New Shop Idea, Would It Work?

[ashaw1]

I would like to set up my own business in Wick and was looking for an idea for a shop, i have a young family and was looking for something that would fit in with the kids. I was thinking of opening up a shop ( possibly in Dempster street) selling good quality second hand baby items and clothing. Cots, prams etc and most of the clothing would probably be Next. I am very fussy where my kids are concerned and the stuff would be top quality. I would probably cater mainly for babies and mainly up to 18 months. What do you think? If not what else does Wick need?

[newpark]

what an excellent idea, would you buy the stuff off local people? This would be a great way of recycling all that baby stuff that hardly get used. I for one buy a lot of kids clothes from ebay and have no problem buy second hand as long as it is a good price and next to new condition.

[angela5]

There is a real need for boy's clothes up here age 11-15.

[dragonfly]

There is a real need for boy's clothes up here age 11-15.

totally agree, I thought about it and had a look round for various clothing manufacturers for hoodies/sweats etc but in the end gave up.............was gonna call it Hoodlumz!

[scorrie]

I would think that most parents would prefer to buy new items where babies are concerned. There might be some people, on a budget, who might buy second hand but you would have to pitch the prices quite low to appeal to that market. Also, people quite often get their baby clothes in the form of gifts and it is unlikely that people buying for friends/relatives would consider second-hand items. Some people get items from friends/relatives anyway and often have their own spares from an earlier child.

Business is not as easy as it looks, rent, rates, wages and overheads put you into a deficit even before you make your first sale of the week. Places like Tescos sell such a wide range of goods that you really need to find a niche market, as it is not possible to compere with their buying power.

The clothing shop above Scotscoup and the two businesses in Kirk Lane are testament to the difficulties in establishing a small business. There is also the Internet to consider.

[Alice in Blunderland]

I have to agree that a shop which caters for young boys would do well. The baby market is a difficult one as many stores offer cheap baby clothes. Good luck in your venture and I hope you find a successfull idea to go for.

[henry20]

I find that baby clothes are VERY cheap in the sales - I can't help browsing round. I'm sure everyone thinks I'm broody. Some baby clothes can be picked up so cheaply when new that I doubt there would be much profit in it to be honest. Its not so long ago that people were commenting on how unrealistic the prices of items were in charity shops, so I imagine the same would go for a second hand shop - you'd have to keep prices pretty low and would need a quick turnaround and constant sales to cover overheads etc. This is purely my own opinion though and I'm sure you'd work out facts and figures before proceeding.

I've always wanted to open up a shop, but have never had the guts to do it incase I ended up with no income. So its my trusty old job for now! Good luck and I hope you find a corner in the market. :)

[Max]

I remember it was really hard to get a hold of maternity gear up here when I was expecting my little boy. That was a few years ago mind you - maybe the gap in the market has been filled now. I used to get some clothes from Hobgoblin and that is closed now as well!

[dirdyweeker]

for clothing in Wick there is certainly a gap in the 11 to 16 year old boys. It would be worth considering. Whatever you choose..........good luck! Where in Dempster Street were you planning to go?

[johnlc]

Ye A Think Its A Great Idea,in Every Shop That Sells Childrens Clothes Its Mostly Girls Clothes That They Sell,i Have 2 Boys And It Is Hard To Get Clothes For Them As It Is Mainly Girls Clothes That Shops Have Most Off.least If You Open Ur New Shop Then Hopefully There Will Be Alot Of Boys Clothes In There.:d

[Cedric Farthsbottom III]

Me and obiron have passed on bits and bobs of baby clothing and stuff to family and friends over the years.This is what most folk do these days.Angela 5 is spot on wi what she said there is a real market open up here for kiddies aged fae 11-15.Especially in boys clothes,I asked the bairns if they wanted my A-Team T-shirt,but they refused!!!:~(

Good Luck wi yer venture anyway :D

[DarkAngel]

Well i think its a fantastic idea..I hope that your go ahead with it all and things work our. Wick is in need of a baby shop that sells Decent items of clothing or baby items..Would be grea to just nip out the house and get some baby things rather than orderin on the net and goin down to Inverness aswell. Good luck xxx

[Woolie]

There is a real need for boy's clothes up here age 11-15.
yep deffo boys clothes 11 to 15

[rfr10]

Yep that sounds great however, it would be great if you could move into one of the boarded up shops in High Street or Bridge Street. Might tidy the town up a bit.

[North Rhins]

I came out of retail in 2000 after being self employed for 15 years. It wasn’t just competition that killed off my business it was the rent and rates. These are the two things that you have little or no say in. My rents DOUBLED after five years! On top of that the local councils treat business rates as a golden egg.
I’m not trying to be a Jonah, I would applaud anyone who is prepared to get off their backsides and give it a go. However, before you begin to consider what might be going into the till, just work out what the outgoings are going to be and more importantly what they might be after your next rent review.
Whatever you decide, the very, very best in your enterprise.

