Anyone here Own or Have started a Retail Biz?

This is an odd question but I'm thinking about a career change and thinking that a retail store might be right for me.

In the area I live in there isn't a good outdoor gear store. We are close to a lot of out door activities and in a pretty affluent part of town..read customers who probably want what I would be selling and have money.

I was trying to get some general cost info for a general outdoor gear store.

Mostly would focus on camping/backpacking gear and general outdoor clothing. Would like to expand to recreational kayaking (I have a pretty good idea on this market and there is another store kind of close selling just kayaking stuff.

Would also want to offer clinics/classes as another way to drive traffic.

Internet presence will also be important but I don't expect to compete with the Backcountry.com's of the world.

Any help?

Sign up for the SIA sponsored LTG 2010 Report. It's FREE - usually never is. Should have most of the info you need.

Cheers

https://www.leisuretrends.com/websignup.aspx

just got it.....wow! That's a lot of real good info!

How do you plan to compete with the internet?

I'm currently working as an consultant for a new ski/snowboard retailer in Billings MT. They started as a bike retailer in May and are now adding ski and snowboard retail to their winter season inventory.

I have been in speciality sports retailing for over 25 years, and understand the systems need to become a well managed store. You will need to set it up correctly from the beginning to generate the correct historical inventory data to see the sales and inventory levels accurately to maximize your GMROI and your inventory turn rate well. These are the keys to positive cash flow and a happy owner.

The other big challenges is setting up your vendor accounts and getting the credit limits use you deserve from the outdoor industry while starting your new business.

My current contract ends in three weeks, I'm available if you need me. I'm even cheap!

PM me if you need any help.
Good luck, are you sure you don't want to open a t-shirt/printwear store? :)

Haven't started any but worked for some with startup characters from different backgrounds. It boils down to one thing...... take the time to KNOW what your identified client wants and deliver it. DO NOT spend your time on what YOU think is cool and what YOU want to sell. It's not about what you want to sell but all about what people want to buy. Seems simple but from what I've seen it can be a very hard concept to grasp even when others are trying hard to beat it into you.

Internet is tough. That's my main hesitation at this point. I still think people like to go put on a back pack. Lay on a sleeping pad. put on a Jacket. Especially if they are a little less informed than most on this site.

With in a about a 10 mile radius we have many successful bike shops, ski shops and a kayak store. I just feel like there is a gap in the rest of the outdoor gear. In about a 30 mile radius there are 4 REI stores......seems like there is a lot of business if they are keeping all of those a float

I would love to sell kayak and ski gear..that's what I love. but that's covered and no reason to go there. To L7's point I need to focus on what is not being covered.

jwolter7..I might contact you. I'm trying to collect some info on lease rates and some other stuff first to make a first pass on initial cost. I need to see if it is even feasible.

thanks for the info...great stuff

It all boils down to the fact I really want to do something that I am passionate about....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jwolter7

I'm currently working as an consultant for a new ski/snowboard retailer in Billings MT. They started as a bike retailer in May and are now adding ski and snowboard retail to their winter season inventory.

I have been in speciality sports retailing for over 25 years, and understand the systems need to become a well managed store. You will need to set it up correctly from the beginning to generate the correct historical inventory data to see the sales and inventory levels accurately to maximize your GMROI and your inventory turn rate well. These are the keys to positive cash flow and a happy owner.

The other big challenges is setting up your vendor accounts and getting the credit limits use you deserve from the outdoor industry while starting your new business.

My current contract ends in three weeks, I'm available if you need me. I'm even cheap!

PM me if you need any help.
Good luck, are you sure you don't want to open a t-shirt/printwear store? :)

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Again I ask the same question of you?

How do you as a brick and mortar retail store, intend compete against internet stores that have little to no overhead?

Philip

There is still something to be said for bricks and mortar BUT nothing says a B&M store can't cover their bases by being into internet sales and internet sales in many ways function better when backed up by B&M. They don't have to be mutually exclusive.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pruitt

This is an odd question but I'm thinking about a career change and thinking that a retail store might be right for me.

In the area I live in there isn't a good outdoor gear store. We are close to a lot of out door activities and in a pretty affluent part of town..read customers who probably want what I would be selling and have money.

I was trying to get some general cost info for a general outdoor gear store.

Mostly would focus on camping/backpacking gear and general outdoor clothing. Would like to expand to recreational kayaking (I have a pretty good idea on this market and there is another store kind of close selling just kayaking stuff.

Would also want to offer clinics/classes as another way to drive traffic.

Internet presence will also be important but I don't expect to compete with the Backcountry.com's of the world.

