Setting up a mobile shop!

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Shop Van

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Apr 11, 2012
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Tameside
  • #1
    Hi all!

    I'm hoping to soon open my own small business, a mobile shop!

    The basic concept is...

    Buy a high roofed van
    Kit out the back with shelving and a fridge
    Fill it with stock
    Drive round (Ice cream man style) and sell it!

    I've done a few figures and I recon it could be a viable business, making a tidy profit after the initial set up costs have been paid off!

    Just a few things i'm unsure of and I was wondering if you kind people may be able to offer some advice!

    First thing is insurance. No doubt I wont be able to just insure the van for business use and off I go! Is there any special insurance (Apart from a public liability insurance) I would need to cover my stock and me selling stock to the general public? Does this kind of insurance even exist? I've had a look around the internet but cant find anyone offering 'Shop Van' insurance!

    The only cash and carry I can find that publish their prices is Makro so I've used them to base my stock costs on. I would imagine Makro aren't the cheapest C&C around so does any one know of another C&C who I might be able to get stock prices off to compare them? Or even if you know of another C&C that are significantly cheaper than Makro? Some of the stuff they sell costs more than it does in Asda! Which brings me to my next point...

    What's the rules on buying goods from a supermarket and selling them on? I know I wouldn't be able to sell their own brand stuff but what about branded products?

    And finally, raising the capital! I think i'm going to need around £6k-£7k to set this up. Would I be best off trying to get a business start up loan or just a personal loan? I will be keeping my full time job and just doing a round in the evening to start with to see how things go but hopefully I will be making enough to quit my job and do 'Shop Van' full time!

    Any help on any of the question I have would be very much appreciated!

    Thanks, ;)
    Mark.
     
    tony84

    tony84

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    Apr 14, 2008
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  • #2
    To be blunt on cost of stock...you need to get up and visit them. I dont think everything they sell is listed online (although i could be wrong). Also dont discount smaller companies, i used to own a pub and we used to use a small company who delivered to you - they were often cheaper than cash and carries although they only sold drinks (alcoholic and non alcoholic) bar snacks and cleaning items. you might find some smaller more specialist suppliers, who can offer better prices.

    Makro, Bookers, Costco, parfetts were among some cash and carries.

    Your idea sounds good, especially if you flyer places too - you might get some oldies who dont use the tesco website/internet in general but would like to order from you.

    Maybe do flyers once a month with times, dates you will be in there street, special offer, vouchers etc. Even have a website which allows people to pre-order, i know that contradicts my last paragraph but it could be an option people sometimes prefer the more personal touch - especially older people.
     
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    GraemeL

    GraemeL

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    • Sep 7, 2011
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  • #3
    Hello Mark,

    You have asked a few questions about buying / selling product from various types of supplier. Of course you need to find out the answers. But first to be sure, is it definitely viable? If you take a salary of say £30k a year (That's not generous if it is going to be your lifetime business), plus £15k for vehicle depreciation and running costs, plus £10 for all the other bits and bobs of expense, your annual costs might be £55k. If you can make say a 15% margin (That might be too optimistic) then you need to sell £366k a year or £7k a week. Possible in your area?

    You can buy from pretty much any retailer and re-sell their products, including Tesco's own brand.

    I would guess that to make a success, you will need to build up regular clients, who depend on your visit on the expected day at the expected time. Will they be at home in the day time or would it work only evenings/weekends?

    Holiday cover?

    Would you be selling fresh produce? If yes, how would you get your fresh stuff?

    Lots of things to think about. Best of luck with it.

    G
     
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    Busso

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    Jan 10, 2012
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  • #4
    I used to do something like this but I was selling to shops and pubs instead. I started up with a transit luton that luckily was already racked out with MOT for a bag of sand:) later on when things go a little better I employed another salesman/driver and brought a Merc Sprinter luton van, 57 plate if I remember on HP it cost me £360 p/month. So van wise you should get something decent for under 4k a year.

