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How to open a point in a shopping center: a step-by-step plan. Rent of retail space in the Location in the shopping center, requirements for the premises

For trade, it is preferable to rent rather than buy premises. This has an undoubted number of advantages, one of which is the ability to respond to changes in a short time. In this case, the tenant can quickly change location.

The customer flow can change dramatically due to external factors. So, if a large and prestigious shopping and entertainment center is being built nearby, then it will surely lure a large number of buyers to itself. Ultimately, this can make the business of another store unprofitable.

We must not forget that the purchase commercial premises subsequently requires the fulfillment of a number of obligations. If you have to reduce the number of outlets, then selling the premises is not so easy. Then you have to think about renting it out, and this is work in a completely new line of business.

You need to choose a room after the entrepreneur is clear on the format in which he is going to work.

There are quite a few accommodation options. You can open your own outlet in mall, separately standing building or make it mobile.

There are a number of factors to consider when choosing a space. They will be considered in more detail.

The article turned out to be large, so use the content.

Location estimate

This includes several nuances at once, which the entrepreneur must take into account in order for the work to be effective later:

  • District potential

If it is insufficient, then it makes no sense to open your own outlet in it. At the same time, it is necessary to determine the trading zone correctly. For medium-sized supermarkets, it is about 1.5 kilometers, which is equivalent to a quarter of an hour on foot.

It is also very important to understand how to determine the potential, what should be taken into account? The components will be:

  1. security of the population of the region;
  2. purchasing behavior of people living in the area.

Assessing the capabilities and desires of the population, you need to pay attention to the following features:

  1. the level of buildings in the area;
  2. the number of inhabitants in the area;
  3. infrastructure development;
  4. the location of important objects (this includes shopping centers, parks, transport routes, stops).
  • Traffic near the outlet

It is very important to clearly understand how many people walk around the outlet. All the information obtained during the assessment of the potential of the area must be mapped, and then the level of customer flows should be assessed.

A very important question will be, is it convenient for the buyer to get to the store? This issue is especially acute for stores that open on the outskirts, because there the bulk of purchases are made on the way home. In general, it is necessary to open outlets in such places with extreme caution.

  • The presence of competitors nearby

It is very important how close the competitors are. The fewer of them, the better it will be for the profitability of the future outlet.

If there are no competitors nearby, in principle, this can often mean that the niche is simply not in demand in a particular area.

  • social orientation

If rich people live in the area, then they are unlikely to be interested in off-brand clothing, for example. The elite class prefers boutiques, fashionable clothes. Therefore, it is worth comparing the desires of potential customers with what the entrepreneur can offer them.

  • Driveways

Any outlet should be convenient and easy to get to. If the store does not have a convenient entrance, many will surely find an alternative. At the same time, you need to understand who the potential buyer is, how he will get to the store. If these are rich enough people, then they need to be provided with parking spaces. In this case, the calculation must be carried out from the following data: for every 25 m 2 of area, on average, 1 parking space is needed. If the main buyers are low-income citizens, then there is no need to take care of parking.

Location in the shopping center, requirements for the premises

It is equally important to evaluate the premises, its location inside the shopping center. Particular attention should be paid to the following factors:

  • Shop space, comfort conditions

It is very important that the person inside the room is comfortable. We must not forget that when located in a shopping center, there can often be an influx of customers, especially if the goods are in demand. That is why it is necessary to provide potential buyers with comfortable conditions.

  • Location inside the mall

Here a significant factor will be how far the room is located from the entrance or exit. The closer the better. This means that the customer will first go to this store and make a purchase. If he failed to find something suitable in another store, then he will be able to go to the one closest to the exit and make a purchase there.

  • The shape of the room and a number of other aspects

The most spacious and comfortable is a rectangular room. If it concerns shops of the "apartment" type, then it is not recommended to choose them.

Be sure to find out about the possibility of redevelopment, if necessary, the condition of the premises. It is equally important to find out which store was previously in it - it may have had a bad reputation, which may scare away some of the customers of the new store.

About the audience and visitor flows

Many entrepreneurs jump at the first opportunity to open in a particular mall, which is a serious mistake. It is very important to conduct a detailed analysis of the customer flows of a particular store. Moreover, both quantitative and qualitative indicators are important here. You can do this in one of the following ways:

  1. Visit the mall on your own. It is worth staying in an open cafe next to the proposed premises. This will help to calculate how many people will pass by in a given time.
  2. Find out about the profitability of opening in a shopping center by contacting another tenant or an employee of one of the stores.
  3. Ask for landlord information.
  4. Conduct a survey yourself on a local website or in social networks among the population that can be attributed to the target audience. At the same time, information about the area of ​​residence, visits to shopping centers can be included in the number of questions (specific names can be used).
  5. Monitor check-ins of a specific segment of customers (this is possible if there is access to information in other stores, for example, if a second or subsequent outlet is opened).

Additionally, the circle will narrow, based on the price factor. You should also take into account the requirements of the landlord, additional services.

Components of success

The entrepreneur must not forget that the success of the store is made up of a number of factors:

  • 30% of the correct choice of the store format;
  • 30% of the correctly chosen location;
  • 40% of the situation in the store, the work of staff, the quality of goods and a number of other points.

At the same time, it is worth paying attention not only to shops, but also to the islands. This is the name of the showcases of the open type, which are placed in the corridors and aisles. This concept is often preferred for evaluating the profitability of working in a shopping center. Often they are used as seasonal points of sale. Of course, testing takes a lot of money and time. It makes sense to use it if there are other outlets and capital adequacy.

