth it. normally i might decide against it, but the price of this spot im thinking of is cheap and actually about the same price you would pay to be in the middle of nowhere in a mill. the thing that im not sure about is the space in my friends unit will be extremely cheap because its my friend, otherwise it would be a no brainer.

    i supose i could get the space in my frineds place if he will give it to me and try it out. the only problem is any cost of actually fitting out a showroom will be lost if i move to a better location, and obviously the through traffic will be far less.
     
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    A

    Aduk2k

  • #12
    yes i was thinking about finance. some of the local smaller kitchen showrooms dont offer finance.

    what type of finance are you guys offering.
    they high type at like 29.9% apr and accepting anybody,
    or something like 0% interest free for 10 months?
    who are you using as your financing company?
     
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