How to open a grocery store from scratch: step by step instructions

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Sale of food products is always in demand and stable business. Even in difficult times of crisis, people will buy food, saving on other expenses. Step-by-step instructions will help you open a successful business from scratch, while taking into account all the risks and unforeseen expenses of the future owner of the enterprise.

Before answering the question of how to open a grocery store, you should decide on the size of the room. Now many people are trying to pick up groceries for a week in large supermarkets, regardless of their location, and make daily small purchases in stores that are within walking distance from their home or office. Especially popular are those that work on the principle of self-service. To open such a point, you will need to have a large amount of money. Small grocery supermarkets that serve small areas in the city, remote from the center, are also very popular with buyers.

Pros and cons of opening a store

Even in detailafter studying the step-by-step instructions, opening a grocery store from scratch is not easy. You need to know all the nuances of this business.

Grocery store perks:

• Small outlets within walking distance attract the attention of consumers. You can be sure that the entrepreneur will have regular customers who are satisfied with the proximity to residential buildings, the quality of the goods and affordable prices.
• Products will be easy to market because they are affordable.
• Easy calculation of future store costs and profitability.
• This business is considered stable and sustainable, as the entrepreneur sells essential goods for people.
• Despite the large number of competitors, you can open a promising store that makes a profit. It is important that the point of sale always has a wide range of fresh goods, prices must be attractive, and staff must be polite.

Negative factors:

• A huge number of competitors. They have one or more points, regular customers come to them for shopping every day. For a new grocery store to have the same popularity, you need to spend a lot of money on advertising.
• To open a supermarket that will interest the general public, you need to think about a wide range. It also requires a substantial amount of money to be spent. You can successfully enter this market by making a significant initial investment.
• It is necessary to carefully monitor the expiration dates of goods. HowAs a rule, for products it is quite short. Entrepreneurs constantly incur losses due to goods not sold on time.
• To open a grocery store, you will need to collect a number of documents. This will take a long time and will require coordination with several authorities.

Business registration

Many people wonder what steps to take to open a grocery store. First you need to register a business, and this is a very lengthy process. You need to find out what documents a novice entrepreneur will need. You can assemble them yourself or contact special companies with this question. They will do all the work in a short time, taking into account the requirements of the law.

Registration of IP. Collection of documents

Any process is easier to implement by studying step-by-step instructions. You can open a grocery store, having decided on the choice of how its owner will be registered. As a sole trader? As a legal entity? The first option is the most popular for opening a small grocery outlet. To register an individual entrepreneur, you will need a number of documents:

• TIN.
• Certificate confirming the registration of IP.
• A valid agreement for the collection of garbage from the point of sale.
• Permit obtained from the fire department. To obtain this document, you need to equip the premises in accordance with fire safety standards.
• Permission from SES.
• Evidence confirming thatthe entrepreneur is entered in the general trade register.
• A valid rental agreement for the premises or documentation confirming that the entrepreneur is the owner of the building equipped as a store.

Additional documentation

Trade is a profitable business. Every citizen who has enough funds and does not retreat in the face of difficulties can open a grocery store. The future owner of the outlet will need to collect additional documents. These include:

• Approved list of the range of goods to be sold.
• A valid contract with companies involved in the transportation of goods from factories and warehouses.
• A document that allows you to sell products.
• Accompanying documentation for all products together with a certificate of their quality.
• Invoices, which should indicate the delivery date, the implementation period, and other important information about the goods being sold.
• Valid medical books for all retail staff.

You don't need a special certificate or license to open a small grocery store. It is also worth remembering that an individual entrepreneur should not sell alcoholic beverages. If the store is registered to a legal entity, such goods can be sold, but it is worth remembering that strong drinks are divided into strong and low alcohol. For each type of such products, you will need to obtain different licenses. The owner of the point costs in advancewarn staff that it is strictly forbidden to sell alcohol at night, as well as to minors.

Select location

Starting entrepreneurs often wonder how to open a grocery store. A good choice of location will be the key to the success of this type of business. The most successful place to open your first point is the central part of the city, a site near densely populated business districts, next to shopping centers, on pedestrian routes, where there is always a large crowd of people. Also, small retail outlets are popular in remote sleeping areas. When choosing, keep in mind that the rent in the city center is several times higher than on the outskirts. For example, in the capital of our country, the rent near the metro in the central part starts from 4 thousand dollars a year per square meter. When choosing a place, keep in mind that the fee for a rented place should not exceed 1% of the monthly turnover, excluding VAT.

To answer the question of how to open a grocery store in the village, you should know that in this case the entrepreneur will have to pay much less for rent than in large cities. However, the permeability will be small. It should also be taken into account that old shops have been operating in the villages for a long time, which are visited by residents of the surroundings with pleasure. It is reasonable to open a point near the road. On sale should be not only food, but also essential goods (matches and toiletries).

When choosing a location for your business, be guided by the following important factors:

• The point should be located in places where there are residential premises, large transport hubs or business centers.
• The facade of the building must be visible from the road.
• It should be possible to place advertising banners outside the building.
• The area of the building should be spacious, because it will have to accommodate commercial equipment, while there should be enough space for customers.
• A supermarket should have 2 exits (main and secondary).
• The room should have utility rooms for storage.

Size of business space

How to open a grocery store step by step? It is very important to calculate in advance how much space will be required for this business. To open a supermarket within walking distance of residential buildings, you will need to rent an area ranging from 200 to 500 square meters. If you plan to open a smaller food store, it is enough to buy or rent a room of about 50 square meters.

