Dollar Store

[desmond]

Im planning to open a dollar store, is that a good idea? Or are there any other franchises around $40,000 that is better than dollar stores?

[ryanallan]

great idea :thumbsup:

[extm88]

theres one for sale right now.

Downtown if i remember correctly

[desmond]

Or a 7-11?

[Disoblige]

Mmm.. My 2 cents is..

Depends on the location. Do not know the costs but I would rather have a 7-11 than a Dollar Store.

[frozenrice]

Originally posted by Disoblige
Mmm.. My 2 cents is..

Depends on the location. Do not know the costs but I would rather have a 7-11 than a Dollar Store.

Location is key. I see so many dollar stores in obscure places and wonder how they stay busy enough to stay in business. I recently saw a dollar store go out of business and can only imagine what the liqudation pricing was.

[masoncgy]

I wonder what the shrinkage is like in a dollar store... it's quick & easy pickings for people in those places...

[ExtraSlow]

My bro ran a dollar store in one of the smaller towns around calgary, and it was a huge pain in the ass. He was always looking for places to buy the inventory from, so that took up a lot of his free time. Plus, he pretty much broke even over the course of a couple years, and that is without paying himself or his family anything for the hours worked.
So basically, he lost money.

Not sure if the location was what killed it or what.

Huge pain in the ass, small profit potential = no thanks.

[JBreaks]

"Dollar store" looks like an attractive business model now, but a couple years out demand for el-cheapo goods will surely dry up

[ianmcc]

All Canadian 7-11s are corporate owned so you can't own one.

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by desmond
Im planning to open a dollar store, is that a good idea? Or are there any other franchises around $40,000 that is better than dollar stores?

Why pay the Dollar Store franchise fee when you can open it under your own company name?

[Isaiah]

Originally posted by FiveFreshFish


Why pay the Dollar Store franchise fee when you can open it under your own company name?
The dollar store secret to success is volume on Chinese manufactured goods that cost pennies. Established franchises like Dollarama and Buck or Two have established relationships with Chinese distributors and have mastered the supply chain logistics. The independents often don't have the resources to compete on equal footing and often end up losing money.

Additionally, with any franchise you have a name backing you. Look at the traffic going through a Dollarama as opposed to your local neighbourhood dollar store. From a revenue standpoint, you can't even compare in most cases.

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
My bro ran a dollar store in one of the smaller towns around calgary, and it was a huge pain in the ass. He was always looking for places to buy the inventory from, so that took up a lot of his free time.
There you have it. In this business, your suppliers make or break you.