latch Posted August 20, 2005 Share Posted August 20, 2005 I have an opportunity to rent a really good space for retail...great location!!Right now i sell wholesale only 1 locally. I do have some reg customers for retail, my rent would be 600 monthly, There is no exclusive candle shop in my area, there is a few gift shops who sell tyler and yankee. my other concern is the local wholesale customer i have sells my candle and has been doing well reordering regularly. she is in the same city... across town, but my retail prices would be cheeper of course. what do i do about her, she has been a real good customer.I am really nervous, i know it is a lot of work.. My question is can you make more money retail than wholesale? I know with retail you have the overhead. i plan to carry candles of course, wick trimmers, candle warmers, & hurricane candles, air fresheners to start. eventually I would like to add a small section of christian books..We dont plan to take out a large loan maybe5000 at the most..Shes a friend and she may go down to 500 for first 6 months. for those of you who have your own retail space, and those who dont, please give me your honest opinions..tia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latch Posted August 20, 2005 Author Share Posted August 20, 2005 i am needing to make a decision by monday... anyone hve any advice??thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awickedscent Posted August 20, 2005 Share Posted August 20, 2005 I am in the same situation. What I do is either not carry that scent in our store or only offer it to my wholesale account since they are local and charge a little or the same so that I am not undercutting my wholesale account. Right now I am having a hrad time keeping our store stocked since our distributor is keeping us very busy. It is never ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinDucky Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 I don't sell yet, so feel free to ignore me Candle business or otherwise.... making a big financial decision that quickly is not a good idea. JMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharyl55 Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 You need to run the numbers. How many candles do you need to sell every month to cover rent, advertising and overhead? Is your customer base large enough for that many sales? How many hrs/day, days/wk would you have the shop open. Will you need to hire someone to help you run the shop? A lot to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twoscentsworth Posted August 21, 2005 Share Posted August 21, 2005 Do you have enough $$$ to buy all the supplies you need plus pay your rent, electricity, advertising, etc. for six months even if you make no money? Overhead is a killer.... Most small businesses fail because of undercapitalization. It can take a year or more for people to find you...even then no gaurantees.Owning your own business is a twenty-four seven job....That said, if you are willing to invest the time and money and think there is a market in your town it can be done.I started with craft shows and then had a store in the mall which I shared, so I paid 1/2. Even in a mall there were days that were very, very slow...in the summer you might not make your overhead but should recover during the fall and holiday season. When my partner decided not to "play" store anymore, I quickly looked for a place where I could reduce my overhead. My best advice is to keep your overhead as low as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latch Posted August 22, 2005 Author Share Posted August 22, 2005 I decided NOT to do the retail thing right now. I will look int craft shows and fairs right now. Heres my dilema, I know eventually i would like to have a retail store, maybe 4 to 5 yrs down the road. I have 2 stores who want to buy wholesale for their shops in town. Knowing that eventually I want a retail space, should I avoid anymore wholesale accounts in my town?? thanks for all the advice guys... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candlenewbie1 Posted August 27, 2005 Share Posted August 27, 2005 I would sell to the wholesale accounts in town to gain product recognition with local consumers. You never know what will happen to your wholesale accounts down the road, they may fold up and go away for one reason or another and you will have gained their retail customer base with a little advertising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire and Ice Posted August 27, 2005 Share Posted August 27, 2005 It's wise to PASS on this for the time being. Yes you have two stores and several dozen local customers but that will not make the rent every month. I've been making candles and selling for nearly five years. I've got hundreds of customers from shows and festivals I do as well as three stores that carry my candles. That seems like alot but it would never be enough for me to open any sort of store. I'm not even close to that arena yet. Maybe in 5 years. I have possible wholesale accounts in another state but nothing is firm there yet. Grow slow and learn from both good and bad experiences along the way. I don't advertise either. Word of mouth is the best advertising I can have. Had local candle maker open store at the mall. Stayed open three months and closed because she couldn't meet the rent and the supplies for the candles. That's a great deal of money lost. She was just too new and had no customers. Never did craft shows or candle parties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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