Engineering systems

Be sure to pay attention to whether the room has:

  • electricity;
  • water supply (if required);
  • fire alarm;
  • sewerage (if necessary);
  • heating;
  • air conditioners;
  • ventilation system.

Especially responsibly it is necessary to approach the study of information about the available electrical capacities. If there are not enough of them, then the store simply will not be able to function normally.

When calculating the required electricity, you need to take into account all possible costs, including lighting, kettles, etc.

We pay attention to the features of our own business

Much depends on the characteristics of sales. When choosing a format and location, you need to consider:

  • what will be sold;
  • What are the dimensions of the goods?
  • how diverse is the assortment;
  • whether visual advertising is required for the products sold;
  • flows of buyers who are aimed at purchasing goods in a particular store (at island outlets, people, as a rule, do not stand in lines);
  • store popularity or trademark used by the entrepreneur (than better known brand, the easier it will be to sell products and the more customers the store will have).

It is important not only to choose the format of the store, but also to figure out how to promote your product. “Will it be possible to attract customers in this shopping center?” - this is the question the entrepreneur should ask himself, having worked out the answer to it in detail. Some promotion methods are simply impossible to use in certain premises, stores, which can lead to refusal to rent.

Installing the island - where is it more profitable?

Undoubtedly, those island outlets that are located near the entrance have the greatest success. But getting such a position is quite difficult, especially if the entrepreneur does not have regular customers. Most often, well-known representatives, branded companies are located here.

Island points are also called "floating" due to the fact that they can move without problems. This option is a great solution for beginners. The island format is more suitable for selling the following products:

  • electronics;
  • toys;
  • bijouterie;
  • souvenirs.

Here are three tips to help you get the most out of your island store location:

  1. Best of all, such formats take root in places where people are focused specifically on the purchase of goods, and not on entertainment or dining.
  2. It is very important that there are no outlets with the same product nearby. Non-exclusivity kills this format.
  3. No "shadow" placement. A store should not be blocked by many well-known stores.

Be sure to pay attention to what exactly buyers want to buy in a particular shopping center. If they are used to buying branded items, then there is no point in placing a new unknown store in it. The only exception is exclusive items like jewelry and accessories. It is important to remember that:

  1. Will have to interest potential buyers. To do this, you will have to spend money on a good bright showcase.
  2. Only experienced sellers will be able to sell in a large flow of buyers. Saving on specialists simply will not work.
  3. In large shopping malls, there are quite a few rules that you have to follow. That is why it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the lease agreement in advance.

Stationary outlet - how to choose a more profitable one?

When choosing a stationary outlet, you need, first of all, to build on the flow of customers. At the same time, it is very important to separate potential (target) buyers from everyone else. Be sure to ask yourself a few questions:

  1. What other goods can a potential customer buy in this shopping center?
  2. Why do people buy certain products?
  3. What can an entrepreneur offer his visitors that they will not find anywhere else in this mall?

These questions will help you understand whether it is reasonable to locate in a given shopping center, what level of attendance the store will have.

When choosing, the undoubted advantage will be the presence of the following facts:

  • There are many shops on the floor that are visited by potential customers, while the goods in these outlets do not compete with the goods of the entrepreneur.
  • If a large number of people of the desired price segment visit this shopping center.
  • No competitors nearby. Even better, if they are not at all in this shopping center. At the same time, you need to assess the level of competitiveness in order to assess your capabilities and make a decision on renting.

Accommodation in a shopping center or freestanding store?

Not always a shopping center is more promising than a separate store. Here you need to proceed from the products sold and the target segment.

So, for example, many representatives of the middle and low price segment (entrepreneurs selling goods at a low price) are located in separate premises. This is due to the fact that people often use public transport to get around. By the way, many of these outlets often become more successful than outlets in malls.

But branded stores are best opened in well-known and large shopping centers. This strategy is the most profitable for them.

To understand the difference, it is necessary to compare the advantages and disadvantages of both formats.

Shops located in shopping centers will have the following advantages:

  • occupancy;
  • unified design style;
  • the presence of a manager;
  • the presence of non-core anchor tenants that increase the flow of buyers.

As for the cons, they are:

  • difficulties in obtaining an outlet;
  • strict terms of the contract;
  • high price;
  • possible increase in the rental price;
  • dependence on the shopping center in terms of opening times;
  • obligatory submission to a single work schedule;
  • the complexity and limitations of the delivery of goods;
  • restrictions regarding the use of elements that are branded for the entrepreneur's store;
  • the need to coordinate their own actions;
  • the need to meet a range of visitor needs;
  • different revenue depending on the days of the week (the peak falls on the weekend, on weekdays the sales volume is much less);
  • the danger of a decline in consumer interest in this shopping center.

Standing in a stand-alone store also has its advantages and disadvantages. The undoubted advantages include:

  • constant eye contact with potential customers;
  • customer focus on a specific product or brand;
  • the ability to change the format of your work depending on the jumps in pedestrian traffic;
  • independent determination of the opening time;
  • the ability to use any necessary advertising methods;
  • no need to agree on the mode of operation or the format of the store design.

The disadvantages include:

  • the need to establish relationships with various service organizations;
  • rather complex shapes of premises, which may not meet the desires or standards of the organization.

The entrepreneur must make the decision himself, because, alas, there is no universal solution.

