Thinking about Opening a Baby Supplies Shop

W

walshey

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Hi Guys,
For awhile now, I've been really keen on opening a baby Shop, selling all the usual cots, buggies, car seats, family potratis, monthly mums and baby seminars etc,

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on this, or setup something similar?
The location I am looking to setup shop in does not have anything like this, which makes me wnder is there a reason for this

Thanks
Walshey
 
When you say you are in a location which doesn't sell anything like this, are you anywhere near (< 15 miles) a large shopping centre which does sell it.

Are you going to be able to compete with the likes of Mothercare etc on price?

Cots and other baby furniture are expensive and most people would regard a trip to eg Blanchardstown as worthwhile if they are saving more than say €50 rather than buying local just for the sake of it.

IMO
 
location would be about 20k from Cork City, where yes there is a Mothercare outlet, but from personal experience and this is only my opinion, I find mothercare very stressful, alot time standing around there, and then when you want to pay for something you waiting in big Q, plus I feel they dont connect with the expectant mother, I guess what I'm saying is I believe I could offer a much more personal and more pleasent experience and feel that I have other gift ideas and products that would be well received, that no other outlet already offers
 
Do you know much about running this kind of business? Have you tried working in one of the existing shops for while, so you learn on their time, not your own?
 
Have some experience, have been working in customer service roles over the last number of years, eg pharmacies, beauticians , plus I've had two kids pretty recently so have some experience on what mums need and what would make their lives easier when looking for these things.
 
No disrespect, but your experience is a long way off running a shop. Sounds like a big risk to me. Will you be investing your own money in this?
 
Whilst I don't want to discurage entrepreneurs, I do wonder if you are considering doing this because you don't like Mothercare or had a poor experience, not becasue there is a genuine gap in the market. If there are queues at the till in Mothercare, surely it's an indication that people are happy to shop there

Small shops in any area within 20km from a major city are going to struggle. For example, I know Midleton very well and there has been a number of small boutique baby clothes shops that have closed there in recent months. I know in my own case as well (Dad with toddler), a lot of things got bought on line, Mothercare and the likes were often only used by us as display showrooms.
 
The economy is not great at the moment. Most parents I know are economising (passing on clothes, cots etc), so I'd guess the market you're looking at getting into is guite tight at the moment. Also more people are buying big ticket items like prams online. I'd do some serious research if I was you.

P.s. it's an idea I considered a couple of years back, but discounted for these reasons.
 
Mpsox said:
Small shops in any area within 20km from a major city are going to struggle. For example, I know Midleton very well and there has been a number of small boutique baby clothes shops that have closed there
Click to expand...

I believe the pharmacy across from the old fire station also has a large wnough separate baby care section, or it did about a year ago anyway.

To capture a sufficient footfall one needs a large enough range of products, and that becomes very costly in a less than large urban area. One needs to see what would prompt people to go to such a shop rather than going in to Cork. Let's say, the shop was in Midleton ( just for example) then would a person in Youghal or Cobh be more likely to go to Midleton or Cork? You would need to assess the neighbouring towns, to see if there might be pick up trade from there, if not, it might be a difficult business to make profitable.
 
walshey I think the best thing you could do first would be to visit a few similar shops in other areas and speak to the owners to see how they find the market right now. As others have said, it might be a tough time to try and set up something like this as the initial investment needed to get something like this up and running is significant and the banks aren't exactly generous right now.
 
Something like a 2nd hand baby shop might be a better idea. Lots of people selling off buggies and cots hardly used.
 
The baby shop I would have purchased my stuff just closed down in outside galway city and also the toyshop that had a baby dept gone in Athlone. a friend had a baby buggy up on local filling station noticeboard for sale and she was swamped with calls and sold within one day.
 
Up until recently I worked in a Baby Supplies shop, very upmarket (well it tries to be) and business was not going good, footfall was low and profitable sales were even lower. Travel systems cost a lot to buy in and many people are now buying these on UK websites, secondhand, etc.

I know that the place I was working was losing a lot of business to a kind of "Discount" Baby Store nearby. I would think that right now would not be the best time to open a high end store, but people are always having babies, recession doesn't change that, so IF it was to work I think it would have to be very reasonably priced to even get people in the door.
 
Byrnes world of wonder with large baby department closed 2 or so months ago in Tullamore.

Mothercare in Portlaoise - always empty when I have being in there.
 
Very interesting comments. I've just launched a website for the trading of new and used baby clothes and goods. BabyBay.ie. The response has been phenomenal and this is definately the way forward, regardless or whether we come out of this recession in 3 years or 10 years people's mindsets have changed. People love to get a bargain these days. If you have money to invest in a business I would go back to the drawing board. There's lots of opportunities out there at the moment, you just need to find the right one for you. Good Luck!
 
the way to go: alone or partner up?

if you don't have alot of experience in running a business but you are great with customers, i would advice you to look at a franchise.
or find a baby shop that you like very much, go to the owner and tell her/him that you want to set up a shop just like that one in your town.

he/she may even invest in your shop. but more importantly you will gain from his/her experience and share some of the overheads...

anywhay best of luck (and let's hope people around you will have lots of babies)

k
 
Thaks to everyone for your advice and comments.
It's given me plenty to think about and further research and number crunching will be my next step before I do anything

Again I appreciate all the comments

Walshey
 
Hi Washley,
Before you abandon your idea why not visit Kilkenny. I would have thought the timing very poor. A couple of years ago a new baby shop opened in Kilkenny. It is doing very well.I dont know why as there is another such shop here for years and they have lost out.
It is located beside Lidl off the Waterford Road. A very nice couple run it, I am sure you could talk to them. They might even go into partnership and
do the buying for you.
They have great selection of the best. If you decide to travel I would be happy to meet you.
I have been in the retail business for 12 years and experience counts for a lot. Advice on the buying could save you many costly mistakes,that could be your profit on the shelves for years, starting off.
Best wishes Browtal.
 
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