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Sector Spotlight: Shops

Are you considering buying a shop? Here is what you need to know about the sector!

The retail sector in the UK, on the whole, has suffered a few setbacks over the past few years. Large chains are closing some of their stores as they become less economically viable.

The closing of large chains, though, is making space for independent retailers. So, even though this is a tough industry, there is room for fresh ideas and more localised businesses. This could be a great time to open up your own shop.

There are several ways that you can make sure that you blossom in this sector. Here are some important factors to keep in mind if you are looking to buy a shop.

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Location

Your location will be an important part of having a shop that is buzzing with customers. This is something that you should carefully consider before you settle on a business to buy.

Despite having the right stock, ideas and skills, a lot can hinge on being visible and convenient to your customers. If there is a lot of reason for your customer base to be in the area, you’ll have the chance to get more organic foot traffic into your shop.

Stock 

Choosing and buying your stock will be one of the most important parts of running a retail business. Choose what you stock carefully. You don’t want to be stuck with stock that you can’t sell.

Think about how you will go about selecting what you stock and keep your customer base in mind through the whole process. Ultimately it is more about what they want than what you want.

Often having a product range that is quite focused allows you to appeal to a specific audience and, therefore, be able to target your marketing. A small product range will also help you keep on top of what you are selling and how you can streamline selling it.

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Consider your customer

Independent and small shops cannot hope to compete with the big chains when it comes to prices of volume-oriented sales. There are other ways that they can compete, though.

Consider who your customers are and solve a problem for them. Offer them something that larger chains can’t- individual attention. Understanding who your customers are means that you can cater to them far more specifically than the bigger chains.

If you are running a corner shop, find out what your customers need and what hours suit them. Getting to know your regulars by name will give them more reason to come into your shop.

This advice can be transferred to any type of retail. If you are selling stock that you are an expert about, speak to your customers and offer them information and advice on the products that they are buying.

Ultimately, addressing a local need will keep you relevant and, as long as you keep focused on your customers, you will be able to keep people coming to your shop.

Find the right shop to buy so that this will be possible. It will be far easier to go with the grain of the shop you buy than to try and shoehorn in ideas that are not relevant to that location.

Once you have bought the right business, it will be your ideas that build it and keep drawing in new customers and reaching new markets.

Retail franchises

There are a lot of retail brands that have grown exponentially thanks to franchising. Franchises are able to buy increased quantities of goods for their network. This helps to keep prices low and, therefore, competitive.

Buying a franchise will also mean buying into a trusted brand name- as long as you research potential franchises thoroughly beforehand. 



Matthew Hernon

About the author

Matthew Hernon is an Account Manager at Dynamis looking after Business Transfer Agents and Franchises across BusinessesForSale.com and FranchiseSales.com.