And now I will give advice from the book, in which the founders of the Mosigra company described the process of finding premises for their stores.

Crossing streams

Before choosing a place for a new point, it is necessary to pay attention to the intersection of streams. The store should be located in such a place that it is convenient to reach it: on foot, by car, by public transport or by metro.

An ordinary resident in a big city basically walks along his main routes and almost never turns off them. You need to place the store in such a way that it is as close as possible to the route that people walk on. It should be located somewhere between homes, offices, or your vacation spot.

For Moscow, such points are located near the ring metro stations, as well as those located on the Garden Ring. The result is a point of intersection of the main road and the main flow of public transport.

The next step is to select the area where you want to search. You can outline a small area near your chosen metro station. In the middle of the resulting area, you need to compare the visibility of the place from the roadway, the distance to the metro, some visual landmarks, and so on.

For example, on Kurskaya, we were offered a place that is quite expensive, but located right in the metro building itself. The man got out of the subway and just a few meters away - our store! We weighed the pros and cons and decided to take a chance. Opened for a lot of money and did not lose. Today it is one of the most popular stores.

What to do if the store is located on the outskirts of the city? In fact, on the outskirts, the share of self-delivery is much less than in the city center. Therefore, the availability of the store from the stop does not play a special role. A store located at the end of the metro station will not work for the city, but only for this area. With this option, you do not need to think about a store located somewhere on the street, you need to find a shopping center that is located closer to the metro station. This will turn out to be the place that attracts customer traffic. It is in such a place that you need to open a store.

For example, if the point is located on the "Teply Stan", then this is just the intersection of such flows: a metro station, a large number of houses located nearby, cafes, buses. In the shopping center near the metro, we opened. The center itself was nothing special, but people go shopping there all the time. This is where we find them!

How to search

First you need to go around the selected area and carefully study it. It is very important. For your first two or three stores, you need to carefully check everything in person. Only then can one afford several agents, watch internet ad projects and buy newspapers. For the city of Moscow, the following sources work:

  • Popular Internet resource "Avito". It has one hundred percent profitable offers, and they are on the site for several days.
  • "Cyanogen". Favorably differs in good search. The options on it are very good, so agents and search specialists respond very quickly to them. Therefore, they are located on the site, very little time. In some cases, no more than half an hour.
  • "Intercom". Its advantage lies in the fact that here you can find offers that are not available on Avito and Cyan.
  • Internet - rental agency "Izrukvruki", located near the metro station. If you do not want to spend time yourself, then you can hire an agent for a commission.

When looking for suitable premises, the most important thing is to determine exactly what you need from the premises. You don't have to pick the first one that comes along. If you had to rent a room or buy a house, then you have probably come across this. Only after examining a dozen rooms, you will be able to understand what you really need to pay attention to.

The Capricious Bride Problem

There is a capricious bride who lives in the palace. There are hundreds of suitors. They enter the palace one by one, and the bride says yes or no to each of them. If she says "yes" - others immediately leave, and the young ones play a wedding. If the bride says no, then the groom leaves and the next one comes.

The task for the bride is to find the best of all. The solution to the problem of choosing a groom for the bride is as follows. For the first thirty-five people, she checks the range of possible options, looks at their qualities. At the thirty-fifth - she is already becoming more experienced and will be able to understand a person. Up to the ninetieth person, she will choose the one who looks like the best of the first thirty-five trial people, and then the selection criteria are sharply reduced as the number of suitors decreases.

You need to agree with yourself that after inspecting the first fifteen rooms and discussing all the details, you will not take any of the rooms you have viewed. And only after inspecting the first fifteen rooms, you can start looking for it for purchase. This is difficult to do, but this stage must be passed, otherwise you can easily drive yourself into bondage for several years simply because the room is chosen incorrectly.

Basically, such a search takes from one to two months. You will not be able to find a room that is 100% suitable for you. You still need to sacrifice something. This can be: a sign, the area of ​​​​the room, the distance to the subway, and so on. If you do not look at many different rooms, then your choice will be reduced to one of some options. And this is not correct.

It should be noted that after examining the first fifty rooms, an important feeling will certainly appear. Right on the spot you will be visited by the idea that the premises should be taken without any options. We called this feeling of butts - filling. If it tells you that this room is suitable, then you trust it one hundred percent (provided that fifty rooms have been viewed) and do not go anywhere until you conclude the contract you need. This is your luck.

Search with your feet

When opening your first stores, it is imperative that you go through all the districts that you consider promising for placing a store. Everything needs to be assessed. Look for places that:

  1. Seemingly empty
  2. Where are ads posted that they are for rent.

If everything seems clear with point two, then everything is not so simple with the first point. When finding an empty object, you need to clarify what was there, who lived, and try to find contact information about the owner of this place. If you can't find the owner, you need to take scotch tape and paste an announcement that you want to rent this space. Of the fifty new places - at least one we find in this way.

It should be noted that we found one of our most profitable stores in this way. We have decided on the search area. We received information that a pharmacy would move out of this place and contacted its owner. The owner of this place referred us to his agent. We signed all the necessary documents with him.

