What really is an athletic shoe store about? In a concise manner; an athletic shoe store is a store where sports footwear or shoes are sold. Different sports require different footwear. Take for instance; the shoe used for football is very different from the one used for the basketball game. A football shoe has spikes underneath it, whilst a basketball does not come with any spike, rather it has a foamy spring to enable players jump higher while aiming the net.
You can start an athletic shoe store where you can offer various varieties of athletic shoes for sport lovers. Two ways to start an athletic shoe store is either via the use of franchise; that is paying for a franchise license from an established athletic shoe store or to start your own store from the scratch. The cost of acquiring a franchise license for an athletic shoe store is very expensive, and that does not cover the cost of setting up the store or the purchase of products.
Some companies sell their franchise right for as high as $40,000 or more. You need to set up the store and also invest the rest in the purchase of products. Aside from the money you may have paid to get the franchise, do note that you are still expected to pay the franchisor a fraction of all your earnings as a franchisee. Now, how can you possibly start an athletic shoe store?
Starting an Athletic Shoe Store – Sample Business Plan Template
1. Plan your Business
It is important that you lay out a step by step plan on how you wish to run the business. The plan for an athletic store should include details like; the scale you will operate your store, will it be a small down town athletic shoe store? Will it be a massive store that will cover all brands of athletic shoes?
How much capital do you think will be enough to finance the business, putting all cost details into consideration? What business structure will you incorporate into your business? Would there be an online store front where people can order for your products from the internet?These and more are the kind of questions your business plan must answer.
2. Lease a Store
You need to lease a space to serve as your shoe store. How big the space you lease would be dependent on the scale or capacity you wish to start the business. Finding a store located in the busy part of town will be an added advantage to your business. This is because you need as much people as possible to know your business.
3. Decorate the Store
You need to engage an interior decoration company to come set up the interiors of your store. The interior decorator will be responsible for the design, theme and colour scheme. Do remember that it is an athletic shoe store; hence you have to give the interiors a sport theme.
4. Source for Products
After your store is ready, the next step is to source for products. You have to make a list of popular sport shoes available from major brands like Adidas and Nike. You can visit the company’s site and order for the products, but since you will be purchasing in bulk quantity, you may need to place a special order, which normally comes with a huge discount. Try and vary the various products you order; include different sizes, colours and brands, so that anybody that visits your store can easily find an athletic shoe that makes his specifications.
5. Set up an Online Store
In order to reach a wider audience with your products, you have to create an online store and the ecommerce store will have pictures of available products for sale. Before you set up your online store, you have to workout all the necessary logistics involved with an e-store. For instance; you need to work out a means of receiving payments for orders placed on the site. There are popular e-payment processors you can use to receive payments from your site such as PayPal, Skrill and Moneybookers .
6. Advertise your Store
There are various ways you can advertise your store to make more sales. If you are operating your business on a large scale, you may decide to sponsor a local sport event as a way of creating awareness for your business. Another way to increase your customer base is to offer discounts and bonuses to first time and loyal customers. You can also run a raffle draw where anybody that purchases a shoe from your store stands a chance to win something big.
Your athletes shoe store would sure develop into something successful when you make the tips that have been provided earlier very seriously. Those who have success stories to tell in this kind of business field took them dearly and so you must.
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