Shop and Website?

[Tiffany]

My website sales are going from strength to strength and I've got problems now with storage....not enough of it. I have had some good ideas on storage from this forum but none are 100% ideal.
I never ever wanted to open a shop as I think it's a whole lifestyle decision and would tie me down far too much. But....now I'm having a rethink.
The other thing which puts me off is business rates and a lease. I would never sign into a business lease but my other half (who has some property) has a shop coming empty shortly - we thought he could save empty property rates, the problems of finding a tenant and I could try out a shop although I'd have to factor in some rent even if just a notional figure.
I am in two minds about this and wonder if anyone else runs both? If so is the website still a lot stronger than shop income? I would hate to tie up all my time on a shop which was not bringing in at least the same as my website.

 

[i234i]

alot of people on here run both shop and website.. but it totally depends what your after..

if i had a really great expanding website and didnt want to be tied down to opening hours and days i would not really opt for the shop route.. but if your partner has one going available are your into trying it for the longrun then you should have a go..

there will be quite a few costs in fitting out the place to your spec and further stock etc.

what sort of area / condition is the shop in?
what sort of website do you run??
have you thought about just expanding the web business you have?

 

[primrose]

If your business requires clients to visit you to view your products then I would definitely give it a go (esepcially as you can try using a shop for a very low charge from your partner). At the moment with the credit crunch buying into long leases or purchasing property may not be a good option.
If you do not need your clients to actually visit a premises, then really you are just looking for a storage facility which you can rent.

 

[tony84]

If you dont want to run a shop then you could get a manager?
Or you could get a partner for a shop maybe?

 

[MH1]

You have identified one huge problem with a shop, you must open each day come what may.

I found although I enjoyed having my mobile shops a few years ago it did tie me down, and probably prevented me from earning as money as they brought in.

Think long and hard before deciding, it's an expensive mistake to make. As with most types of business these days, your only real hope is to be 100% the idea, which you don't sound like you are at the moment.

 

[JGOffshore]

My wife ran a bookshop which was located in ground floor of a High Street property which I leased. My offices were on the top two floors and there was a tenant in the ground floor shop which was a bookshop. He had health problems and my wife went into partnership with him. It didn't work as his health was getting worse so she bought him out.

It wasn't good as sales were low. New books could be got cheaper in local supermarkets than she could buy from the publisher/wholesaler and with second hand books she was reliant on passing trade. Not much of that.

So, she developed the internet side of the business which has gone from strength to strength. There might only be a few people who can browse in a real shop but there are millions who can browse online.

When the lease expired she kept on with the online business and has never looked back. Mind you it is as well that we have a large house and that our sons have left the nest otherwise I don't know where would keep the stock!

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

I have had some good ideas on storage from this forum but none are 100% ideal.

Just looked at your other thread re storgae and see that somebody has suggested a farm based unit already. I was surprised at how many there are about and at a snip of the price of typical industial set ups. Some are really quite 'crafty' and not full of car breakers and engineering firms!

I've just taken a small unit of around 700sq ft split into office, showroom and clean area at the front, with storage and work benches at the back. I have the option of taking more space for storage at a fraction of the price be that in a secure warehouse/unlet office or shipping container. Easy in/easy out as well.

 

[Tiffany]

Mmmm....this is a hard one....but my heart (and head!) are not 100% for the idea. It's not just the time that I would be tied down but also business rates costs and the worry of theft as well as how safe I would feel being alone in a shop. I wouldn't want to employ someone else as I know I would always be worrying that I would be better there representing the business myself! I know you have to let go and trust in other people but I know what I'm like and I would find this very very hard to do.

I think I will perhaps just look into better storage as a first step and have a rethink on a shop ....for the time being. It's interesting to hear about the farm storage unit being a success and the book shop which never matched up to online sales....I definitely need to do a lot more research I think.

 

[i234i]

it can only be a good thing that you have come to that conclusion Tiffany - i wouldnt worry though as im sure when you further build your online shop and sales you would be glad you have never opened a shop and be tied down.

And in future if the time comes and you feel "ready" then go for it.

It would have been quite a costly thing to do if you werent 100% into it from the start

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

What do you sell?

I retail items that most customers will expect to wait a few days for so will be using my storage to improve orderflow. I'll be there for customer collections at set times but won't formally retail. That way anybody working for me needn't be on their own. I'll also be putting a door opening button under the desk so I can vet who I let in.