Another point was also found with their feet, just the day before when its owner wrote a rental ad. Now it gives the most profit in this region. In the city of Moscow, everyone does this.

foot stream

Those people who conduct a population census in rural areas, just by looking at a grandmother in the village, can tell how many piglets she has. The same will happen with new premises. Having examined many premises, and having opened several dozen stores, you will know just by looking at the premises whether it is necessary for you or not. If you still can’t do this, you need to come to the point and calculate such important points:

  • The number of people passing by your store door.
  • The number of cars passing by at speeds up to forty kilometers per hour. If the car goes faster, the driver simply will not read the sign.
  • How many people passed by the store.
  • Do people pass by in companies.

Such a calculation must be carried out several times. Morning, afternoon, evening, weekdays and weekends.

For example, when opening a point on Tverskaya, we visited all the stores located within a radius of several blocks and talked with the sellers, clarifying the following questions with them: how many people are in the store and at what time there are most of them, how many goods are sold per shift, and so on . If the sellers are properly spoken to, they will gladly share this information. As a result, we did not fail.

The visibility of the chosen place

It is necessary to determine the distance from which the sign will be clearly visible. Very important point. How far is the pickup point from the place where the transport stops? If you are offered a place located somewhere in the yard, you should immediately think of this place as the top floor in a large shopping center. You can conditionally divide the flow of customers into sixteen. Any unnecessary movement, such as another passage, turning a corner, greatly reduces the flow of visitors. If you do not count on the flow of visitors (your store is used for self-delivery), then an inexpensive store in the yard near the metro station will be a good option.

Problematic premises

Accordingly, premises without problems will cost much more. Large retail chains do not take premises that have some problems. Most likely, this is because it is unprofitable for them to adapt it to each specific case.

For you, a room with minor problems may be a great option. Even if it needs to be improved.

Looking around the room you need to make a complete picture for yourself:

  • Are there other departments. This may affect the work schedule.
  • Roof leak problem. If mold is found on the ceiling, then this indicates that the roof may leak, and this is a large material cost to eliminate the leak.
  • The difficulty of placing a sign, or after placement it will be poorly visible.

You need to walk down the street where you plan to place the store and see if there are empty or moving rooms nearby. If there are many such points, this indicates that something is wrong in this area.

At Belorusskaya, in our premises, there was a printing office nearby. As a result of the work, at first it was not possible to organize self-delivery.

At the "Park Kultury" our store is located on the second line of houses. As a result, there were problems with the sign. We came up with a special sign design.

We stopped renting stores with such or similar problems only after the opening of the tenth store in Moscow.

People who drive cars

It is necessary to count the people who pass by in cars. The point where cars pass at low speed will be much more profitable. In such places they can look around. The thing is that when you drive at high speed, the field of view narrows. For example, at Kurskaya, our panel on a special bracket was located on the metro building parallel to the road. After the release of a new technical regulations the panel had to be removed. There is only one sign left. It was located perpendicular to the road, and looked like a red line located on the side, and it is difficult to understand what is for sale, cool games or gifts. As a result, we immediately noticed that car traffic dropped significantly.

In the life of a motorist, there are a large number of shops that he passes by without noticing them. For example, we drove past one such store for a whole year without noticing it, until we accidentally read on the blog that this store is located somewhere in the house. When we went there, it immediately became clear why they sell twenty units of goods a day, and we sell more than a hundred.

Another important option- This is parking. The driver will not always want to break the rules to get into the store. The direction of the road must be taken into account. You need an evening referral. On the "Park Kultury", just opposite us, there was a store selling sporting goods. Our worker wanted to hit it many times in the morning when he was driving to work. He stood on the "morning side". In the morning he had no time, as he was in a hurry to work, in the afternoon he had to cross six lanes and make an incomprehensible detour to turn around. As a result, the store eventually closed, and the person never visited it. This is a real dead place for people driving cars. This must be remembered. If you come across, for example, a “morning” shopping center, then with this option it’s a good idea to place a coffee shop.

Neighbours

We opened an anti-cafe (customers pay money for the time spent in the cafe, not for the food). Conflicts with neighbors become a frequent problem for small establishments. For example, one of our establishments called Ziferblat was especially noted in this regard. Almost everyone wanted to survive. For several weeks, the police regularly came to the site, on the call of the neighbors. Knowing about the possibility of an unpleasant situation, we took several important steps:

  • We agreed with the owner that if there are problems with the neighbors, he would solve them.
  • Put up a sign called “Developmental Games Lovers Club” so that everyone thinks that they are doing something important and useful here.
  • The head of the department called all the neighbors to visit and showed everything that was inside.

Site layout

Each specific task requires its own planning. To figure out whether the layout is good or not, you need to imagine whether visitors will like it or not. A long trading floor will be worse than a square-shaped room. It will be simply inconvenient for visitors to enter a long hall. For example, Ufa "Mega" is a room in which the parties are in the ratio of two to five. They thought that we would allocate half of the room for a utility room, and we would get such a small compact store. We did not want to make a utility room. As a result, about two meters of space remained between the racks. It got uncomfortable. It is warm in a small room, but in a large one it turned out to be a tunnel like in a subway.

We had a trading floor forty meters, and the whole room - seventy-six. The store and location is good, but the problem was that half of the space was in the back room. The price for one meter is high, and half the area will not work. This also needs to be paid attention to and everything should be properly calculated and taken into account.

For example, the cash register at the entrance to the store, as it were, offends the buyer. He gets the impression that he is not trusted. If a person is considering whether to go to a store or not, then cash register he will be scared away.