Any help?

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I don't know where you are, but will give you my .02. I used to live in an area with what sounds like similar demographics to what you are talking about (Georgia - no clue where you are). The problem is that the people that keep those REI's running are not the people that are going to shop in a store you would open. This is just my opinion - but Athens (where I lived) used to have two awesome hiking/climbing stores, it now has two (different) outdoor clothing stores. The hiking stores were great, had good people working, etc., but the market for that kind of equipment was slim even in a city with high amounts of disposable income and people with a lot of free time. One store closed, the other store stopped selling hiking equipment and focused on selling a whole crap-load of North Face jackets (and then sold the store to another retailer). The second store was actually doing pretty well with just selling North Face when the owner sold it and moved to south america.

REI is unique - the big ballers in Atlanta want to say they got it at REI/go shopping there. Anecdotal story from REI Atlanta - one time I was waiting to check out and the two guys in front of me were talking. One was buying a Canoe paddle the other a roughly $1.5k mountain bike (he really wanted to 'get into it') - after talking to the canoe guy for about 10 minutes, he walks back to the canoe section and buys an additional $1.5k in canoe/kayak stuff (bought a canoe and a kayak paddle to "Try out canoeing" just like he had always wanted to....). I am guessing that none of that stuff got used much, but man it was a payday for the store. I just don't see that kind of stuff happening in a 'Camping/Hiking' store. (Another anecdotal story - the dude that brought his family in to buy stuff for all 4 of them to 'thru-hike the AT', they were planning on starting the next day and had never been hiking - I had to walk out of the hiking section as I laughed - he figured it would "Take a couple of weeks to get up there, and they would just fly back")

The ski and kayak store likely survive because they are a destination - in ATL you can't see skis or whitewater kayak gear anywhere but in those shops (and kayaks are not as 'internet friendly' as other outdoor gear).

I think you have to find a pretty unique niche (kayaking) or be so generalized you can sell to the dudes that just want to come into your store and buy anything they think is cool.

Just my .02 after I thought about opening a shop and talked with a few store owners when I was back east. That being said, there are a bunch of stores around the SE that kind of inexplicably make it - random boating shops up in N.GA, Hiking stores only open during the summer, etc. So all the market research in the world doesn't necessarily translate to real-world sales.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phill

Again I ask the same question of you?

How do you as a brick and mortar retail store, intend compete against internet stores that have little to no overhead?

Philip

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do you know this to be true from personal experience?

sure, plenty of companies drop ship, but most (even if only 50.1%) shops still have to stock inventory.

The OP should first read a book: The E Myth Revisited--Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber. Mr. Gerber even offers a Business Development Services program for direct personal help.

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Originally Posted by DanoT

The OP should first read a book: The E Myth Revisited--Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber. Mr. Gerber even offers a Business Development Services program for direct personal help.

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How to make a million dollars in 3 steps:

1. Write a book about how to make a million dollars and teach accompanying seminars.

2. Charge $100 for the book, $400 for the seminar

3. Find 2,000 people stupid enough to listen to you

.

I own a B&M cigar shop, you might ask what that has to do with a ski shop. Well, the thing is we also compete with huge online retailers. These retailers do the same thing they do in the ski industry, discount. The difference is that people still look for and crave personal attention and customer service. The way to compete with the big guys? Know your product, be the expert in what gear a consumer needs. Also know and develop relationships with your customers, ski with them if you can. Customer service and one on one attention will keep them coming back. Also i agree with DanoT: read the E-myth. It sounds like you have had an entrepreneurial spasm. That can be a very good or bad thing. Good luck. I know the ski and cigar worlds seem very different but retail is basically the same, and we are both competing for people's discretionary income. If you have any questions about the perils of retail feel free to PM me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Phill

How to make a million dollars in 3 steps:

1. Write a book about how to make a million dollars and teach accompanying seminars.

2. Charge $100 for the book, $400 for the seminar

3. Find 2,000 people stupid enough to listen to you

.

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LOL....Although i have to say the E-myth has helped me tremendously to improve my business

Thanks for all of the posts. I actually just finished reading the E-myth. Great book and really helped getting focused on what to do next.

My main issue now is finding reps that want me to sell their stuff. It's kind of weird. Most of them wont return my phone calls and the ones that do want to come see my store and to see how my sales have been in the past.....I'm a new store. It's hard to pull the trigger on a lease until I have at least a few people that will actually let me sale their stuff. I figured I would be calling up and dealing with some min orders but it's tougher than I thought.

Oh well. Forging ahead and hopefully will make something happen,.