36
NEWS BUSINESS
Choosing your hardware store location
Essential Group shares all the methods and tricks of the trade for running a successful hardware store in South Africa. The second article in this series focuses on the factors you need to take into consideration when choosing where to open your store.
L
ocation, location, location. It’s an age-old
location will be dependent on who you’re selling to
saying that will always be applicable to the
and their buying patterns. If you don’t understand
businesses can make your marketing easier.
commercial real estate market. A business
your customer, you’ll never be able to make informed
Potential customers will already be in the area
needs to find the right location to be
decisions on where to open your business.
looking for something along the lines of what you
successful. But, as urban markets grow and choices
Sometimes, locating your business near similar
provide. But, if your major competitor provides a
for retail space diversify, finding the right location can
ANALYSE YOUR COMPETITION
service or product that is too similar to yours or is
be challenging.
It is a smart move to place your store at a point which
significantly larger and already more successful, then
Often, the best location for a brick-and-mortar
has businesses around that can eventually help drive
you may want to look elsewhere.
retail business combines visibility, affordability, and
traffic into your own store. Any business or category
rental terms you can live with. You need to be where
of product that is closely related to yours should help
RETAIL COMPATIBILITY
the action is, so deciding where to put your business
your business too.
Only the exceptional operation, such as a restaurant
is extremely important.
Another important aspect to be considered is
or a freestanding discount store, can survive in
competition. “Quite simply, the best place to be is as
isolation. A cluster of stores creates more traffic,
Here are some important factors to consider when
close to your biggest competitor as you can be,” says
exposes more people to your business, and creates
looking for a location for your hardware store:
Greg Kahn, founder and CEO of Kahn Research Group
a buying atmosphere that a single store cannot.
in Huntersville, North Carolina. And he’s right. Your
Customers are attracted by crowds and like their
KNOW YOUR TARGET MARKET
competitors have already done all the research and
shopping trips to be social outings.
Every step in this process requires you to
have placed themselves in the best location for their
understand your customer and product. The right
target demographic, so take some notes from them.
Having said this, it’s critical to select the right community and site for your particular store. Will the other businesses generate traffic for your store? Or will you be located near operations that may clash with yours? TRAFFIC, VISIBILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY Don’t confuse a lot of traffic for a lot of customers. Retailers want to be located where there are many shoppers, but only if those shoppers meet the definition of their target market. Small retail stores may benefit from the traffic generated by nearby, larger stores. Some questions to ask when researching the traffic, visibility and accessibility of your store include:
1
How many people walk or drive past the location?
2
How well is the area served by public transportation?
3
Can customers and delivery trucks easily get in and out of the parking lot?
4
Is there adequate parking?
When considering visibility, look at the location from the customer’s viewpoint. In many cases, the better visibility your retail store has, the less advertising is needed. Don’t feel rushed into deciding on where to put your store. Take your time and research the area. If you have to change your schedule and push back the date of the store’s opening, then do so. Waiting to find the perfect store location is better than just settling for the first place that comes along. MARCH 2020 DIY & INDUSTRIAL TRADE NEWS