Important about shopping centers

We can assume that the shopping center practically does not care where it is located. The most important thing is what is inside. For example, a shopping center with or without a cinema - these are two huge differences. Grocery hypermarket High Quality will immediately attract a large influx of people. For example, in one small town, two shopping centers located opposite each other staged a war between themselves for a client. The mall with the best tasting bread won.

Escalator is the enemy

If an escalator in a shopping center rises twice a floor, then this significantly reduces the flow. If your point is on the third floor, then divide the flow from the first by four (on average).

The first floor is the most visited. But it is the second most visited after the floor with a cinema and restaurants. If your store is on the fifth floor, and a cinema with restaurants is on the fourth, then traffic will drop by half.

You should definitely check this, because there are very strange shopping centers.

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Many small business entrepreneurs are faced with the difficult choice of opening their own stand-alone store or renting a small outlet in a mall. Both options have their pros and cons. St. Petersburg entrepreneur Dmitry Ogorodnik also faced such a choice - he already had a separate store, but he also decided to test drive in the "island" format in a shopping center. We think it will be useful for many small business entrepreneurs his experience.

34 years old, an entrepreneur from St. Petersburg, CEO of the Karelshungit company, which manages stores and "Planet of Shungite". Education: Ryazan Institute of Airborne Troops. Dmitry Ogorodnik - author business blog in which he shares his own entrepreneurial experience. Until the end of 2016, the company had its own offline store; in December, a retail outlet was opened in the June shopping center.


Think design, make a good presentation

The advantage of shopping centers is that there is already traffic there. You will not need to spend years for people to find out about the location of your store and start visiting you. You immediately get access to a mass audience.

The first thing to understand is that although you are signing a lease agreement, in fact, you do not need the lease itself, but access to the maximum number of people who “live” in a particular shopping center.

Therefore, you need to start by setting yourself up - your goal is not just to get into some kind of shopping center, but to find a good passable place in any shopping center.

The first thing to do is create a presentation. Almost all shopping centers will ask you to upload a presentation of your project; without it, your proposal will not be considered at all. The presentation should include the following:

    Design for your store. It must be ordered in advance, even before you start looking for a place.

    Competitive advantages. Write why you are a great option for a mall. Here you have to turn on the fantasy and come up with arguments.

    Portrait of your target audience.

    Planned average check in your store.

    General information about your company.

The most important point is about design. Accordingly, you will need to find an agency that develops the design of outlets and stores. There are not many such agencies (at least in St. Petersburg), but they do exist.

You need to think about how the store will look schematically - i.e. how the showcases will be located, what kind of showcases they will be, where the checkout area will be, etc. If you don’t have your own thoughts on this, then I advise you to walk around the shopping centers and look at the points that are already working. And decide what you like for the sample.

Then the designers will have to general scheme turn into 3D visualization. This picture needs to be inserted into the presentation - 50% depends on it, what decision will be made on you. If there is no picture, decision makers will simply not be able to understand whether you will fit into the overall visual concept of their mall.

I want to warn you right away: if you want an “island”, then it’s better to immediately plan to make it out of glass and plastic. Not from wood! Then there will be more chances that you will be approved. Shopping centers are very fond of plastic "islands".

After the presentation is ready, you need to make a list of all the shopping centers in your city. You need to contact all possible. And then choose from what you will be offered.

In all shopping centers, either the contract department or the rental department is engaged in renting. You need to find on the Internet all the contacts of rental managers from the relevant structures. Then - call them, ask about free places, clarify working emails and send your presentation.

Be prepared for the fact that at first no one will answer you at all. In a few days, I advise you to call everyone again, remind them of yourself, and ask them to watch your presentation. If necessary, you need to call every 3-4 days - until you are directly told that “there are no places” or “you do not fit into our concept”, or some options are offered.

Let's say you wait feedback, you are offered some options to choose from and invited to meet with the manager.

And here is a very important point: before this meeting, be sure to go to this shopping center, moreover, it is advisable to go at least twice - once on weekdays, the second time on weekends. Take a comfortable place for observation and calculate the patency. Track how many people pass by your future store in 30 minutes or an hour. This will allow you to identify potential traffic.

Also look into the quality of parking, access roads, competing malls nearby, etc.

Read the contract carefully, bargain,
ask for rental holidays

Let's say they called you back, offered an option, you monitored everything and everything suits you. And then the contract will be signed. But before that, as a rule, you sign a preliminary agreement or an agreement of intent (this is, in fact, the same thing). This document specifies the footage, the amount of payment, the terms of cooperation, etc. Negotiate before you sign. As a rule, 10% of the advertised rental price can always be discounted.

You need to read the lease agreement very carefully, delving into each clause. Each shopping center has its own lease agreement. And very often there are a lot of different nuances that can put you in a very unenviable position.

It is important that you are offered so-called rental holidays. Usually it is a month, a maximum of two. This is the time for you to prepare your sales equipment and equip your outlet. If the contract does not contain a clause about rental holidays, then be sure to ask about it!

If everything in the contract suited you and you signed it, then it's time to put into production the equipment of your outlet - according to the approved design.

Do not forget that very often the designers themselves have access to various industries - and they can advise you on a good contractor. If your designer does not know anyone, then Google with Yandex will help you - there are a lot of companies that manufacture equipment, choose according to the ratio of price and quality, and do not forget to monitor reviews.

Start hiring sellers
order acquiring, equip a point

While the equipment is being manufactured, run the process of hiring sellers in parallel. This is not a quick matter, it may well take 1-1.5 months. In our experience, this is how long it takes to find competent sellers.

