How to bring my idea to life?

punkgirlyuk

Hello,
I'm not really sure where to start. I have an idea for a shop/enterprise.
There are many good local craft people selling online, some have expressed interest in going into a store, but there are not many small shops for them. There is a large shop with good rates and rent, i'm looking at how feasible it would be to rent and then somehow have the smaller craft people rent a section, or a stand/are as a concession.
I'm not sure which would be best for them and me, if the shop is sectioned and they come and open their section and work in it, or if they hire a section like a concession in the store and we run it for them, telling them when they need to stock up etc and passing the money on to them?
I'm in the real early stages of this, mainly brain storming as you can see so all input and advise is appreciated
Thanks

Savvy_Sue

The biggest problem as I see it, is that whoever takes this large shop on is going to be liable for the rent for a fixed term, regardless of whether or not this idea takes off. People may express interest in going into a store, BUT until they know how much it will cost, you don't know how many are ready to put their money where their mouth is.

Now, retail being what it is at the moment, you MIGHT be able to negotiate a short period rent free, with a break soon after that. Price things as if you WERE paying the rent, and see if it flies.

What you won't get for free are insurance, waste collections, and all the usual utilities.

If you're running it for them, then you have the costs of employing staff etc, and all the responsibilities which comes with that. Probably not for the fainthearted, as again the costs need to be factored into what it costs someone to have their goods in the store.

Also if you run it for them, there is a risk of loss / damage / shoplifting, and who's going to bear that cost? Could get interesting if an item hasn't been accounted for as sold, yet can't be found.

You can tell I'd be veering towards people hiring a section and staffing it themselves. Which has the advantage that if it's something they can make while on the stall, people will see them at work, and that adds interest. Not so easy if it needs kit or large equipment, eg a potter, and could add to 'elf and safety risks, eg for a glass engraver.

Hmmm. Lots for you to think about!

paddyrg

Might work better managed as a collective - that means having a committee etc but also means bodies to staff the shop.

Going to be honest though, selling enough to stock a large shop sounds unlikely from cold - instead maybe start small, or even as an internet aggregator allowingone-stop purchasing of many peoples stuff on your site, and run the shop if that is proving successful and you have stock on hand. Margins are pretty negligible though, so you would probably have to charge more than double what the craftsperson charges directly just to cover postage, handling and storage as well as insurances etc.

tru

There's a garden centre near me, they rent out an area to local small, homemade craft businesses.

They split the rent evenly but keep their own takings. All cards are rung in the till on button 1, rag dolls are button 2, etc. so it's easy to split the cash. They take it in turns to work in the shop - one person per shift - and don't pay each other, their sales are their wages. The garden centre doesn't get involved at all.

soolin

This is quite a common model for antiques, I have rented 'cabinets' in many centres over the years. It might be worth looking at their model.

For a small cabinet in a highly advertised specialist centre with perhaps 100 or so other dealers 8 would expect to pay around £30 a month for the smallest cabinet (baaically 3 small shelves) plus a small percentage on top of all my sales. The centres though are doing very badly at the moment and one centre told me that some months the coffee shop was the only thing that kept them afloat. The dealers included people who paid £200 -£300 though for a whole cubby sized room as even 80 dealers paying £30 a go would not have paid staff wages alone.

The difference though between antiques and craft items is probably cost.if the centre took say 5% of a £300 items they will be doing better than 5% of a small craft item selling possibly at less than £5.

The centres generally had 2-3 staff on at all times as cabinets needed to be unlocked, plus another 2 in the coffee shop.

Pennywise

I know of a place that does as you suggest. It's an old mill and is therefore a lot larger than I imagine your shop will be. They charge a weekly rent based on size of stand. A relatively small section, say the size of a typical baby box bedroom is around £25 per week, and a larger area, say normal double bedroom sized is around £50 per week.

They give you the option of being there yourself to sell your stuff, but they also have some tills if you're absent where their staff deal with the wrapping, taking credit cards, etc. All items have to be marked with a trader's code on the price tag so that it gets rung to the right trader at the till. They take 25% of the sales price for anything bought via their tills, to cover the staffing, administration, credit card processing charges, etc.

I know it because of a close family member who has a unit there. He has a "day job" working four days per week, but he usually spends Fri/Sat/Sun (the busiest days) in the mill to save the 25% costs. He also attends exhibitions etc occasional weekends - he just takes some of his stock out of the mill, leaving the mill staff to sell anything that he's left. The mill side of things doesn't really make much profit, but it's cheaper than renting a shop and he can earn his money via his job. He makes his money from the exhibitions - by selling via the mill, he can stock a wider range of goods, get better deals from suppliers, etc., so his weekend exhibition trade is a lot more lucrative for him.

Don't underestimate the costs that you will incur. Staffing, insurance, credit card processing, bank charges, power, waste disposal, alarm systems, health & safety, cleaning, etc. You're going to have to charge your traders a hefty whack to cover your costs and make a profit. You're the one taking the risks, so you need to earn a decent enough profit to compensate your risks.

I'd also mention that the mill I'm talking about has a very high turnover of traders. Lots of people come and go. They usually last 3-6 months. There are very few permanent traders there from year to year. The place is usually heaving at weekends and they get several coaches stopping daily during the week. They advertise on TV. Even with that massive footfall, most traders can't survive. Apparently, those selling "boxed" mainstream goods survive - i.e. selling toys, cars, trains, sweets, etc. It's the "crafty" type of traders that don't but there's a constant stream of newcomers to take their place - they say that there's always a new trader selling hand crafted greeting cards, hand painted ornaments, artwork, etc., but that they regularly give up after just a few months.

paulwf

From the flea markets I've seen and from the posts above I think the common theme to making it work is to find a fairly large space with a very low rent. That generally means a converted warehouse on the outskirts of town or a mill or garden centre as mentioned above. There will be costs involved with generating footfall but the cost per sq m will be low. That is going to be crucial, if you have an average sized shop in a town centre you'd have to be charging £100's a week for a small area.

punkgirlyuk

Thanks to everyone for replying.
The common theme seems to be that rent has to be low for the traders, and the spaces hired need to be bigger than what i'm looking at.
Hmm, think i will look into the option of a trial basis with the shop, it has been empty for a while so if i can get some traders signed up and really committed then we may have some power to negotiate.
Need to go back to the traders and see what would be reasonable for rent.
The idea/model that the Mill does sounds interesting.
I'm looking at having an area in the shop too for my source of income
Lots to think about!

punkgirlyuk

paulwf wrote: »

From the flea markets I've seen and from the posts above I think the common theme to making it work is to find a fairly large space with a very low rent. That generally means a converted warehouse on the outskirts of town or a mill or garden centre as mentioned above. There will be costs involved with generating footfall but the cost per sq m will be low. That is going to be crucial, if you have an average sized shop in a town centre you'd have to be charging £100's a week for a small area.

Didn't see your post as took a long time making my reply, but i agree with what you have said.