It is absolutely undeniable that alcohol products have always been in high demand, and its sales continue to increase annually.
Therefore, the assertion that own business, which is built on the trade in alcoholic beverages, is an excellent, and most importantly, reliable and promising investment, fully justifies itself. However, today we’ll talk about organizing not the usual alcohol business in our understanding, but about how to open a liquor store.
The main differences
Before starting your own business, you need to clearly understand the difference between a specialized liquor store and a classic liquor supermarket.
Product range
Wine stores, as a rule, have a wide selection and can offer their customers sometimes more than half a thousand kinds of drinks produced in different countries. An ordinary liquor store simply does not have such a variety.
Drink quality
On the shelves of alcoholic supermarkets quite often you can find counterfeit products that cause irreparable harm to health. In a liquor store, goods of dubious origin will never be put on the shelf, unless, of course, the boutique owner is afraid to lose his reputation. For the wine business, excellent product quality is the basis of success and prosperity.
Service
Sales consultants working in such stores have a special education and, if necessary, can give advice on any of the drinks presented.
It is these three components that put the wine shop at a higher level, making it an elite type of alcohol business.
We got acquainted with the main differences between these two stores. Now we’ll take a closer look at the topic: “How to open a liquor store”. Any entrepreneur will confirm that it is simply impossible to start a single business without a clear plan of action.
Wine shop business plan
In order for your own business to bring real income, you must
draw up a detailed business plan. It includes the following items:
- documents for registration;
- required permissions;
- choice of premises;
- equipment purchase;
- selection of the product range and its purchase;
- recruitment;
- advertising;
- profit forecast and estimated payback periods
And now - in more detail about how to open a liquor store, for each item of the business plan.
Registration of own business
When registering an alcohol business, you cannot register as an individual entrepreneur (IP). A license authorizing the sale of alcoholic beverages is issued only to legal entities. Therefore, you will need to obtain the status of LLC or ZAO, of your choice.
Choose a room
The next step will be to choose the place where the store will be located. The attendance, and, accordingly, your profit will depend on the correctly chosen location.
It is best to place a wine store in the busiest places in the city. These are the central streets. A good option would be densely populated sleeping areas. The proximity of the store to a large shopping center or market will positively affect sales.
If we talk about the area of the room, then usually this is a range from 50 to 110 square meters. The trade area occupies approximately 60%, the remaining areas are used to organize a warehouse and other auxiliary premises.
Let me remind you that we are not talking about opening a simple alcohol supermarket, but about the elite niche of this business, about how to open a wine boutique. Not a single specialized store can do without high-end products, and it is very moody.
Wine cellar - a place to store expensive wines
Elite wines require special storage conditions. A room intended for such products should provide wines with protection from light, heat, cold, various vibrations and maintain a constant temperature. Wine storage is carried out on special racks.
Temperature
Compliance with the temperature regime is the key to the quality of your products. High temperature simply “kills” the wine, as it accelerates the aging process of the drink. Sudden temperature jumps damage the cork, it begins to let in air and the drink quickly oxidizes. Ideal is the temperature of the wine cellar in the range from 10 to 15 ° C, which is supported by an air conditioning system.
Humidity
This indicator should be in the range of 70-80%. Such humidity helps the cork to not dry out.
Shine
The wine cellar should be completely dark. Bright light ages the wine: the drink acquires a rancid taste. The lighting in the cellar should have a direction from the bottom up and in no case towards the wines. An ideal solution to the problem would be special cells where the wines are out of reach for the light.
Absolute peace
Elite wines do not tolerate any vibration. Therefore, it is necessary to provide complete racking for bottle racks.
Wine rack: what is it for?
If it is not possible to organize a wine cellar in accordance with all the rules, then you can use special equipment - a wine cabinet. This is the same wine repository, but in miniature.
Wine racks are mono-temperature and multi-temperature. Preference should be given to the second type of equipment. Such a cabinet makes it possible to store different types of wines at the most favorable temperature for them. A multi-temperature wine cabinet is a great addition to a wine cellar.
Design and title
Finishing, both internal and external, when arranging a wine boutique should be taken very seriously. The interior of the wine store should not only emphasize the status of the institution, but also take into account the rules of storage of elite products. Therefore, the most reasonable solution would be to entrust the design of the store to professional companies specializing in this type of activity. The name of the liquor store, of course, should be echoed with the theme of business.
Suppliers
This is a very important point in organizing your own business. It’s better to start working immediately with major wine suppliers. Such companies offer a huge range of products, approximately 3,000 varieties from almost all countries of the world.
The bulk of reputable and trusted suppliers are located in the capital or St. Petersburg. In the regions, as a rule, there are very few reliable partners. Collaboration with unscrupulous suppliers supplying low-quality goods can not only reduce the attendance of your store, but also create a negative reputation for it.
Assortment row
When compiling a list of drinks, try to make it different from the range of your competitors. Of course, the most popular wines are found on the shelves of many stores, but still you should try to diversify the choice, making it more interesting.
Staff
For the store to function properly, it needs qualified personnel. Therefore, all sales consultants will have to be trained in the wisdom of selling luxury wines. The formation of a permanent clientele depends on the work of the seller.
The wine boutique is interesting in that there is no such thing as a “random purchase”. A person comes with a specific goal: to spend a large amount of money on a quality drink that meets his requirements.Therefore, the sales assistant must be able to select the wine that meets the needs of the client.
Advertising
The successful start of such a business is completely impossible without advertising. You can hold the opening in the form of a presentation, sending out invitations to potential customers. Be sure to conduct a free wine tasting, when making a purchase, a cumulative discount card is issued. Themed design of the facade and showcases of the room works great.
Talking about opening a liquor store, it is impossible not to mention such an option as a franchise. Franchise - Your right to represent a well-known trade brand. Many large companies offer such services. Moreover, almost the entire burden of organizing a business falls on their shoulders. Of course, the service is not provided for free. The average cost of a franchise is from about three hundred thousand to half a million rubles. The payback period is approximately within a year and a half.
Count a little
When answering the question of what kind of income a liquor store brings, many factors must be taken into account. To open a store, you need at least $ 200,000. This amount includes the rental of the warehouse, accreditation, the purchase of the necessary licenses, as well as the funds that will be spent on the first purchase of goods. The average premium for elite wines is approximately 11%. With this development of events, the invested funds will pay off within a maximum of five years.
Summing up the topic of conversation on how to open a wine store, we can say that all the main aspects of the issue have been considered, an approximate business plan has been drawn up. Good luck with your endeavors!