Then you immediately need to apply for registration and installation of acquiring. It happens that they are also delayed with it - it may take a couple of weeks until you get a terminal.

Request your copy of the contract as soon as possible. The administration of the shopping center can delay this - for example, send it for signature to its directors and departments. And you will need it in order to put the cash register. It will need to be ordered from specialized companies and registered with the tax office.

And at the same time, you need to purchase commercial equipment. In our case, this is a jewelry store - so we ordered plates for rings, earrings and other products.

All installation works are carried out at night, so you will need to apply for the installation of equipment in advance.

If you did everything right and conducted all the processes in parallel, then your outlet should start working soon.

And now our experience


 When we opened our first “island” point, there were doubts. We launched it as a test format. Someone said that the islands are not the format that suits the jewelry. Like, no one approaches them, no matter who you ask, all their wives bypass them. Allegedly, in itself, this is a zone of discomfort - you stand and choose, and people walk by.

On the other hand, in 2011-2012 I myself worked on the "island" - and sold well. People approach, are interested, buy. So I thought it was worth at least trying. Even if it doesn’t work, the rent is not so expensive, you can work in the red. The main thing is to understand whether the format is suitable or not.

So, we opened our first "island" in the St. Petersburg shopping center "June" in December 2016. The first month worked "to zero". For us, "zero" is 260,000 rubles of turnover.

January 2017 started neither shaky nor rolly. For the first eleven days, we again went “to zero” in terms of turnover. I walked around very upset. It seemed that this would continue. There were thoughts that, no, the “island” format is really not for jewelry.

But after the holidays, the situation changed dramatically. Sales went up. As a result, January was closed at the amount of 417,000 rubles. And this is already net profit- over 150,000 rubles. For us, this is an indicator that the format makes sense.

And we closed February already at the figure of 750,000 rubles. According to intelligence, we overtook the closest competitors who have been trading silver in the same shopping center for nine months. Their maximum turnover at this place was about 600,000 rubles in December.

Our net profit in February turned out to be around 300,000 rubles. This is significantly more than our expectations. So, we can already say for sure that this is a working format, and we will promote it.

Now they have already begun to look for a new place for the second "island". When we fully work out the format, we will start working on the franchise. But this is the future.

Opening a shopping island is an attractive idea for small businesses. This is an economical type of retail that does not require high initial investments. One of the less risky options is to operate a franchise.

In search of an economical, but convenient and functional place for sales, many entrepreneurs pay attention to the island in the shopping center. This interest is quite understandable: if there is not enough money to open a store in a separate room, then a great opportunity to start a business without significant initial investments is the installation of a light modular structure in the central part of the hall, in the gallery or aisle of the shopping center, where there are most visitors. However, practice shows that this species retail has its own characteristics that should be considered by those who are thinking about opening it.

Pros and cons of islands

Like any business, shopping islands have their advantages and disadvantages, which future owners should be aware of in advance.

Pros:

  • Compactness (on average from 2 to 15 sq. m), which allows you not to overpay for rent
  • The possibility of implementing a wide range of both food and non-food items and services. Here are just a few of them: ice cream, sweets, gadgets, perfumes and cosmetics, express manicure (nail bar), accessories, coffee, leather goods, watch repair, express payments, pawnshop, jewelry, etc.
  • Convenient location in the "passing" places of supermarkets
  • Ease of assembly and dismantling, mobility (with a wheelbase)

Minuses:

  • Lack of storage facilities, fitting rooms (which narrows the range of goods for sale)
  • Limited display space (in case of miscalculations with the definition of demand for products, there is an excess of unclaimed positions)
  • Rigid standards for the type of commercial structures, which are often introduced by the landlord.

To minimize risks and unplanned investments when opening a trade on an island, you need to carefully study the terms of the lease, analyze the patency of the selected point and the presence of a target audience for your type of goods and services.

Location selection

When designing big stores or multifunctional centers, as a rule, the layout of free space already takes into account the presence of trading islands. In the process of putting the facility into operation, their number may change, but only slightly. On the one hand, this allows future tenants to look in advance for the best places to open their own "point", on the other hand, it becomes necessary to take into account the interests of the landlord, who often puts forward requirements for the owners of the islands to work in accordance with general concept center.

An important criterion for choosing a place for a trading island is the passability indicator (see Fig. 1)

But it would be a mistake to make a choice, guided only by the popularity of the shopping center. It has been noticed that in the most “passing” supermarkets, islands representing recognizable brands with big names are more successful: branded brands of watches, ice cream, cosmetics, and jewelry. If there is an original, but “not familiar” manufacturer next to them, the visitors of the shopping center begin to “banner blindness”. It is difficult to influence it without special marketing ploys which require additional costs.

In addition, the more “serious” the landlord, the more conditions he has. For example, the Arena shopping and entertainment center (Voronezh) requires islands not to exceed 160 cm in height, be transparent and equipped with internal lighting, so as not to disturb the perception of visitors to the main shopping galleries.

Representatives of centers with "famous names" often wish to receive a colorful booklet from a retailer with detailed description the shopping island and many of its images in the interior of the hall. This is an additional expense: design bureaus estimate such an order at 60-70 thousand rubles.

That is why experienced entrepreneurs advise beginners to "start" in less pretentious and large trade enterprises, while choosing places with high traffic, but a minimum set of counter conditions of the lessor. This will allow you to show maximum imagination in decorating a shop window, product presentation, etc. Yes, and you will compete with neighboring kiosks mainly due to the originality of the idea and the profitable presentation of your product.