Answering the question of how to open a grocery store, you need to know that when choosing a place in the center, you need to focus on an audience with an income above the average. Such people are much more demanding on the interior of the premises and the quality of the products sold. Based on this, the owner of the supermarket will also have to spend money on high-quality repairs and design organization. With the opening of a retail outlet nearIt is not worth allocating large funds for repairs to houses in residential areas, it will be enough to spend about 10 thousand rubles per square meter. This money will be enough for rough and fine finishing, replacement or installation of electricians from scratch. Also, workers should make high-quality ventilation, heating and sewerage in the room.

Equipment

Business start-ups wonder what it takes to open a grocery store? The entrepreneur will need to purchase cash equipment, shelves for storing bakery products, racks for fruits and vegetables, display cases, refrigerators and freezers. To open a small specialized supermarket, you will need to purchase equipment and furniture for about 300 thousand rubles.

Before starting a grocery store from scratch, you need to find a reliable supplier and make the first bulk purchase. Now it is not difficult to do this, there are a lot of offers on the market for the delivery and sale of products in bulk at very attractive prices. There are suppliers who fulfill orders made through the site online. Many supply goods on credit.

For your own savings, it is more profitable to take a lot of goods at once. If possible, it is better to carry out deliveries to the store yourself. When looking for suppliers, it is not always important to consider only the offered price. it is advisable to take into account the proposed systems of bonuses, discounts, as well as the location of warehouses.

Recruitment

Before opening a grocery store, the businessthe plan must include a clause relating to future employees. You need to calculate the cost of their salary in advance. At the beginning of the activity, it is enough to recruit several cashiers, an administrator, a loader and security. A small shop can serve 1-2 sellers. If necessary, they can take on additional responsibilities, such as unloading goods or conducting an audit. Naturally, they will demand additional monetary rewards for their work.

Before you open a grocery store and start hiring new employees, it is worth considering that employees work better if they receive bonuses after a job well done, and also if a supermarket owner is present at the outlet.

Do not forget that sellers must have experience. They need to learn the range of products, they must be polite with customers. The food outlet's revenue depends on the correct approach of staff to customers.

New hires should also be trained on cash registers to avoid shortages and other financial problems.

Advertising

Before you open a grocery store from scratch, take care of advertising. During the arrangement of the outlet, it is necessary to hang a colorful poster outside with information about the planned opening date. It would be useful to send unobtrusive booklets to mailboxes.

In order for buyers to choose your store, you need to pursue an adequate pricing policy, organize the delivery of products to your home,constantly run promotions and sales. Even a symbolic discount of 5-10% will increase the traffic at the point at times.

Franchise

Before starting a grocery store from scratch, check out the franchise terms available in your area. This option will significantly save money on advertising, provide a newly opened store with a flow of customers. Using this option, the entrepreneur will not need to look for suppliers. Also, some franchises provide ready-made equipment for doing business.

Selection of products for sale

Before you open a grocery store, please note that for any buyer it is important that the outlet has a wide selection of goods. The owner needs to fill the shelves with a wide range of food products in advance.

It is important to remember that the margin on certain types of goods may exceed their cost by 2-3 times, but the prices of essential products cannot be overstated. The government has set strict regulations for these categories of goods.

The range of products provided must be properly positioned on the shelf.

Shop interior

People asking how to open a grocery store so that it is successful among consumers should take care of the interior of the opening outlet. The appearance of the building plays an important role in winning new customers, the name should be memorable and easy to pronounce. The sign in front of the store should be colorful and in positive colors.

The interior space of the outlet should beequipped with spacious and reliable equipment. Attractive signs with information about promotions that need to be hung throughout the trading floor will not interfere either.

Doing Business

The organization of trade in the store also implies some of the nuances that are listed in the list below:

• You need to constantly monitor your subordinates who are on the trading floor. To do this, it is necessary to equip the building with hidden video cameras.
• An entrepreneur must constantly analyze and research the conduct of business. It is necessary to calculate how much the flow of buyers has increased (decreased) over the past month. At the end of the study, it is necessary to draw a conclusion what influenced the current situation.
• The administrator or owner must look for new, more profitable suppliers of products to sell. It is important for the store to constantly expand its range. This will attract new customers.
• It is necessary not only to monitor the expiration dates of the goods, it is important to periodically arrange sales. You should also fill the store shelves with new seasonal goods.

Calculation of income and expenses

To open any business, including in the field of trade, a business plan should be developed. It should contain calculations of the costs of opening and running a business, expected income. You should also consider unexpected expenses.

As an example, let's make a table of capital expenses for organizing a trading business:

Expense	Currency, thousandrubles
Rent of premises, repairs in it	150
Purchase of equipment for trade	600
Buying goods at a wholesale price	4,000
Installation of hidden cameras, alarm systems, hiring console guards	80
Outdoor Advertising	50
Collecting the necessary permits	30
Result	4910

The following table is needed to calculate upcoming expenses after the store opens. Let's call it "Monthly Required Expenses":

Expense	Currency, thousand rubles
Payment for rented premises	100
Staff salaries	150
Taxation	25
Premises maintenance fee (security and utility fee)	15
Replenishing the store with new products	1150
Result	1440

If we take into account that the average markup on the assortment will be 40%, then the income will be 1610 thousand rublesmonthly. The payback period for this business is approximately 1.5-2 years.

After calculating, we can conclude that opening a food outlet is considered a profitable and effective type of business if you know what documents are needed to open a store, where to locate it, who to hire and what assortment to create.

Doing such a business involves certain risks that must also be taken into account:

• Great competition in this business segment.
• Continuous price increases and high supplier margins;
• Long payback. Be prepared that the supermarket will begin to bring significant profits in 1-2 years at best.