 

[JGOffshore]

Yes, as my wife found you either had to be in the shop all day yourself or employ someone at minimum wage. As for business rates

 

[deniser]

I run both. I started with a shop, then the website took off and now accounts for 90% of turnover. The shop has become a nuisance as:

1. it is badly affected by the credit crunch so that footfall has gone down dramatically
2. the shop sales are not currently high enough to justify employing someone to keep it open
3. which means that one of us has to man it meaning that that person can't (other than doing computer stuff) work on the ecommerce side ie. packing orders, photography etc.
4. it is hard to go on holiday
5. you have to open every day - even when we both had flu we had to open up
6. you spend a lot of time making the shop look nice, ticketing goods etc when you want to spend that time on the website
7. it limits you in terms of space
8. you have to expect shoplifting
9. people come in every single day asking for charity donations or raffle prizes

We are gradually reducing our opening hours until we feel we can dispense with the shop altogether. With hindsight I wish we had stuck to a commercial unit rather than shop premises.

 

[Tiffany]

Thanks Deniser.....you are re-affirming what I was thinking deep down myself.

Sometimes you can get carried away with dreams of opening up one shop and then a chain of shops expanding accross the country!! I think this is what I've been doing a lot of.....with my pipe dreams.

It's very easy to get carried away like this. I do it all the time with my stock. I would much rather sell quality items but I've come to realise that a lot of people either don't want or can't afford quality and I seem to be able to sell cheaper nasty items (in my opinion) time and time again! The more expensive quality stock I have bought is sitting gathering dust which is very frustrating.....I don't want to make the same mistake with a shop....when my time could probably be spent better in other areas.

I'm going to have a really good think about this one....thanks for all your thoughts...much appreciated.

 

[Blush]

I opened a shop last year, and it is a huge success but it is an amalgamation of two websites. The hsop is primarily a dancewear shop so this is why it does well. Suppliers will not supply more than one outlet in the same town and nor will they supply website based businesses only, you have to have a retail outlet.So this creates a niche.You also have to have a lot of knowledge in this area as customers will expect you to know exactly what they need, even though they don't know themselves! The other side of the business is represented in the shop, but more so in the stock room.We also have products that never make it onto the website.I have found sales are completely different fromt he website to the actual shop.Your typical shopper who walks into the shop is looking for something completely different than the typical online shopper. Their budget is often much lower too.
Had I planned to open the shop based purely on stock from Blushfashions I would never have gone ahead as it would not have been cost effective.
However being a dancewear specialist has meant we can. The two are complimenting each other really well, Turnover has well exceeded the vat threshold now, I have two members of staff and now looking to take on a 3rd.
But at the end of the day it all depends on what you are selling and what your local competition is.
When we opened we noticed a large increase in window displays of childrens fancy dress costumes in several 'large shops' nearby?
However we focused on the dancewear.Two of the shops have now gone bust and the third is a large supermarket and their products are completely different anyway.

 

[artylicious]

I'm glad I came across this forum as I'm in the same position. My website is getting very successful selling Canvas Art, Photos on canvas and printed roller blinds and I get enquiries asking if we have a shop where they can look at the products before they buy. I always get excited when I see a shop up for let locally as it is my dream to have an art gallery/shop with Artylicious on the sign but I am in 2 minds about it too.

I have come to the conclusion that we should carry on our success online and try and show products in other peoples shops and offer free galleries in cafes, gyms etc to showcase our work and to get known locally. I still don't know what you sell and whether this would be viable for you too but you have nothing to lose by letting other people take the risk and pay the business taxes and you just produce the goods.

I would also like to franchise my company one day and I could do this by letting franchisees take the risk and open a shop and we just supply while still getting the brand name known.

Artylicious Canvas Art
Canvas Art | Photos on Canvas |Printed Roller Blinds

 

[oz1982]

i think it also depends what you are selling, and where your shop would be.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

I would also like to franchise my company one day and I could do this by letting franchisees take the risk and open a shop and we just supply while still getting the brand name known.

OUCH! Remind me never to take on a franchise with your company. Franchises are intended to be two way business relationships, not a means of hiving off risk to somebody prepared to put their house on the line to help your business

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Suppliers will not supply more than one outlet in the same town and nor will they supply website based businesses only

This is a very good point. I have just after 3 years managed to secure an account with a major supplier who refused to supply web based companies. The credit crunch has it's benefits!

 

[artylicious]

I'm not asking anyone to put their house on their line for my business, anyone buying a franchise from us would have a great chance of making a shop a success Im sure, but I've never been involved in retail before so it would be alien to me. For someone who had retail experience I'm sure it would be great.

Artylicious Canvas Art
Canvas Art | Photos on Canvas |Printed Roller Blinds

 

[Tiffany]

Quote:
Suppliers will not supply more than one outlet in the same town and nor will they supply website based businesses only

This is a very good point. I have just after 3 years managed to secure an account with a major supplier who refused to supply web based companies. The credit crunch has it's benefits!



