Any convenience shop/ post office owners on here?
Discussion
Yes, been brought up around them as my family own one (30 years and counting) and few of my wider family own some.
Ours is un-opposed on a council estate and is staff run these days and manages itself really. We operate under the Premier symbol group and run it as a modern C-store, not just a run-down corner shop that hasn’t been touched in 20 years.
Key is location and number of “chimney pots” in the catchment. Good c-stores have been in demand last 4-5 years and alot of competition for prime sites from tesco/co-op. I’ve been on look out for an additional store for last couple years, as have many other independent store owners.
Profit wise, you need to understand the weekly turnover (wouldn’t look at anything below or that won’t achieve £15k p/w turnover minus services such as lottery,pay zone) and GP is around 20-22%. Biggest threats is minimum wage increases and getting decent consistant suppliers!
Some village stores are hidden goldmines. Couple of my cousins have bought run-down village stores and converted and expanded them into modern c-stores (like your tesco expresses co-ops) and are very profitable. However, hours can be long if you’re having to run it yourself (most are open 7am-10am, 7 days a week) and not something I would recommened unless having worked or up brought up around them before.
Speak to your area symbol group reps (Premier, One-stop, Nisa etc) as they can offer insight on the store and how they can work with you etc and speak to other c-stores owners nearby (but not too close if your going to be competing agaisnt them) as most are happy to chat.
Have a look on here to give you an idea on what it’s like such as issues ans store profiles - https://m.conveniencestore.co.uk/stores/
Ours is un-opposed on a council estate and is staff run these days and manages itself really. We operate under the Premier symbol group and run it as a modern C-store, not just a run-down corner shop that hasn’t been touched in 20 years.
Key is location and number of “chimney pots” in the catchment. Good c-stores have been in demand last 4-5 years and alot of competition for prime sites from tesco/co-op. I’ve been on look out for an additional store for last couple years, as have many other independent store owners.
Profit wise, you need to understand the weekly turnover (wouldn’t look at anything below or that won’t achieve £15k p/w turnover minus services such as lottery,pay zone) and GP is around 20-22%. Biggest threats is minimum wage increases and getting decent consistant suppliers!
Some village stores are hidden goldmines. Couple of my cousins have bought run-down village stores and converted and expanded them into modern c-stores (like your tesco expresses co-ops) and are very profitable. However, hours can be long if you’re having to run it yourself (most are open 7am-10am, 7 days a week) and not something I would recommened unless having worked or up brought up around them before.
Speak to your area symbol group reps (Premier, One-stop, Nisa etc) as they can offer insight on the store and how they can work with you etc and speak to other c-stores owners nearby (but not too close if your going to be competing agaisnt them) as most are happy to chat.
Have a look on here to give you an idea on what it’s like such as issues ans store profiles - https://m.conveniencestore.co.uk/stores/
A friend of a friend runs a Premier in Leeds which is on the edge of large council estate and whilst it has good footfall he loses a lot of stock through theft. Police have absolutely no interest in dealing with it of course so he's left to deal with it, which is incredibly difficult. He looked into contracting security but the cost far outweighs what he currently estimates he loses to theft, plus there's also the issue that security guards can't do much to stop it happening anyway. He has caught plenty of people stealing stuff on the CCTV and dropping it straight into their shopping bag and it's often the 'well to do' pleasant types with the means to pay that are doing it, rather than the council chavs like you would expect.
Very long hours too and staff are a nightmare calling in sick for every pathetic reason under the sun.
Very long hours too and staff are a nightmare calling in sick for every pathetic reason under the sun.
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