    It all went tits up for me in early 2009 when the shops I had been visiting on a weekly basis were either closing down down or just buying the bare essentials ie. fags, beer, bread and milk! I sold soft drinks and snack items plus anything else I could pick up cheap.

    The trick is to do your research in your area and find out not the main cash and carry's although you will need these but the little smaller ones in the corners of run down industrial estates. There are some gems out there where you will find bargains gallore. Speak to your local shop owners, tell them your setting up something not in competition with them;) and find out where they get thier stock from.

    Two other things, most of what you sell will not be vatable but being that you are selling 'wholesale' you will need register for VAT as if your not passing the 77k vat limit then you dont have a viable business. The other thing is I'm not sure weather you would need a licence from your local council?

    Last thing is buy a cheap van and give it a go without investing too much money. Suck it and see if you like, that way if you think its not viable you can sell the van and stock quiet easily without losing too much money, and dont forget you don't need to register self employed for upto 3 months;)

    Edited to say that I was already in the trade so to speak and knew all the cash and carries yet I still found it hard going due to the small margins circa 16%, you shoud be able to hit an average of around 24% for everyday goods. But it will still be really tough coming in from the cold so to speak
     
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    Shop Van

    Free Member
    Apr 11, 2012
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    Tameside
  • #7
    Wow! Thanks for all the replies already guys!

    At the moment im a 'marketing assistant'! I maintain their website, I produce the printed marketing materials, I speak to customers, I photograph all new products for the web / brochure, I film, edit & produce the company videos, I even brew up (sometimes!) and all I get is £16.5K GROSS so i'm not looking to pay myself a £30K salary (although it would be nice!) I'd be happy making as much as I'm earning now and spend more of my time at home with my new little boy!

    The plan at first is to just do evening and weekends but if I quit my job I could do a day round too! There's a school just up the road from me with no shop near it within a mile! Go and park outside there at break times and it'd be a little gold mine! I could go and visit all the sheltered accommodation areas in the day and see if the old folk need any groceries without having to leave their street! There's plenty of room for expansion on the initial plan!

    I wouldn't be making much for the first year as I would need a loan to set it up and would want to pay that off ASAP! After that I figure I could be making, at worst, £1.5k a month profit just doing 6 runs a week (evenings & weekends). Thats calculated using Makro prices (which by the sounds of it, I could do a lot better than) and quite a modest amount of goods sold per week! I have factored in growth as more people recognise the van and feel comfortable coming out and buying their shopping from me!

    After the first year I would hope to be able to give up my day job and up my weekly rounds to give me profits in the region of £2K-£2.5K per month which would do me just nicely! Never know, if its a big a success as I believe it will be, it wont be long before I'm hiring additional drivers too! ;)
     
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    TPSOxford

    Free Member
    Apr 9, 2012
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  • #9
    I actually run this as a second business. It makes a fair amount of money, you will never get rich doing it but it builds up good PR.

    The advice I would give is: -

    - If you're doing retail buy a welfare bus, rather than a van. This means people can come in and browse (thus spend more), rather than just ask for a pint of milk and go away. It also has all the wheelchair lifts already on it, which you'll need as a lot of your customers will be elderly.

    Also, buy the cheapest bus you can get. Trust me, it gets ruined quickly as no vehicle (van or bus) is designed for the amount of footfall you will be putting through it. I got an old Transit conversion for almost nothing, only 60k miles on the clock and runs on vegetable oil as these things drink fuel once you have over a ton of stock in the back.

    - Get a decent baker. Word of mouth for decent bread is unbelievable, and people will always pick up other stuff too.

    - Weekends are about twice as busy as weekdays so ask yourself if you are prepared to work every Sat and Sun? Evenings tend to be quieter as your core customers (elderly people who don't drive) don't tend to go out in the evenings much.

    Oh and get used to tidying shelves as everything shifts when you go round corners. If you have any questions please let me know.
     
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