I've noticed the same too! There were a couple of companies I contacted 2 yrs ago to supply me and insisted I have a brick and mortar shop. One actually bent the rules for me at the time ...... there are ways and means of getting around this. The other I contacted only last month and they have now agreed to open an account.

In the current climate some suppliers cannot afford to pick and choose like they did in the past and with many of their customers feeling the pinch and ordering less or going under I think many more will be only too glad to change their rules and supply online businesses.

With regard to the art .... I think letting a few galleries display for you up and down the country would probably be a great way to get started whilst minimising your own costs. You'll be able to get a feel for how successful this is going to be without having to take the risk of your own shop.

I stayed in Wales last year....by the Coast and we visited a fabulous art shop / gallery.....they had combined this with a really relaxed style of coffee shop.....it had great views over the sea and a lot of art displayed in both the shop and gallery. They had also been very artistic in the design of the coffee shop......with various paintings actually painted onto the walls rather than displayed. This might be a good idea for you. Whereas we probably would never have ventured into the shop itself we did go in for a coffee and then started to appreciate the art!

 

I would echo other on here and advise against a shop. Why increase the overheads of an already successful online business. Accomodating premises which are solely storage for a business is one thing - this can be based anywhere and do not need to be in a desirable area, for a shop to work you have to have footfall and to achieve that you need to be somewhere popular and well exposed - which is expensive.

So many of the shops on the high street have gone under or are struggling, many of these either had online presences that they managed badly or no online presence at all, many invested huge amounts of money in very bad locations - often made worse by the redevelopment of areas and opening up of shopping areas elsewhere.

As more and more people move to shopping online in order to save money and to fit around their own busy lives we will see the high street continue to further decline. I rarely shop offline these days, I sell my own products online, I deal with my suppliers and customers online, I purchase a good 80% of my weekly purchases online, really only leaving clothes, food and shoes as items I buy offline, and even then I can buy some of that online from shops I'm confident of the sizing in.

Your head says no for a very good reason, to run an online business allows flexibility, you can be anywhere, emails can be answered whilst doing other things, orders can be picked and packed at a time that suits you. It doesn't mean the hard work stops, but its very different from being chained to the front of shop from 9 -6 with a smile plastered on your face as you have to deal with the general grind of that kind of job, as well as the unpleasant stuff like shoplifters.

 

[maria102]

Errrhm, but still some indies are enjoying some success - some customers still want to try before they buy and want it straight away...and I don't have to plaster a smile as I quite like doing it!!

 

[JGOffshore]

In my last post I concentrated on the financial/marketing problems of running a shop - but believe me the fact that it ties you down such a lot was a major problem.

 

[maria102]

In my last post I concentrated on the financial/marketing problems of running a shop - but believe me the fact that it ties you down such a lot was a major problem.

Not so sure, how many people do you know that 'go' to work? its not that ususual in the words of Tom Jones. I work 4 1/2 days, and have someone working for me one day... absolutely works fine.

 

Errrhm, but still some indies are enjoying some success - some customers still want to try before they buy and want it straight away...and I don't have to plaster a smile as I quite like doing it!!

Aw, I know you love doing it But the OP's heart isn't really in it, and I think it would end up being in the 'plaster a smile' category. If you can get the right location and have something unique then shops can work. I love indies when it comes to clothing, and thats why most of my clothes shopping is still offline.

I just wouldn't recommend someone who has a successful online shop to take that offline - certainly not at the moment.

I've had several designers close their own shops as well as seeing some big jewellery supplies companies go bust.

 

[maria102]

Aw, I know you love doing it But the OP's heart isn't really in it, and I think it would end up being in the 'plaster a smile' category. If you can get the right location and have something unique then shops can work. I love indies when it comes to clothing, and thats why most of my clothes shopping is still offline.

I just wouldn't recommend someone who has a successful online shop to take that offline - certainly not at the moment.

I've had several designers close their own shops as well as seeing some big jewellery supplies companies go bust.

Can you believe I mis-quoted Tom Jones! oh dear....Nah, you're right, its freaking tough out there at the moment, and the reality is, despite me loving it, god knows how it will turn out.

 

[Idontbuy]

If You are stuck for space why not use a fulfillment centre to take care of the goods?

You can get some good prices if you look around.

Also with a fulfilment centre you are not tied to one country we have a UK fulfillment centre and a USA Centre we are also looking at a Euro centre later this year either in France or Germany.

If you need any more info send me a PM if you like.
Pete