What product to choose?

One of the first questions a future retailer has is: what to sell on the trading floor on the islands? What do you prefer: edible products or non-food products? On whom to bet: the consumer-oriented public, or the discerning buyer of the exclusive?

Journal “Practice of trade. Trade equipment” in 2014 published a forecast for the retail market until 2016 (see Fig. 2)

As can be seen, the markets for food and non-food products almost do not differ in dynamics: economic difficulties recent years make themselves known. Consider examples of successful projects from the TOP - 25 most profitable franchises of 2015 according to forbes.ru.

Tea Funny Point cocktails

The original food brand for pedestrian areas. Based on the Taiwanese-invented "bubble tea" cocktail, which includes tea, milk, syrup and jelly-like balls with juice inside.

Advantages:

  • the shopping island takes up little space - about 4 m²
  • royalties of 4% of revenue are paid from the second year of operation
  • start-up capital(about 0.8 million rubles) can be obtained from Rosbank under the Successful Start program
  • The design of the shopping island and equipment placement was developed by the franchisor and successfully implemented in large shopping and entertainment centers, which helps to avoid additional approvals from landlords.

Designer t-shirts Provocation

Many visitors of the largest supermarkets remember the bright showcases of the islands of the Provokatsiya brand, where you can buy T-shirts with hooligan prints. Store owner and franchise creator Hasmik Gevorkyan recalls that a buyer “threw” this good idea to her. She opened her first store in Kursk, and now she presents the brand's products in large Moscow malls, another 91 points are the result of partnership with franchisees.

Auto device for "advanced" buyers

Those who plan to open trading islands in trading floors, business ideas are drawn from successful projects. This is exactly what the business of the Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneurs S. Seregin and M. Vakhrushev can be considered. In 2009, they began selling automotive electronics: navigators, video recorders, radar detectors and accessories under the Autodevice brand.

Today it is one of the most profitable franchises, according to Forbes. The cost of initial investments is 0.9 million rubles, profit is 2.1 million rubles. The offer of Avtodevice for franchisees is interesting because lump sum minimal - only 39,000 rubles, and there is no royalty.

Summary: the main rule when choosing a product for sale in the format of a shopping island is to focus on target audience. For success, not only the idea is important, but also a well-executed concept, attractive window dressing, accounting for running and slow positions, and a clear promotion strategy. All these requirements are met by franchises that have already proven themselves as profitable business. Using them, you can minimize the possible risks.

What to consider when opening a shopping island?

Before you start your business, use the advice of experts to help you avoid embarrassing mistakes:

  • When choosing a place to rent, do not limit yourself to the most simple solutions(“acquaintance”, “closer to home”, “the biggest store”, etc.), arrange a small “tender” for landlords, indicating your wishes on the Internet. Better to choose from several offers - less likely to miss
  • Explore the audience of the shopping center! Where the public, who came to buy products or furniture, lives, gadgets are unlikely to be in demand.
  • Do not hope that the business will start working without your participation: at least for the first time, you will have to control the hired sellers. Consider the travel time factor to and from the store. For example, the owners of the shopping island Madrobots in the MEGA shopping center Belaya Dacha in Moscow calculated that it took them 4 hours a day
  • Be extremely careful when choosing a contractor for the production of an island! Study the reviews about it on the forums, get "live" recommendations, read the contract and project documentation in advance. You must be sure that the terms of delivery and launch of the finished module will be met and that the supplier will not lose interest in you if you notice a design defect and ask for it to be fixed.
  • By approaching the organization of your business with due attention, you will receive a competitive business that brings you satisfaction and profit.
In the minds of the inexperienced office workers(they are also the main visitors to shopping centers) an asterisk "I want my own business" occasionally flashes. Outwardly, everything is simple - the task is formulated as "I will open one small point for a start", and then yachts, the azure coast with palm trees, and fresh crabs are rapidly rushing before my eyes. In this kaleidoscope of dreams, various kinds of idle questions like "what to wear money in?" sometimes linger:

Some (about one in a hundred - passionate about the idea) decide to jump into this pool. Most often by buying an already operating store. I will consider the issue of buying an already operating business later, but for now let's focus on opening an "Island" format store (in simple terms - a tray). The area of ​​such a Klondike, as you might guess, is limited by the size of the rent. The bowl is only 5-10 square meters. So, we want to open the "Island" (this term is more harmonious than the tray - looking at the girl with a languid gaze, casually stating - "I have a store in a shopping center, a small one - an island" - better than "I hold the tray."

1. For starters, what to trade. There are a lot of shopping centers in the city, wholesale markets, online stores. An "idea" is like a diamond, you have to find it. And if you find a real USP (unique trade offer), then the key to success is already there. Not 100%, but let's say about thirty. The peculiarity of retail is that even if you sell mink coats half the price of the market, there will be no sales right away. And they won't be for a long time. 1) they will not know about you; 2) those who know will be afraid to buy "why is it so cheap"; 3) those who want to buy - will keep the money (this winter in the old I reach, and then I will buy) and so on ad infinitum. Hysterical "SALE" and "80% discount" in the shop windows will not help much - now it only works for brands. A good USP can be based on a pyramid Maslow's needs(in ascending order: food, apartment, clothes and shoes, medicines, educational services etc. up to souvenirs, easels, violins and Stradivarius drums).