[Spirit]

I sounds good. I'm not sure how big the shop is your planning but it would be good to have a mixture of new and old items, clothing and accessories and the likes of cots etc. It would also be good if there was somewhere that we could sell our baby items too.
There is a shop in Sinclair street, Thurso called wee ones who seem to be doing ok selling new clothes. They cater from babies to older children, I think and seem to have a good selection.
However you would need to consider your overheads and competition with the like of Tesco and internet.
Even the sale in Mackays (if you catch it right) is really cheap. I just bought my little girl 3 t-shirts and a skirt and a jumper for £9.

[percy toboggan]

totally agree, I thought about it and had a look round for various clothing manufacturers for hoodies/sweats etc but in the end gave up.............was gonna call it Hoodlumz!

Not a good choice of name. Why pander to the tabloid agenda? Most lads wear hoods because they help them blend in and help them hide a little.
Most older people are slightly intimidated by lads in hoods - not surprising really is it? It's largely alien garb to older folk.So the name , in my opinion is not a good idea.Given some thought you could come up with much better, without any lawbreaking connotations.
Good luck with your enterprise. I'd expect the new retail gians to be thwarting such plans up there though.

[zappster]

I agree completely its a nightmare getting boys clothes for our 11 year old(especially school clothes)If you go ahead Good luck ..we'll deffo be customers!

[bagpuss]

Doubt it would work- Matalan is due to open any day now- which won't do any good for a second hand baby equipment business. Have you thought of making a bid for an existing business?

Keep in mind that staff costs add up too- and if you have to stay open over lunchtimes- who's going to keep going for the whole day without a break?

If you want to test the water, register as a business seller with ebay and see how it goes with a small sample of goods- that will also give you an alternative outlet

Good luck

[Jeemag_USA]

Doubt it would work- Matalan is due to open any day now- which won't do any good for a second hand baby equipment business. Have you thought of making a bid for an existing business?

Keep in mind that staff costs add up too- and if you have to stay open over lunchtimes- who's going to keep going for the whole day without a break?

If you want to test the water, register as a business seller with ebay and see how it goes with a small sample of goods- that will also give you an alternative outlet

Good luck

I am agreeing with bagpuss and North Rhins. Unfortunately with all the chain stores that are opening up, small businesses are going to have a hard time, the same thing is hapennig in the USA, large stores like Target, Sears, Walmart etc are putting people out of business. Its not worth trying to open a small store in Caithness because of your catchment area. Like Rhins said, you'll spend most of your time covering rent and rates unless you get some kind of cottage industry grant. I would go with Bagpuss idea, do the idea you want to do, but do it from home and use EBAY, you can offer to mail items and charge to cover postage and you can also offer local pickup, you can either set an opening bid at the least amount you woudl sell the item for , or list them as buy it now items (also set yourself up a website). You could advertise your ebay links in the for sale section of this site. Its definately the way to go, because your already paying for your home so why not use it as a place of business and half the overheads.

[EDDIE]

Im sorry but i think most mums would prefer to buy new than second hand

[Angela]

I have to agree that it's very difficult and quite risky to set up a small retail business especally if you have a young family.
I've had a few shops (selling books) and most of the time really enjoyed it. (I always wanted to have a shop since I was a little girl). Customers would say how much they liked the shop & would buy plenty of books, but ultimately not enough to cover rising costs and provide an income. It's not much fun when you're lying awake at night worrying about the bills.
When the children were small I had to pay for cover - and then there were the school holidays!
Selling on the internet isn't as much fun, and you don't get to actually meet your customers, but it's a much safer way at least to start with.
Recently a friend of mine blew all his redundancy money renting a shop in the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. He was selling really nice craft items, mostly from Orkney, and was in a good tourist location, but sadly, within a year, he'd run out of money and had to go back to working for someone else.
Sorry to be a wet blanket.
I'm not saying don't do it, but maybe test the water first?
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Angela

[abalone]

I am agreeing with bagpuss and North Rhins. Unfortunately with all the chain stores that are opening up, small businesses are going to have a hard time, the same thing is hapennig in the USA, large stores like Target, Sears, Walmart etc are putting people out of business. Its not worth trying to open a small store in Caithness because of your catchment area. Like Rhins said, you'll spend most of your time covering rent and rates unless you get some kind of cottage industry grant. I would go with Bagpuss idea, do the idea you want to do, but do it from home and use EBAY, you can offer to mail items and charge to cover postage and you can also offer local pickup, you can either set an opening bid at the least amount you woudl sell the item for , or list them as buy it now items (also set yourself up a website). You could advertise your ebay links in the for sale section of this site. Its definately the way to go, because your already paying for your home so why not use it as a place of business and half the overheads.


There is a book out called,Three weeks to eBay Profits by Skip McGrath.It's written by an American but it has a lot of information about setting up a business on eBay.