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How were sales in 2005?
| Incredible - I can't believe how well we did. |
| [ 3 ] 20% |
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| Good - Not incredible, but still worth talking about. |
| [ 6 ] 40% |
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| Ok - We're making it - barely. |
| [ 5 ] 33% |
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| Bad - Sales have been poor. |
| [ 0 ] 0% |
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| Terrible - We've hit rock bottom. |
| [ 1 ] 6% |
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Total Votes : 15 |
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| saladgrind |
 Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:00 am |
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Joined: 01 Aug 2005
Posts: 3
Location: Alberta
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I've been running my shop for 3 years now. I'm wondering: what is normal debt for a 1,200 sq ft shop? We've got about $40,000 on lines of credit right now (in addition to the $15,000 in cash we put in at the beginning).
Our first year we started out really slow, and purchased inventory slowly. In the last couple of years we've perhaps purchased too much inventory? (I'd estimate that we have between $35,000 - $40,000 inventory at cost on hand)
The last year and a half has been tough, with sales being especially slow in the past 6 months. |
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| auragreg |
| Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:15 am |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 2382
Location: Highland, Michigan, USA, Earth
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| I think I'm in the same boat as you.... been open for a little over a year. Much credit out there. Most credit cards are used. X-mas was really good for us tho. Double last year. |
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| DomitianX |
| Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:22 am |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 28 Sep 2003
Posts: 2473
Location: Faribault, MN
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We have lost 2 big MN shops in the last year or so. Both of these shops were very good to the local scene and had been in business for a long time.
Neither really catered to the old guy though which is why I didnt frequent them, but they seem to do alot for the average kid skater, at least up until the end.
When I talk to guys I know that run shops, most of them are in the same boat as you. In debt and trying to stay alive. |
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Old School Skaters Online
Pool and old school boards. Run by skaters, for skaters. |
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| MileHighSkates |
| Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:27 am |
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Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Posts: 2708
Location: Boulder County, CO
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| For 2005 we ran anywhere from 130-275% compared to the previous year. 2006 is looking like 230% for January. We spend a small fortune importing decks and trucks from Canada, and decks, trucks, and gloves from the UK, etc. Thankfully some US-based manu's build in healthy margins to their products. |
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| stillboardin |
| Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:47 pm |
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Joined: 10 Apr 2003
Posts: 110
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This business has taught me an important lesson. Don't play if you can afford to suffer for a long while. the online shops are a dime a dozen now and if you can't afford to advertise then you can't drive people to your site. If you have a brick and mortar then you better have a high traffic location and stock alot of flipper decks and soft goods to keep the mommies and daddies coming in to buy Jr. new shit every week. And that high traffic location has a price.
I say you have to sell your soul to make money in this business.
And another thing, don't finance a business on credit cards you end up a slave to them.
I'm slowly shutting down operations cause the time needed to run and the time available just doesn't make sense for me anymore. |
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| yoyo |
| Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 2:05 pm |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 2228
Location: Germany
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I am not a real shop, but I sell special Freestyle equipment over here in Germany. Although Freestyle is non existant (for the mainstream) sales increase a little every year. It's too small to invest big money, but I keep stock to a minimum and can order trucks and accessories locally.
Wheels and decks come from the US, so I stock a little more of them.
yoyo
www.yoyoskates.com |
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| DomitianX |
| Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 3:19 pm |
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ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 28 Sep 2003
Posts: 2473
Location: Faribault, MN
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MileHighSkates wrote: For 2005 we ran anywhere from 130-275% compared to the previous year. 2006 is looking like 230% for January. We spend a small fortune importing decks and trucks from Canada, and decks, trucks, and gloves from the UK, etc. Thankfully some US-based manu's build in healthy margins to their products.
stillboardin wrote: This business has taught me an important lesson. Don't play if you can afford to suffer for a long while. the online shops are a dime a dozen now and if you can't afford to advertise then you can't drive people to your site. If you have a brick and mortar then you better have a high traffic location and stock alot of flipper decks and soft goods to keep the mommies and daddies coming in to buy Jr. new shit every week. And that high traffic location has a price.
I say you have to sell your soul to make money in this business.
And another thing, don't finance a business on credit cards you end up a slave to them.
I'm slowly shutting down operations cause the time needed to run and the time available just doesn't make sense for me anymore.
My comment was directed to brick and mortar shops. Online shops are a different breed in that you dont have much overhead except for inventory so they need to be managed differently from a marketing perspective.
I've been doing web development/marketing for almost 10 years and when I talk to brick and mortar guys about advertising and marketing, they almost always come back with "Yeah, but that doesnt work with a physical store front."
With a "real shop" you need to be concerned with the scene within about an hour or so of your shop. With online you need to be worried about the entire planet. Completely different from a marketing point of view. Customer service and inventory is the same for the most part, but your ROI on advertising in mags & websites is a lot different for a online shop than it is for a brick and mortar. Especially when you dont live in a major metro or in the middle of SoCal.
If I had a physical store front, which I hope to this summer at least part-time, I would need to focus on the local scene, a team, videos, photos, etc. Taking care of the core customer that can get to my physical location. Being online I dont have to worry about that.
So to compare the two is kind of pointless. Comparing my shop or MileHigh's to a physical store front like SavSk8's in TN wont work because we have different concerns and immediate needs. Then throw in the eGay'ers and drop ship kook's and it gets even more different. |
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Pool and old school boards. Run by skaters, for skaters. |
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| curbdog |
| Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 9:22 am |
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Joined: 22 Dec 2001
Posts: 1444
Location: Penn
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MileHighSkates wrote: For 2005 we ran anywhere from 130-275% compared to the previous year. 2006 is looking like 230% for January.
This is good news in light of your recent employment troubles. Nice momentum to start the year!
DAWG |
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Joe Lopes Forever. |
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| skinny |
| Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 11:34 am |
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Joined: 12 Sep 2004
Posts: 2706
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If you want to make $$.
Carry my stuff.
Simple economics. |
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| ShackleMeNot |
| Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:10 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2004
Posts: 8896
Location: Pangea
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skinny wrote: If you want to make $$.
Carry my stuff.
Simple economics.
Don't they make athletic supporters for that? |
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