As an option - go to the USA or China (preferably Guangzhou) and walk, look, choose. But this is the way of serious investments - with the amount of 2-3 million rubles, which you are also ready to freeze for a long time (delivery 2-4 months, sometimes more).

Bad luck? We want to try it right away - palm trees from a dream are pricked in the back with sharp leaves. So - let's list the options "what to trade":
1.1. We are looking for something new in China, we bring it, we open it. Requires investments, plus time and expenses for the organization.
1.2. We wander on the Internet in search of cool wholesale Moscow companies, look at the assortment, wander around the shopping center (shopping center), compare, again look at the assortment of wholesalers. Choose. Uniqueness, of course, no.
1.3. We buy ready business. It's quite possible, but there are two options: a) you can buy a working theme for an expensive price; b) you can buy cheaper something that will finally go bankrupt already with you. Consider the value of the business as a turnover for 4-6 months (of course, adjusted for profitability) for a point operating in a small plus. So, a store that makes 200,000 in turnover per month will cost 800,000 rubles - 1,200,000 rubles, including equipment, inventory balance (consider it at purchase prices), lease agreements, etc. If it’s cheaper, it’s a reason for checking, if it’s more expensive, it’s also not good. In general, as I said above, the topic is complex - it will be considered separately.
1.4. Franchise. It requires investments, but we immediately get a) a brand, often known b) a single supplier c) assistance in organizing. Previously, the franchise was a utopia, now there are many interesting ones. I myself sometimes look for them on www.beboss.ru There, for example, there is Sunlight - a worthy topic.

2. Decided on the product, found what you like. Now let's calculate that this will have to be done regardless of the decisions in paragraph 1.

2.1. Rent. You are standing in a shopping mall, 10 square meters. Those. of your expenses - at least 4,500 rubles. x 10 = 45.000 rubles. rent per month. But the rate of 4,500 has long been gone, "this is fantastic", so focus on 65,000 rubles. In such places as Mega, and in general the top shopping centers - rent for the "Islands" is 10,000 rubles. per meter, i.e. your amount is 100.000 rubles.

2.2. Sellers. Robots have not yet been invented (and they will certainly cost a lot), and slavery is prohibited (unfortunately). Those. search and hiring of sellers is an objective reality and necessity. Your point requires 30 working shifts per month for 12 hours (from 10-00 to 22-00). So there are at least two vendors. How much will you pay? Well, I don’t know how everywhere, focus on 1,000 rubles per shift. It's minimum. I would even say 1,200 rubles. Total for the circle goes 36.000 rubles. in addition to rent - it's tax-free. Previously, sellers used to be taken as individual entrepreneurs - but since 2013, taxes on them have seriously increased. Of the taxes you will have - taxes from the payroll, UTII or% simplified from turnover. 20.000-25.000 per month lay boldly.

2.3. Office and warehouse. The product tends to sell. Moreover - good product sold quickly, bad is not sold at all.

Ancient as life itself, the Pareto rule in action. Your 100 or 1000 items of goods will not be sold at once - the most popular and interesting will quickly leave, the rest will freeze and sales will fall. So it is necessary to plan in advance the renewal / maintenance of commodity balances. Where will you store wealth? It is clear that the requirements for the premises are determined by the product - industrial vacuum cleaners are one thing, jewelry is another. Suppliers will bring the goods, it must be credited, priced, and price tags printed. So either a warehouse (which is less common), or just an office (which is more common). You can, of course, at home - but this is so-so an option.

2.4. Accounting system. Ordering goods from a supplier is an intimate and exciting process. Saying "drop in to the store and take what's on sale" is a nice option, but unrealistic. Especially if the supplier is in Moscow. Those. you need a) a computer, b) a program (Excel will not work here, you need to receive goods, write off sales, control balances). The best option, of course, is 1C 7.7. It is possible and 8.0, if there is money - but they already took a lot of them. So we add a laptop (10,000 rubles) and 1C (15,000 rubles). In general, 1C TIS 7.7 is better. + URIB (distributed database management) - but this is already deep in the development perspective. We will immediately mention a printer for printing price tags and invoices, and Internet access - for work (if you rented an office).

2.5. A legal entity with a current account (most likely an LLC), this is 15,000 rubles. Immediately discuss with the bank the installation of a payment terminal - now 50% of buyers have cards. Moreover, the cards allow you to spend loot without interest, but to withdraw interest from ATMs, interest is charged, i.e. the strategy to save on the terminal in the form of "go away and buy" will not work. SKB Bank requires 25,000 rubles. for installing the terminal - having a laugh, we go to Bank24ru and get the terminal as a gift to the current account. I also installed terminals for free at MDM Bank and Sberbank.

2.6. Outsourced bookkeeping. Find a friend - everyone knows an accountant, and while your turnover is small, 5,000 rubles. a month is enough.

Phew...tired. We are left with the choice of a place (I don’t deliberately designate it as a priority - there are many nuances. The place is important, but not primary in the sense that all the best places are not for you, unless, of course, dad is the owner of this shopping center, but there is always a choice from what, so it's not scary). Further inventory and assortment; lease agreement, selection and purchase of equipment (with a design project, of course).

But that's all in the next issue of "Shop for Dummies" :)))

UPD. If the theme of the work of retail outlets is interesting, I will write - a look, as they say, from the inside. So add friends and leave comments to identify interest in the topic.

While there is no interest, well, figs with him - there will be interest - we will return the topic.

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