Greeting Cards/Party stuff and household Shop

[ils]

We are currently considering opening a cards/Household shop in Wick.

The shop will stock the following

Birthday cards
Christmas Cards
all other greeting cards
Gift bags
Party stuff ( candles, banners, buntings, hats etc)

Kitchenware
Tools
DIY
Pet Stuff
Stationery
Tobacco Products

and much more.

I want to know if you guys think there is potential for something like this in the town.

A Hint is just something similar to Nickel n Dime in other towns

Just opinions. Thanks in advance

[Big Gaz]

wee bit late....Tesco do nearly all of the above, Birons on Bridge street do tools and DIY stuff, you also have Homebase with Pets at home next door so that puts paid to that idea. Theres a card/gift /party stuff shop in Dempster street and the shop next to the post office in the high street does party stuff too and theres also whatsits and whatsits 2 in the high street that do all the cards/stationary/party stuff and tools/hardware. Pretty much every corner/convenience shop in Wick sells tobacco. The pound shop did most of the above and they closed last year so kinda difficult to say if you will succeed.

[ils]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Well where ever we have other shops there is a lot of competition. However the aim is to provide value good along with pricy stuff. Also more variety/types will be stocked.

With DIY we can have more variety/qualities than already provided
With cards will have 10/15 stands means more types and qualities
with Pet stuff We sell valued goods . pet treats feeds priced at 1 to 2 pounds max
With tobacco products We sell zigzag papers 7 for a pound. water pipes, tobacco grinders, different flavored rips, all different types of tips loads of lighters, Sheehah flavors and hookahs

Above is just a bit of an idea of whats at offer.

I appreciate the feedback

wee bit late....Tesco do nearly all of the above, Birons on Bridge street do tools and DIY stuff, you also have Homebase with Pets at home next door so that puts paid to that idea. Theres a card/gift /party stuff shop in Dempster street and the shop next to the post office in the high street does party stuff too and theres also whatsits and whatsits 2 in the high street that do all the cards/stationary/party stuff and tools/hardware. Pretty much every corner/convenience shop in Wick sells tobacco. The pound shop did most of the above and they closed last year so kinda difficult to say if you will succeed.

[Big Gaz]

Do you have any other ideas of stuff to sell? something different instead of competing with other businesses? What Wick needs is variety, not the same stuff from every shop and i'm sure if you did something unique then you would prosper. It's not always abut price i find round here but shopping seems to be more of an institution for the townsfolk. They do their shopping and go to the same shop to buy the same stuff every week. Trying to change that habit is the hard part. The town centre in Wick does need stimulus but opening up another shop selling the same stuff as the rest will just make it uninteresting.

[poppett]

Something like Harry Corry`s shops Big Gaz? Bed linens, curtains, lighting and accessories.

[ils]

There is always more stuff and variety. Its always a bad decision just to get into a market to compete with others. We will be bringing something unique, more variety, quality and ranges.

you will have a better idea if you've seen into any of the Home Hardware or Nickel n Dimes in any other town.

Do you have any other ideas of stuff to sell? something different instead of competing with other businesses? What Wick needs is variety, not the same stuff from every shop and i'm sure if you did something unique then you would prosper. It's not always abut price i find round here but shopping seems to be more of an institution for the townsfolk. They do their shopping and go to the same shop to buy the same stuff every week. Trying to change that habit is the hard part. The town centre in Wick does need stimulus but opening up another shop selling the same stuff as the rest will just make it uninteresting.

[colingel]

You planning on opening in Wick and Thurso ??

[ils]

You planning on opening in Wick and Thurso ??

Initially the plan is Wick because there is space available. If we can find space in Thurso then that is to follow soon.

[emmz]

Isnt the "pound shop" in thurso closing (again!) soon they sold all the same stuff you plan on selling could rent that place mind you its been "closing" for the last year or so ...

[starfish]

wick need a good frozen food shop like farm foods iceland

[Alrock]

Sounds more like a Head Shop to me... Why not stick with that & along with your "Tobacco" Products go into ethnic clothing, jewelry, etc like other Head Shops do...

