YOU KNOW im always a student of small stores....and i wanted to share a couple of things ive seen working this year.... stores ive seen who are still going strong or even stronger in this economy...
THE FURNITURE STORE....this creative gal has made a section for consignment furniture in her fancy furniture store...shes tough!!! 50% comission, the people have to submit a picture and make an appointment...then if she accepts the piece it has 3 months to sell then its hers...she can send it to good will or sell it for 10$$$...its doing great and causing her good buzz...i figure thats due toher high standsards...
THE ONCE A MONTH FLEA.... i read about this one on my cyber buddy's blog , http://www.hogsandroses.blogspot.com/ i follow his adventures and it seems like its working great..its a big monthly flea market....and it gets great stuff...and they dont have to be there all week every week....it seems to be several dealers... and looks like its working out real well...i wish i could go to it......
A DISCOUNT MERCANTILE..... this place is a big country store,, they are big and hunt down overstocks and box lots...good ones, like from big name companies....where they might have to drive to their warehouse and buy 100 boxes to get the price...and resells....they also drive clear down to Laredo Texas to get the good price on garden iron and the wild yard art the Mexicans are selling down there...like our roosters.... they are doing great and buy our cupboards and tables...they cover several different styles ...which if you have the room is imho a great idea...
we sell to a few upscale boutiques and most of the word i hear from them is pretty scary....
GIRLY ACCESSORIES.... this seems to be the biggest thing this year...selling jewelry and scarves is saving lots of stores....we didn't go that way...thinking we couldn't handle it right... but its been great for sooooooo many stores.... ...
the stores ive seen who fell down this year are mainly narrow nichey or upscale boutiques.... too high, too narrow, too much competition, when primitives by kathy has glass slide collage necklaces for 5$ wholesale its pretty hard to keep getting 30$ for them...i just dont know about it....being famous or the new look in the mags at super high prices doesnt seem to relate to business survival....and pity the ones who follow in the same path..and some retailers who have closed are now consulting....but who would really pay for consulting with someone who couldnt keep their store afloat or even make minimum wage ? ....if we are talking about business it has to be about the money...
the MOST HELPFUL COMMENT i got this year was from an emergency helper who also has a beauty shop...she helped us for Christmas, she did the biggest display for our openhouse.....shes about 30 miles away ...i asked her if her customers said anything about our store...she said yes...and i said what do they like?....she said....that they can find things no one else has, the prices, and that isnt just what the owner likes....i took that as referring to us having several styles presented at the same time...that comment helped me focus and see our good things...
5 comments:
Ann:
I so appreciate your insight.
Since my antique sales are hobby to me -- I can afford to ride thru slower days with my antique mall booth --- although I still set my standard that if I pay in any rent for two consecutive months, I close. That being said, I have always made at least double my rent since I started in 2001...sometimes just that, often more like 5x rent.
I did begin barn sales in the hayloft of my 100 year old barn this year -- what will work best for that is offering the sale just a few times a year and building up the expectation. I have had very good success so far...this past sale I brought in double my attendance goal and 4x my sales goal.
We also live on a perfect road to just throw the "Barn Sale Today" sign out in between the big sales and get travelers heading north ---- often it is location, location, location.
I also underestimated the power of a blog and the importance of a destination. At my first sale, many people made comments that were generated from my blog: "Can I go visit with Ralphie (one of the goats)?" "Can I see the new kittens?" "You can see for miles." I am still thinking of ways to enhance the experience.
Kari
thanks kari..... i think your barn sale sounds wonderful...and the time it takes is great too as compared to a shop....it sounds like you really have a good good start...now how about building adatabase....its so easy...sign up for constant contact or something like that and have a drawing at your next sale and get those email addresses....
its so nice beieng in a mall and at least you are doing the math and seeing if you are making any money...the hope is always that it will bring in business to your barn sale too or other good connections....
your place is beautiful .....
Good thoughts, Ann. Thanks for sharing. I agree with you. Although a business that closed in debt can help by example of what not to do and I am sure they did do a lot (but not enough) things right.Don't think I would pay for their advice though. I take what everyone says with a grain of salt. Also what works in one part of the country doesn't mean it works in another and some of us are in a time warp and we will catch up in a year or two.
i sure agree laura.... we are all different....
.thats why i love forums and am trying to keep ours going www.retailersshoptalk.com
its so good to hear whats working and what isnt from other stores..
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