[Big Gaz]

Factory shop, poundstretcher, Home Hardware & Nickel n Dime shops, apart from the cheap end of line/clearance crap that factory outlet and poundstretcher sells, are very similar in their lines of stock. What will your "edge" be and what are you going to be selling thats different? I looked into Nickel n Dime wholesale myself last year and wasn't at all impressed and after a bit of browsing, i found i could buy many of the same branded items cheaper from other wholesalers. Also the repetitive calls trying to get me on board with N&D really hacked me off. Sorry to be sounding so negative about this but i would like to see something new and different in town and hope it is a success

[ils]

I had to look up what head shop was lol. And let me asure you what we are planning is nothing like a head shop. Unless you think cards stationery household cleaning products diy etc are head shop products

Sounds more like a Head Shop to me... Why not stick with that & along with your "Tobacco" Products go into ethnic clothing, jewelry, etc like other Head Shops do...

[ils]

There isnt a Home Hardware or a nickel n dime in Wick. There is a poundstretcher and factory shop is more towards clothing. As there isnt a nickel n dime and home hardware why do we have to do different than them?Also, nickel n Dime isnt a wholesaler they are a retailer who have shops in different towns. I dont understand why they would want you on board unless You are a big investor or a wholesaler. I also understand you can find things cheaper from other wholesalers than ND. But if someone needs a ball of wool, a bag of nails, a sponge a blind are they going to travel to glasgow for it?

Factory shop, poundstretcher, Home Hardware & Nickel n Dime shops, apart from the cheap end of line/clearance crap that factory outlet and poundstretcher sells, are very similar in their lines of stock. What will your "edge" be and what are you going to be selling thats different? I looked into Nickel n Dime wholesale myself last year and wasn't at all impressed and after a bit of browsing, i found i could buy many of the same branded items cheaper from other wholesalers. Also the repetitive calls trying to get me on board with N&D really hacked me off. Sorry to be sounding so negative about this but i would like to see something new and different in town and hope it is a success

[celtchicky]

i agree, Wick needs something DIFFERENT! if im honest i hardly ever shop down the street as i can get most things in Tesco or online. the only shops i visit would be the butchers, B'Unique & Boots...thats it!

opening the same kind of shop that we already have seems pointless! why do you think most of these shops only last a year?

[Big Gaz]

When i wanted a change in self-employment and i had a bit of cash burning a hole in my pooch i was thinking about taking on a franchise so contacted them a while back to ask if they did franchises to which they said no, but if i was interested in stocking their products, they could possibly sort me out some sort of deal. I asked on the wholesale forum about their product range and was given a list of several suppliers that sold the same stock so i could basically get the same items a lot cheaper than they could offer it to me. Then once Poundstretchers showed an interest in Wick i just dropped the idea and ended up going PAYE instead. The other issue at the time was getting decent sized premises at an affordable rent without breaking the bank with the business rates. Highland council don't do any favours to small businesses with larger premises up here. No idea if they still run the small business rate bonus scheme
Anyway, best of luck with your new venture.

[ils]

They are a retailer. And if you would want to buy stuff from them to resell they will definitely charge some commission over the wholesale prices they are getting. We get our stuff from the same wholesales ND uses. And yes they are not a wholesale in anyway or means. The idea of business is to cut the middle men and provide a quality product at an affordable price.

When i wanted a change in self-employment and i had a bit of cash burning a hole in my pooch i was thinking about taking on a franchise so contacted them a while back to ask if they did franchises to which they said no, but if i was interested in stocking their products, they could possibly sort me out some sort of deal. I asked on the wholesale forum about their product range and was given a list of several suppliers that sold the same stock so i could basically get the same items a lot cheaper than they could offer it to me. Then once Poundstretchers showed an interest in Wick i just dropped the idea and ended up going PAYE instead. The other issue at the time was getting decent sized premises at an affordable rent without breaking the bank with the business rates. Highland council don't do any favours to small businesses with larger premises up here. No idea if they still run the small business rate bonus scheme Anyway, best of luck with your new venture.

[ils]

Thanks anyway everyone. I appreciate your feedback

[sms]

Decent cards for a decent price is what I look for. Tescos is out the way. Dempster Street is out way and for Watsits I can't take my buggy in there.
All you can do is try and I say good luck. Theres always going to be competition whatever business you are in.

[rogermellie]

I had to look up what head shop was lol. And let me asure you what we are planning is nothing like a head shop. Unless you think cards stationery household cleaning products diy etc are head shop products

you don't know what a head shop is, but sell stuff like ....

' zigzag papers 7 for a pound. water pipes, tobacco grinders, different flavored rips, all different types of tips loads of lighters, Sheehah flavors and hookahs'

apart from using the greetings cards as roach material, most of the stoners i know aren't renowned for spending much on cleaning products, so scrap that and just focus on selling smoking paraphenalia, cards and cheap sweeties.